Last of the #Inktober Drawings

Here are the last of the Inktober sketches for the month. Mission accomplished: one drawing for each day of the month, in ink.

Inktober week one is here.

Inktober week two is here.

Inktober week three is here.

Inktober week four is here.

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Mark Parisi: Huffington Post: "Once we brought up the subject of payment, we were told that's not how they do things."

I have posted about reactions that Wil Wheaton and The Oatmeal had when they were asked to give away their creative work for free to corporations.

Now, with his permission, here's Mark Parisi on what he did when The Huffington Post wanted his stuff for free. (He did not agree to it.) You know Mark. He draws the award winning OFF THE MARK cartoon panel. Take it away, Mark:

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Wil Wheaton and The Oatmeal recently posted about their experiences with The Huffington Post expecting free stuff. I had a similar experience the other day. They wanted to publish some of my Halloween cartoons, but once we brought up the subject of payment, we were told that's not how they do things. 

Below is their agreement. Look at the rights they expect for a link.

To Whom it May Concern,

I am a photo editor with XXX and we are running a story on HILARIOUS PHOTOS THAT DESCRIBE WHAT HALLOWEEN IS LIKE AS A PARENT. I saw that you had images and was wondering if you could share some of them with us to accompany our story. --> We would of course credit you and link back your site. <-- acceptable="" and="" any="" are="" been="" br="" by="" cleared="" confirm="" could="" does="" email="" following="" for="" have="" if="" infringe="" is="" not="" party="" photo="" please="" providing="" replying="" rights="" s="" statement:="" that="" the="" third="" this="" to="" use="" with="" xxx="" you="">I hereby represent and warrant that I or my organization, __________, either owns the copyright in the attached Content or has a license that allows us to provide the Content to XXX for use on your site under the following terms. 1. Worldwide non-exclusive use on the XXX Network, for primary use in a non-commercial feature (“Feature”) and unlimited Secondary Uses (“Secondary Uses” defined as instances of the same Images including the use of screen grab images as “pointers” channeling viewers to the primary use of the Images on XXX’s pages) specifically including Secondary Uses on third party social photo sharing and networking sites including without limitation Facebook.com, Tumblr.com and Pinterest.com; 2.For the life of the Feature; 3. For online distribution including 1) the right to use the Images in outgoing RSS or MRSS feeds as long as they point back to the Images in their primary use on the XXX Network (“XXX Network” defined as products, goods and services owned and/or operated by XXX and/or its wholly owned subsidiaries); 2) the right to use the Images in RSS or MRSS feeds distributed outside of the XXX Network as long as each such use links back to the Images displayed on the XXX Network; and 3) the right to allow XXX end users to snag XXX Network-branded modules, widgets and/or slideshow galleries containing the Images (“Modules”) and post Modules to a third-party site. Thanks so much!! Photo Editor | XXX

Illinois student newspaper publication apologizes for running ‘distasteful’ cartoon

(Cartoon by Rick McKee for the Augusta Chronicle.)

Rick McKee has an editorial cartoon this week and it was syndicated to a number of papers. One of the papers, The Daily Illini, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student newspaper, printed an apology after running it, calling the cartoon "distasteful." The student editor who decided to place it in the paper has been suspended.

The La Casa Cultural Latina director Dr. Gioconda Perez, Asian American Cultural Center director Dr. David Chih, LGBT Resource Center director Leslie Morrow, Diversity & Social Justice Education director Ross Wantland, Native American House director Dr. Jamie Singson, Women’s Resources Center director Patricia Morey and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Gigi Secuban signed a joint statement saying the cartoon

"... is offensive, tasteless, and above all, racist."

This cartoon warrants this kind of extreme reaction? Rick McKee is a fine cartoonist and this makes a point. Maybe they don't understand what an editorial cartoon is, or how it provokes or why there are editorial cartoons. 

I don't see the editorial cartoon as something that causes such harm that even The Daily Illini's apology "does not take away the hurt this has caused to them and to us." 

Dear Huffington Post: Don't mess with The Oatmeal's Matthew Inman.

Matthew Inman is the creator of the popular web comic The Oatmeal, and when the Huffington Post hot linked to his site, he showed them his increased bandwidth bill of $1,160.70. The Washington Post has the details. 

Inman said that this sort of thing “happens all the time” to his work. As it turns out, the Huffington Post story credited aggregation site Bored Panda with tipping them off to the comic — and Inman didn’t give Bored Panda permission to republish his comic, either. 

“Cartooning is odd because if I were to write a lengthy, wordy blog post, most media outlets would ask permission before republishing it,” Inman said, “but if it’s something that’s been drawn, they treat it like a meme image that took a few seconds to create, and it just gets repurposed everywhere.”

The Value of Your Creativity

Wil Wheaton (Yes, just one "L.") who used to be on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and now is a successful writer, with an outstanding blog, was approached by the Huffington Post. HuffPo loved this piece that he wrote on his blog, "Seven Things I Did To Reboot My Life."

HuffPo wanted the right to reprint his piece on their site. Wil Wheaton wrote about it here:
"you can’t pay your rent with 'the unique platform and reach our site provides.'"

Wil offers this succinct version of his conversation with the Huffington Post people on his Twitter. page. It went:

HuffPost: We’d like to publish a story you wrote! 

Me: Cool! What do you pay? 

HP: Oh, we can’t afford to pay, but EXPOSURE! 

Me: How about no.

That reminded me of this blog entry I wrote when Ariana Huffington sold her Huffington Post site for $300 million in 2011:


Should you give away your work for free?

If you do, then "free" is your price.

Hey, even if you do not want to work for free, there are people out there who have no problem asking you.

For instance: Here's a person who placed an ad on the Web for a cartoonist. It's from one of those services where people post job listings and then the lowest bidder wins. You don't have to read the whole screed, but the point is that this person isn't shy about telling you why he will only pay 5 cents for a drawing. So, here's the whole thing, as it was posted on a job board:

Title: 2000 Simple Line Drawings
Project ID: 686564
Budget: Under $250
Category: Illustration & Art
Description: Hi there, I'm working on an education project, and I need around 2000 simple line drawings of a variety of subjects: a dog, a cat, a house, etc. My budget is rather limited, so I am looking for a talented artist in the Philippines, India, or somewhere else where they won't mind working for about $3.00 per hour. When I say simple line drawings, I mean a simple vector drawing like this: http://www.artbyrichardmoore.com/files/2_dog.jpg orhttp://www.artbyrichardmoore.com/files/21_house.jpg. For a talented artist, with a drawing pad, I am sure you could complete each drawing in about a minute, so it works out to about $0.05 a picture. The reason I am asking for one person to complete the drawings is that I would like them to be consistent in style. I realise this is not a lot of money, but I am on a very limited budget and this is the best I can do. The ideal candidate is a natural artist who is super speedy and can plow through many drawings in a row. Working on this for 2 hours a day, it probably would take about 20 days to complete, so I am not going to propose an arbitrary deadline. If you are interested in applying, please respond to this image and include a few sample sketches. If you're quick, this should take less than 10 minutes. - a dog - a tree - a house - a simple landscape with a clock in the foreground showing a specific time (day) - a simple landscape with a clock in the foreground showing a specific time (night) (the final project will probably have about 10 of these, the purpose is showing different times) - a grandmother - a father - a washing machine - a $20 bill and other change - a car - breakfast I'll leave it at that. I'm just looking for super speedy line drawings in white, on a clear background. Obviously you can watermark the samples and I will not use them for any purpose other than evaluating you as a candidate. If you are selected and we come to an agreement, I would like full ownership of the works and a promise that you will not use them for any other purpose. If you think any of this is unreasonable, please get back to me with your thoughts and I will try to work something out that you think is fair. Thank you so much for your time, (I am traveling at the end of this week, so I will leave this posting open until I return on Monday 7 Feb)

You can't make a living (at least in the US and Western Europe) by making 5 cents a drawing.

But, let's say that just once you are going to give away your work. If you do, then you may be stuck "Free" becomes your price.

And that's what we are seeing with the HuffPo/AOL merger.

The Huffington Post, based on a business model of writers working for free, has been bought by AOL for $315 million. The unpaid content providers, the writers, want a piece of that. Ariana Huffington, who started the site, will not share the payday. A memo went out telling the writers that the only change will be that there may be more people reading their work than ever before:

"Your posts will have an even bigger impact on the national and global conversation. That's the only real change you'll notice - more people reading what you wrote."

You know the old saying: But people DIE from exposure!

What's the difference between the person who wants 2000 drawings and Ariana Huffington? Not much. They are both looking for something for nothing.

It's up to you whether your say yes or no to a potential client who asks you to work for free. If the client is from a money-making operation, then they are able to pay you. More than that: they should recognize the value of your work.

If they do not, smile and move on.

Unless you have a day job and can afford to work for free.



Related: If You Give Away Your Cartoons for Free, You Won't Make a Living as a Cartoonist

Related: Working for Free Business Model

And Ted Rall has a good cartoon about the merger.

So does Matt Bors.

A hat tip to my pal David Jacobson for cutting and pasting that appalling job offer from a job board. I wish it was unique, but those kinda requests are out there every day.

-- Edited from a February 11, 2015 blog entry.

Video: Al Jaffee on Creating the Mad Magazine Fold-In

Video: "Snuffy Smith's" John Rose at New River Community College's Comic Convention

#Inktober Drawings Fourth Week

This is Inktober! That means that all this month, people who draw are voluntarily doing up one ink sketch a day for fun and posting it. I've been drawing something every day. Just a little stream of consciousness drawing. They are all in ink, drawn with no penciling. Sometimes I just start drawing and just see what happens. These are supposed to be fun. I do a quick coloring job with watercolor. The whole process is under ten minutes.

Inktober week one is here.

Inktober week two is here.

Inktober week three is here.

And here are some from week 4 of Inktober:

Links:

Mike on Twitter
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October 25, 2015: Blondie's Halloween Party

Dean Young and John Marshall knock it out of the park for Sunday's BLONDIE comic strip. See the whole strip at Comics Kingdom.

New Full HD MARVEL's JESSICA JONES Preview

More than a peek, some actual scenes and dialogue with Krysten Ritter.

Video: Father Gary Lombardi Remembers Charles Schulz

From the Charles M. Schulz Museum: Father Lombardi was a friend and golfing partner of Charles M. Schulz.

Trailer: SETH'S DOMINION

Here's a trailer for a film by Luc Chamberlain about the cartoonist Seth titled SETH'S DOMINION.

Video: Ann Telnaes Interview

From Moses Znaimer's Idea City 2015 Conference, editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes is interviewed onstage by fellow cartoonists/hosts Terry Mosher and Wes Tyrell.

Video: Steve Bissette on WHITE ZOMBIE (1932)

Video: Cartoonist Dan Murphy

From Moses Znaimer's Idea City 2015 Conference, Canadian editorial cartoonist Dan Murphy is interviewed onstage by fellow cartoonists/hosts Terry Mosher and Wes Tyrell.

Video: Ben Katchor Presentation

Lunch Talk "Hand-Drying in America and Other Stories" at Hohensalzburg Fortress on 21 July 2015.

Video: 2015 Kenosha Festival Interview with Bill Morrison

Video: 2015 Kenosha Festival Interview with Mark Tatulli

#Inktober Drawings Third Week

This is Inktober! And during the month of Inktober, people who draw are voluntarily doing up one ink sketch a day. I've been drawing something every day. Just a little stream of consciousness drawing. They are all in ink, they are all drawn with no penciling. Sometimes I just start drawing and just see what happens. These are supposed to be fun. I do a quick coloring job with watercolor. The whole process is under ten minutes.

Inktober week one is here.

Inktober week two is here.

Inktober week four is here.

And here are some from week 3 of Inktober:

Links:

Mike on Twitter
Mike on Instagram

MAN THE BEAST by Virgil VIP Partch Part 3

This past Saturday, the 17th of October, was the 99th birthday of cartoonist Virgil "VIP" Partch. To celebrate, let's look in on some rare photos and cartoons:

Here's the last installment of cartoons from MAN THE BEAST. It's copyright 1951, 1953 by Virgil Franklin Partch, II, "the funniest cartoonist in the world."

This is Part 3.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

MAN THE BEAST by Virgil VIP Partch Part 2

This past Saturday, the 17th of October, was the 99th birthday of cartoonist Virgil "VIP" Partch. To celebrate, let's look in on some rare photos and cartoons:

Here are some cartoons from MAN THE BEAST. It's copyright 1951, 1953 by Virgil Franklin Partch, II, "the funniest cartoonist in the world."

This is Part 2. Part 1 is here.



There is an apocryphal story that Virgil VIP Partch never got into The New Yorker magazine.

"It's because how his characters looked. He drew nostrils on his people," I was told, more than once, by a cartoonist colleague."The New Yorker didn't like it."

It's not true. I mean it's true that VIP did draw nostrils -- but he DID get into The New Yorker more than once. (According to Michael Maslin's great NYer Cartoonists A-Z list, six cartoons of Partch's appeared between 1942 and 1976.)

And does everyone know about Virgil Partch drawing six fingers?

Cartoonist Ed Nofziger said of his friend:

"As a 'Disney man,' Partch was required to follow such strict edicts as, for example, drawing four fingers on Mickey Mouse to make it easier for animating. So VIP went the other way and drew six to eight fingers on his cartoons. It was sort of teasing (the Disney style) in a way." -- LA Times

More Partch to come ...