On Your Own...OH NO!

It's very difficult to go from creating prints and comics of characters people know to switching to your own, which most people if any know at all.  As I worked for many years in the comic industry, I've been fortunate enough to work with some great illustrators.  Together we've created comics for numerous companies and prints we sell at conventions.  But what happens if you stop making those characters and create your own?

This is a question I've been trying to answer for the past couple of year, and it's not easy.  I have stopped creating the superhero prints and started really focusing on my own characters.  Fans and creators have told me that's a bold move and kind of dumb.  I quote "creating your own characters won't make you any money, just keep doing what you do and color the superhero prints people know".  This is quoted from a pretty well known artist in the comic industry.  But it's not only him  and creators who had said this to me.  I've had "fans" say something similar and also mention they won't follow me if I do my own thing.  I don't know about you.  But maybe they weren't fans of yours to begin with?

It's very difficult for any creator to promote and sell their own characters.  Money is going to be tight because you're not working on the characters (prints) people know.  I've been told numerous times over the past few years, even before I started Jeff Balke Studios, to keep working and pumping out the superhero prints so I can make money.  Every time I heard that, I just rolled my eyes.  Yes, I could keep creating the "superhero" prints so I can make a ton of money at conventions.  I can keep up with all the new movies coming out and making prints based on those movies.  Absolutely.  But that's not what I want to do.  That time for me has come and gone.  The movies I want to create prints for are my own shorts and feature animations.  I want to create prints for the art and not for the art of making money.  To some I'm sure that sounds pretty weird.  But when a creator/artist, sells their own work, their own character, it's such a GREAT feeling.  A feeling you can't put into words.

I'm creating prints for the art.  Not just something that's spit out in a few minutes before a convention that's based on the hot new movie (which you may forget about in a month).  It's not about making money for me.  YES, of course it helps, but I want my prints to be meaningful, and not something just "printed".  I want my prints to "speak" to you.  I want them to be ART.

In animation, you work with a team to create that animation.  It's not just one person.  The same thing is also done with our prints.  Any given print we create, there are two people who have worked on it, the illustrator and the colorist.  Coming out in the Spring, we have a new set of prints coming which we have a watercolor background artist/painter, an illustrator and a colorist all working on one piece.  So it's a team effort to create these.  These are something different, unique and original.

I'm very happy to have started creating our own prints using our own characters.  It's such a great feeling when you sell your own character's prints.  It means more.  So hopefully you will check out our web-store (BalkeStudiosArt.com) and see some of what we have to offer.  And if you make it to any of the show's we're at, you can come and see them (and many others) in person.