Comic book art can be a daunting thing to get into. It is expensive, hard to come buy, and you don't know who to trust in getting what you pay for. Take a look at some surefire ways to get comic art easily and on the cheap. These are some great tips to getting started in collecting comic book art.
Comic Book Conventions are a great place to find comic book art. Many artists ranging from small press comics to artists working on the top properties of The Big Two, are available to meet their fans. Many offer sketches, some for free and others at a cost. Many con goers will bring a sketch book to collect their comic art. Some even go as far to collect a certain kind of sketch, such as my local comic book store Cosmic Monkey Comics monkey sketches, and then there's Walt Parrish, who has a few different themed sketch books, the most popular being hiscliff sketches. Check out his jar sketches as well.
Charity benefits attract a lot of great artist talent. Organizations like the Hero Initiative, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund have received art some very high profile artists to use to raise money for their endeavors. Take the Hero Initiatives Ultimate Spider-Man 100 Project with 100 covers of Spider-Man. They got Todd McFarlane to come back and draw the character that helped make him famous. A first for quite some time. CBLDF also do convention artist sketch auctions where famous artists slam out requests and are then auctioned off right there on the spot. They also do charity auctions online. You just need to keep an eye out for them to spring up.
Comic book art dealers have the pulse of the comic art scene. Many artists go through such dealers when selling their original comic art. Granted, you will find some high profile, and therefore very expensive, pieces of art. But you can also find very new pieces of current work and lesser known artists. You can find some great deals and interesting pieces through dealers. Some things to remember. You will always pay more for cover and splash pages and top name artists bring top dollar. A great place to find many dealers are sites like Comic Art Fans, which allow you to search through many dealers stocks.
The online auction has become a ready place to find comic book art. You can find art from dealers, personal collectors, the artists themselves, charity auctions, and much more. You’ll also be able to find art in all kinds of ranges, from sketches, original comic art, commissions done for other people, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The thing to look for is sellers that offer a money back guarantee. This will ensure that you will be getting what you want and will be able to see if what they are posting is really what they are offering. The main place to find comic art is eBay, but Heritage Galleries is a great place as well.
Certain sites, such as Comic Art Fans have a classifieds section where people showcase and will buy, trade, and sell their comic art. With sites such as these, or with any other classifieds, you really have to be careful. If it is an online site where you can’t go and see the product, make sure they have a good/bad trader thread where you can look up the references of the seller or buyer. This can go a long way in protecting yourself. You can also work out having them to ship first or pay through a service like Paypal which will give you some protection over the sale. Be wary and safe and you should do fine.
1. Con Sketch
Comic Book Conventions are a great place to find comic book art. Many artists ranging from small press comics to artists working on the top properties of The Big Two, are available to meet their fans. Many offer sketches, some for free and others at a cost. Many con goers will bring a sketch book to collect their comic art. Some even go as far to collect a certain kind of sketch, such as my local comic book store Cosmic Monkey Comics monkey sketches, and then there's Walt Parrish, who has a few different themed sketch books, the most popular being hiscliff sketches. Check out his jar sketches as well.
2. Charity Benefit
Charity benefits attract a lot of great artist talent. Organizations like the Hero Initiative, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund have received art some very high profile artists to use to raise money for their endeavors. Take the Hero Initiatives Ultimate Spider-Man 100 Project with 100 covers of Spider-Man. They got Todd McFarlane to come back and draw the character that helped make him famous. A first for quite some time. CBLDF also do convention artist sketch auctions where famous artists slam out requests and are then auctioned off right there on the spot. They also do charity auctions online. You just need to keep an eye out for them to spring up.
3. Dealers
Comic book art dealers have the pulse of the comic art scene. Many artists go through such dealers when selling their original comic art. Granted, you will find some high profile, and therefore very expensive, pieces of art. But you can also find very new pieces of current work and lesser known artists. You can find some great deals and interesting pieces through dealers. Some things to remember. You will always pay more for cover and splash pages and top name artists bring top dollar. A great place to find many dealers are sites like Comic Art Fans, which allow you to search through many dealers stocks.
4. Commission
A commission is a piece of art work that the artist does for pay. The buyer can usually determine the subject of the piece, and depending on the artist, you can get pretty specific. Again, remember that your high profile artists will bring top dollar for their work. This will often be much more than a sketch, with good detail and more of a quality of work on par with their professional comic book work. The best way to get a commission piece is to talk with the creator. You can email them through their various sites, or just ask them at a convention. These pieces could be your favorite ones as they are one of a kind and done solely for you.5. Auction
The online auction has become a ready place to find comic book art. You can find art from dealers, personal collectors, the artists themselves, charity auctions, and much more. You’ll also be able to find art in all kinds of ranges, from sketches, original comic art, commissions done for other people, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The thing to look for is sellers that offer a money back guarantee. This will ensure that you will be getting what you want and will be able to see if what they are posting is really what they are offering. The main place to find comic art is eBay, but Heritage Galleries is a great place as well.
6. Classifieds
Certain sites, such as Comic Art Fans have a classifieds section where people showcase and will buy, trade, and sell their comic art. With sites such as these, or with any other classifieds, you really have to be careful. If it is an online site where you can’t go and see the product, make sure they have a good/bad trader thread where you can look up the references of the seller or buyer. This can go a long way in protecting yourself. You can also work out having them to ship first or pay through a service like Paypal which will give you some protection over the sale. Be wary and safe and you should do fine.
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