Commission Information ~ By Request

COMMISSION INFORMATION

Thanks to all who have asked about commissions.   

I do accept commissions and I enjoy doing them, actually - if the timing happens to be right (that is, if I'm not on a particularly tight deadline). 

Above are some samples of commissions I've done over the last few years. One of the reasons I enjoy doing them is that it gives me the opportunity to create work that not only pleases the buyer, but will be something I can use myself - to show off on my Tumblr and Blog, and eventually perhaps be published in a book of my artwork (one of the above commissions appears in my latest book).  I also use this fact to reassure buyers that they will be getting something special and not a mere sketch or something that looks as though it was done in my spare time.  I always do a professional job -- and I'm often much more proud of commissions than illustration assignments.  

Prices can be flexible/negotiable, but I usually go by the following guide:

1) Black & white art --  

All black & white drawings done on commission are finished, professional drawings -- not sketches.  I don't accept commissions for sketches, because I don't like to charge for sketches.

Small (9"x12" or so) black & white line drawing of a single figure without a (detailed) background --  $80.
Small (9"x12" or so) to large (11" x 14") black & white line drawing of more than one figure, or of figures with a moderately detailed background -- prices range from $120. -- $250.  The price depends on the size, how many figures there are, how detailed the background is and what the figures are doing.  

NOTE:  I don't do black & white ink commissions larger than 11" x 14".  

2) Color art --

Small (9"x12" or so) full color watercolor & ink art of a single figure with simple "wash" background -- prices range from $100. -- $120.
Small (9"x12" or so) full color watercolor & ink art of more than one figure or of figures with a detailed background -- prices range from $120 -- $220.

Larger (11"x14" or so) full color watercolor & ink art of one of two figures with a simple background --  $175. - $250.
Larger (11"x14" or so) full color watercolor & ink art -- of whatever you may imagine -- prices range from $250 -- $600.
Any larger color artwork -- $500. - on up ----

 Please use the above price list as a rough guide. If you have an idea in mind we can discuss how best to do it and what the appropriate price would be. I always do my best to be as fair as possible with prices. When telling me your idea(s), please feel free to be either as detailed or as vague as you like. Either way is fine with me.

Commissions must be paid for up front, before the work can begin. After payment is made you will usually have your art in one to two months. You can feel free to keep in touch with me while you are waiting -- I don't mind giving progress reports at all. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. I've tried to cover just about all the usual questions above, but I know there are often more that need to be asked in regards to the art you wish to have done. Also, this info has been cut & pasted a few times, so my apologies if it seems repetitive. If  I've left anything out, don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks again for asking!
Richard Sala
you can write to me at:  rsala3130@att.net

It's Here! ~ The new book: VIOLENZIA & Other Deadly Amusements

In some stores DECEMBER 2 ~ then available everywhere by DECEMBER 7.

HALLOWEEN 2015

HALLOWEEN! ~ A Selection of Halloween Art Through The Years

New Online Series ~ Coming Soon!

"It was a dark and silly night..." with Lemony Snicket

First 4 pages of an 8 pages story from a book in the LITTLE LIT series called IT WAS A DARK AND SILLY NIGHT (all somewhat spooky stories for kids). The story was written by Lemony Snicket and I did the art. 

The origin of JUDY DROOD, GIRL DETECTIVE

I did this strip as a tribute to the girl sleuth/Nancy Drew character (which I grew up being very fond of -- there was a large collection of Nancy Drew and similar books in our house, owned by my siblings). It was just a one-shot, just a lark. It was before other "re-imaginings" like "Veronica Mars" or whatever, came along. My "interpretation" of the girl sleuth character was that she would have to be a little bit crazy and obsessive. (Looking back, this is kind of her “origin story.”).

Then the art was hanging in a comic art show in San Francisco and at the opening, my friend Randall Ann was reading it on the wall. I walked up to her and she turned to me and said "I want to read more about Judy Drood!" And that was all it took. I wrote two books with Judy - Mad Night and The Grave Robber's Daughter. Sometimes you just need someone to ask you.

25th Anniversary of Drawn & Quarterly and Me ~ PART 2

A few days back I posted a strip I did for the Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly (in honor of their 25th anniversary - and my 25th anniversary of being published by them) and here is another (also nowhere to be found in their recently published lavish history book). 

This was the last comic I did for them. They decided they'd manage just fine without me. Can't say I blame them. I know that plenty of comic readers (and creators) weren't quite sure what to make of me. And if you guessed I was in the midst of one of my nervous breakdowns when I did this head-scratcher, you wouldn't be wrong.

25 YEARS AGO ~ Drawn & Quarterly

The Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly has released a magnificent book in celebration of their 25 years of brilliant comics. It’s filled with amazing work and is highly recommended to anyone who likes comics of quality.

I was one of their earliest contributors (maybe half a dozen comics and a cover during the wilderness years) - but also one of the lesser cartoonists in their long, distinguished history, so naturally I’m not in the book. (sniff!) 

(Above is one of my typically silly contributions). 

My only real claim of any significance in the work I did for them was that I was one of the earliest “alternative” cartoonists to have painted work printed in full color. It was years before other publishers caught up to printing full-color painted comics (it was expensive, for one thing). Unfortunately the reproduction in those early issue of Drawn & Quarterly was pretty dreadful and heartbreaking. By the time they finally got the bugs out - particularly evident in Maurice Vellekoop’s beautiful watercolors - my work was no longer appearing.

Significantly, the real strength of the new book comes from including comics by many newer, younger cartoonists - maybe one of the strongest generations of cartoonists ever - allowing the focus of the book to be on where we are now, even as it details their history.

VIOLENZIA RETURNS! (Soon!)

The new book is (slowly) (finally) coming together.  The art is done (mostly) but there is still more scanning and production work to do. The book will contain the complete 50-page original VIOLENZIA story (formerly available digitally only), a new 34-page VIOLENZIA story - and much more.  The listing above is a bit out of date now -- the book will now be 144 pages!  Thanks to everyone for your patience and encouragement!

NIGHT DRIVE ~ 30 Year Anniversary!

THIRTY YEARS AGO ~ This month ~ June 1985 ~ my first comic magazine (self-published, 400 copies) got a mention in Heavy Metal magazine (by the great Bhob Stewart), which led to orders from all over the world. The fact that I shared the page with immortal comics geniuses Drew Friedman and Gilbert Hernandez made it all the more flattering and humbling. Night Drive also led to me getting on MTV's Liquid Television and being published by many of the best comics publishers. This kind mention was my first real debut in the public eye and I'm forever grateful to Bhob for making me feel legitimate!  

RICHARD SALA INTERVIEW AT ELECTRIC LIT

... for those of you who are curious ~
I was interviewed by Ryan W. Bradley 
at the very cool site ELECTRIC LIT ~
» Every Speck of Curiosity, Fear, and Gloom: a conversation with Richard Sala

Cat Burglar Black is ONE OF THE BEST YOUNG ADULT MYSTERIES OF THE PAST 10 YEARS! ~ BookList

Hey! Cat Burglar Black was named one of “The 100 Best Children’s and YA Mysteries of the Past 10 Years” by BookList! I almost missed it - thanks to a kind reader for bringing it to my attention ~
The 100 Best Children’s and YA Mysteries of the Past 10 Years : The Booklist Reader

VIOLENZIA RETURNS!

Coming Fall/Winter 2015
Amazon.com: Violenzia And Other Deadly Amusements (9781606998854): Richard Sala: Books

ANNOUNCING: VIOLENT GIRLS - Limited edition set of 44 high quality prints - AVAILABLE NOW!

A CELEBRATION OF LADIES —FIERCE AND RECKLESS, BOLD AND DARING

VIOLENT GIRLS ~ A set of 44 full color high quality action portraits, lovingly inspired by the dangerous females who have populated pulp fiction and B-movies throughout the history of popular culture —blazing their way through every kind of genre, potboiler, cliffhanger, and fever dream imaginable. 

Each print in this thick set is 9" x 7" and on sturdy archival matte paper that accurately captures the look of the original watercolor art. The set has been created with the utmost care in a "pad folio" format, meaning you may either keep the set in it's handsome book form and place it on your bookshelf, or you may detach any or all prints you wish (pages can be removed cleanly with no tears or mess) and hang them on your wall.  Printed by Jonathan Barli of Rosebud Archives.  Set design by Jacob Covey.

AVAILABLE NOW exclusively from Fantagraphics Underground Press. Signed and numbered in a strictly limited edition of 250.  There will be NO MORE once these are gone.  Only $35.00 each!

Fantagraphics Books | Comics and Graphic Novels - Violent Girls

ANNOUNCING: VIOLENZIA IN PRINT!

Now listed (waaaay in advance) for pre-order on Amazon, and scheduled (optimistically) for October (I'm trying!):  the previously digital-only story of VIOLENZIA.  Plus lots more surprises!  

Amazon.com: Violenza And Other Deadly Amusements (9781606998854): Richard Sala: Books

This is NOT THE FINAL COVER, by the way.

IN A GLASS GROTESQUELY is "SUPERBLY STRANGE"

"There’s a whole book to be written about the subtexts and obsessions of Richard Sala’s stories, but there’s also a chapter to be written about his storytelling approach in this book, an ever-accruing pile of details that always threaten to collapse, Jenga-style, but instead wobble in the most delightful and charming ways. Sala is a master at throwing one scene after the next into his stories that build reader empathy and interest in the characters and events that he portrays, causing us to care about even minor characters through clever bits of small characterization or behavior." ~ from a very kind review of In A Glass Grotesquely by Comics Bulletin.

My books don't get reviewed by the comics press all that often, so it's nice that if/when they do it's by someone who really likes them, like this very nice review from Comics Bulletin. Each individual reader seems to pick out or choose certain elements of my work that appeal to them -- mostly things I have no control over, thanks to my pesky id/unconscious, which I let have free rein over my stories -- and so it's interesting for me to find out what things stood out for a particular reader. I'm just glad that they like them at all! As for analyzing my subtexts and obsessions, that will probably be the kind of thing someone will do long after I'm gone - fortunately!



Review: Richard Sala's 'In a Glass Grotesquely' is Superbly Strange - Comics Bulletin