If you like this set, just wait till you see the sequel / conclusion set that comes out this summer. The story is amazing and it has an innovation never included in cards before (but I can't reveal details about that just yet). It's not appropriate for kids though, very violent and blood thirsty, but it also has a very cool sci-fi plot. Only 999 numbered sets to be made.  - KK

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Thanks for writing N.W., I appreciate your interest. However, I'm afraid your style of sketch cards is the kind we're trying to avoid. It looks rushed and the opposite of the detailed look we prefer. I saw your other art on your website, so I know you are capable of doing different styles, but the kind you're using on the sketches would not work for us. But I still appreciate you taking the time, effort, and interest to reach out. And if you end up going another direction with your sketch style, feel free to contact us again.

Hi Kurt,

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my Trading Card portfolio and for sending such a thoughtful, personalized response. I really appreciate your honesty and the constructive feedback you provided.

I'm still relatively new to the sketch card community. While I've been working professionally on comic books, children's books, and commissioned illustration projects for years, sketch cards are a new challenge that I've really grown to enjoy. The creativity and variety of the medium are what drew me to it, and I'm always looking for ways to improve.

Your comments were genuinely helpful. Receiving specific feedback from someone with your experience is invaluable, and it's given me a better understanding of the level of detail and finish you're looking for. I'll definitely keep your advice in mind as I continue developing my sketch card work.

Thank you again for taking the time to personally review my portfolio instead of sending a generic response. That means a lot to me, and I truly appreciate the encouragement to reach out again if my style evolves in that direction.

I wish you and Monsterwax continued success, and hopefully our paths will cross again in the future.

Best regards, Name Withheld)

 

No, thank YOU N.W., .

I almost didn't send it because it was critical and I didn't want to discourage you. I was told by other manufacturers to not answer submissions if I can't do so with a job, because there was no profit in it. The best I could expect was to anger the sender and make enemies of them (and potentially create a full time hater who bitches about me publicly every time they get a chance to on social media). 

But then I thought how I would feel sending stuff out and getting "ghosted" by complete strangers. It would get old real quick. And it would probably be MORE discouraging than giving a honest, albeit critical, response. Plus, your note didn't have the "form letter" feel that most artists do when they cut and paste the same letter and mass mail it to everyone. 

The bad thing about sketch cards is that there is no direct money in it for the artists. Any profit they make is from the advertising value of showing off their work to new clients, and potentially creating new fans who will seek them out for commissions or other work. But if one does their best work for a $5 sketch, they're going to invest a lot more than $5 worth of time and effort than the buyer is paying them to draw it. It's basically a "lost leader" for the artist, and most of them are too starving to be able to afford to spend the extra time needed to do worthwhile sketches at those (admittedly cheap) rates.

Companies could (and probably should) pay more to make it worthwhile for everyone, but I've been making cards longer than any other independent producer (since 1992) and other than the early 1990s, it has never been profitable enough to justify the time and effort I myself invest in each project. (Of course, I don't do any of the shortcuts other companies do, like depending on licensed titles to sell my inventory and using  all photos and repeating plots from existing scripts to avoid having to spend the time & effort dreaming up, drawing, and writing about subjects from scratch.) So the long and short of it is, I'm working near minimum wage too. (At least in the card biz. I  pay the bills working the more lucrative but boring world of rentals. I rely on the cards for my creative efforts.) 

I'm probably not a good one to give advice because there are plenty of companies (mostly corporations) who make real money at this. But I can tell you my own personal rule of thumb. Anytime you sign your name to something, make sure it's the best you can do. That's your advertisement, and its your reputation that it creates. If you take shortcuts, you can spoil that reputation the same way you built it (one customer or (former) patron at a time). I try to only make the sets I would buy myself. But that means my output is only one set a year (maybe two if I'm helping someone else like Ron Gross with his series). So all that time spent making something really good does cut into the profits. I see other guys put out slap dash stuff with little effort, grainy images, short sentences on the back (or some graphic they swiped from somewhere else). It's quick, easy, and far more profitable. But it also loses supporters over time.

I've only made one product I took a short cut on-- and it still bothers me to this day. I'm never going to consciously repeat the mistake again. 

Then again, that's all just my personal opinion. I could be wrong-- but as a collector, I know what it feels like on the other side of the equation when you think the motivation for the art was profit (instead of pride).