Turtles: Dawn of the Ninja - Fan comic

[Ray Dillon]

HA! I knew the mention of Kickstarter would kick up trouble. Always does. And when people who haven't worked professionally in this business and don't know how much it costs to produce a project see the total they freak out.

My typical rate for painted and lettered work is $400 per page, which would be even more appropriate as this is an oversized book. If this was broken up into pencilling, inking, coloring, lettering, and design by 5 different people doing the jobs no one would notice, but when you bulk it together and give it to one person suddenly it seems like a lot. It's not.

However, Luke got the first two chapters at a discount for $300/page. For 20 hours of work (often times more) that’s under $15/hour which is low for a standard creative professional.

No one here is clueless about this industry or business. Quite the contrary. I’ve worked for every major publisher (Marvel, DC, IDW, Image, Dark Horse, Archie, and more) as well as companies like HBO, Science Channel, Simon & Schuster, Warner Bros, Namco, Topps, Upperdeck, and many more. Luke has handled big business that I don’t even understand and he has the money to spend on this (which means he must be doing something right, right? I don’t have the kind of money and I’m overpriced, remember? ;o) ). Jeremy has worked in comics and Hollywood for companies like The Weinstein Company and has fully produced and directed his own feature film. We’re all professionals. We all have the dedication, experience, and connections to do something bigger with this.

In the meantime we’re sharing this all with fans like us (a.k.a. YOU!)

I want to also note that my wife and I created one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history and THE most successful comics kickstarter (before Order of the Stick came along and made $1.2 MILLION). Our Womanthology raised $25,000 in 19 hours and ended it’s 30 day campaign at more than $109,000!!

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

So if you support us, support us. If you don’t, move along and we’ll see you at the finish line.

[Powder]

Bite your tongue, Powder. Just bite your tongue...

[Jester]

I know exactly what you mean, Powder.

[Mr.Turtle]

i always like the idea that differ each turtle a lil bit in their appearance based on their personalities... but shouldn't be too much... esp. with the cgi turtles in movie 2007 already exist, I can't think of any other design better than that...

[Luzmagica]

Sigh! As usual I dont get it 100% even with translate online!....

a little help folks! ....What happens about the comic? I understand the projet is very expensive for finish...Are they going to pre-sale the comics somewhere? or Do they need Fan people donation (Is there a link for that?) ...?
What is a comic Kickstarter campaign???


Thanks!

[Stingray69]

I understand you guys want to get this finished and so far I think its awsome. But have you ever thought about asking for volunteers? Just to help with the drawings? Who cares if the styles differnt on some pages. Just as long as it gets done.

[cartoonistaaron]

I think fan projects are cool. I just get frustrated when crowd-sourced funding becomes a way to raise money to make a movie or a comic book or something out of somebody else's idea. Kind of like me raising cash to do my own Mickey Mouse cartoon. Something about it just feels a little weird.

For the record - some of us (well me anyway) are in the commercial art business, not so much drawing/painting but designing. The cost doesn't surprise me at all - just the "fundraising" aspect of it. It's not like selling a sketch here and there, it's trying to bankroll a high dollar, professional production based on a property that is owned by a giant media conglomerate.

But I have fun drawing fan art as much as the next guy and the project looks great so far. Certainly this and the "Turtle Turncoat" comic are better looking than the pro stuff that is coming out from IDW (no offense to those guys, just callin' it like I see it). So good luck! Obviously nobody is forcing Turtle fans to hand over their money.

As long as you're having fun and not getting sued, that's all that matters.

[Raven]

This is just...

So why don't you guys start looking for other artists to lower the cost? I mean if your gonna charge that much Im know plenty of people on deviant art alone that would do it for less just for the exposure...

Sorry, but you really can't justify the cost of this for a fan project. Sure if it was a creative owned project then by all means I see your justification, I know how much a project costs and how much time goes into it. I worked on a few small books and the cost can be staggering.

But a fan project? Please...

[Andrew NDB]

Completely constructive time:

If I were you guys and had already invested what you've invested, I'd more clearly divide stuff up into 3 acts (and yes, I've read what you sent me 3 years ago so I have some rough idea how the story goes). You have Ray doing the first act, then in the second act get a different artist (more traditional maybe?) and subsequently a LOT cheaper. You know. Go on DeviantArt, get yourself someone from the Philippines for $5 a page or something. They're out there. For the third act, get someone else to continue the "different artist for each act" thing. Maybe bring back Ray for the last 5 pages or the epilogue if you can afford it.

Bam. Your project is done.

[Cure]

Originally Posted by Luzmagica

Sigh! As usual I dont get it 100% even with translate online!....

a little help folks! ....What happens about the comic? I understand the projet is very expensive for finish...Are they going to pre-sale the comics somewhere? or Do they need Fan people donation (Is there a link for that?) ...?
What is a comic Kickstarter campaign???


Thanks!

Kickstarter is a website people can go to to ask for money for various projects. These guys have a page on Kickstarter to ask for donations from fans to finish their project. They're asking for a lot, so if you're thinking of helping out, I don't think you should.

[azrael]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Completely constructive time:

If I were you guys and had already invested what you've invested, I'd more clearly divide stuff up into 3 acts (and yes, I've read what you sent me 3 years ago so I have some rough idea how the story goes). You have Ray doing the first act, then in the second act get a different artist (more traditional maybe?) and subsequently a LOT cheaper. You know. Go on DeviantArt, get yourself someone from the Philippines for $5 a page or something. They're out there. For the third act, get someone else to continue the "different artist for each act" thing. Maybe bring back Ray for the last 5 pages or the epilogue if you can afford it.

Bam. Your project is done.

this I mean I know there is some talent on here.

[Mona_Lisa]

Originally Posted by Cure

Kickstarter is a website people can go to to ask for money for various projects. These guys have a page on Kickstarter to ask for donations from fans to finish their project. They're asking for a lot, so if you're thinking of helping out, I don't think you should.

This is a very good comic; I really am enjoying the story…. If you guys ever finish I’d love to own a copy (buy a copy)…. But I’m a little short on cash to “donate” to the cause at the moment…Lol! But good luck!!!!

[Ray Dillon]

Originally Posted by Mona_Lisa

This is a very good comic; I really am enjoying the story…. If you guys ever finish I’d love to own a copy (buy a copy)…. But I’m a little short on cash to “donate” to the cause at the moment…Lol! But good luck!!!!

Totally understandable. No worries at all! A wonderful way to help the project is by spreading the word about it! Post it all over your social networks, tell people in the real world even!

Thank you!

[lukekeith]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Completely constructive time:

If I were you guys and had already invested what you've invested, I'd more clearly divide stuff up into 3 acts (and yes, I've read what you sent me 3 years ago so I have some rough idea how the story goes). You have Ray doing the first act, then in the second act get a different artist (more traditional maybe?) and subsequently a LOT cheaper. You know. Go on DeviantArt, get yourself someone from the Philippines for $5 a page or something. They're out there. For the third act, get someone else to continue the "different artist for each act" thing. Maybe bring back Ray for the last 5 pages or the epilogue if you can afford it.

Bam. Your project is done.

I'm glad you remember us from way back then =). The GN is based on what Steve and I wrote all those years ago, but we had to make some serious changes to the way everything progresses due to the GN format, since we originally wrote it for film. But generally speaking the basic elements from that story are in place, mostly we just removed a lot of the fluff and are focusing on our main character and the villain, which is Raphael and Shredder. Thankfully Jeremy is a writer and had the good sense to divide it into three acts, so that's done at least.

As for your idea on production, it's definitely a viable option, and something I'm open to. My only concern is always the quality of our product. If I was able to maintain the quality, then I'd be all over it. In-fact, I think I'm going to start poking around. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'd love to keep Ray, but he is expensive and without some form of external funding, I can't afford to keep him around.

Alternatively, I have several original comics (Seven Percent, Nocturne, Ghost Cop) that will be done very soon, and if they are successful enough and actually make money, I may take those profits and pour them into DOTN.

So many options, but I definitely like your thinking Andrew.

[lukekeith]

Originally Posted by saul

I'm also kind of surprised it would cost $75 just to write each page. I thought Luke and Steve already had the story written? So even with four people this is the best dialog we get?

Steve and I wrote it, but we are not screenplay writers or script writers with any kind of real experience. So I hired Jeremy Fiest and Ray Dillon to help realize our vision. Jeremy is a writer and helped us turn this into a script. Essentially it's the same amount of work a writer would have to do if they were writing a screenplay based on a book. It still has to be written. Make sense?

[Andrew NDB]

Does anyone know when this movie comes out?

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Does anyone know when this movie comes out?

You purposely brought this thread back up on purpose, didn't you?

I notice the Dawn of the Ninja link in the guys sig no longer comes up either. The site is dead. The dream is dead.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

You purposely brought this thread back up on purpose, didn't you?

I notice the Dawn of the Ninja link in the guys sig no longer comes up either. The site is dead. The dream is dead.

We all die in the end.

[Andrew NDB]

How?

[CyberCubed]

So whatever happened to those guys? They're still around? Exist in some form?