quote:

Originally posted by steshell:
Nice card, did you get it directly from Mark?

I commissioned a card for my 50th birthday, I'm now 58 and I'm still waiting!!!

I know where you're coming from Steshell.
Politeness stops me from writing the words I truly want to write here.

Juelle Lou - Thanks for kind words. To answer your question, I was just randomly google-ing Mark McHaley artwork images, came across his online store and saw that there were 7 commission slots available for his blank X-Files AP cards. I have seen some artists on this set (and other sets too) where they have already drawn the images on their AP/return cards and just sell them as-is. Mark's are all blank and I purchased the 1st slot. I spent a few weeks combing through some images and just forwarded a screengrab from the show that I liked.
I gave no instructions, I just wanted his interpretation of that image in his style, which I was obviously familiar with.

steshell - Yes I purchased the card directly from Mark. I am sorry to hear of your delays that is too long a time to be waiting and I don't understand why my experience has been so different to yours.

quote:

Originally posted by X:
Juelle Lou - Thanks for kind words. To answer your question, I was just randomly google-ing Mark McHaley artwork images, came across his online store and saw that there were 7 commission slots available for his blank X-Files AP cards. I have seen some artists on this set (and other sets too) where they have already drawn the images on their AP/return cards and just sell them as-is. Mark's are all blank and I purchased the 1st slot. I spent a few weeks combing through some images and just forwarded a screengrab from the show that I liked.
I gave no instructions, I just wanted his interpretation of that image in his style, which I was obviously familiar with.

Thank you X!

and to keep this thread going here are mine, plural, because I can't choose just one out of them.

Those are three stunning cards Juelle Lou. I try to stick to just official sketch cards these days however I'm fast being convinced I need a Desbois sketch in my life, whatever the cardstock.

IMO your Faith sketch is one of the best from the whole release. The likeness of all three are great but I think the SMG is the nicest looking card overall: the lighting and background take it to another level.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: X,

Those are amazing! I'm not sure if I ever chimed in with mine, so I went back a few years and didn't see a post, and even if I had before, what I have now would likely be a lot different.

I keep just a small percentage of the sketches I get, so I must love the ones I still have. I'm more of an autograph card guy.

Here are some pretty ladies to start. Most of these are better detailed in their groups below:


Some Simpsons:


Some more Simpsons:


Some Star Wars, Manga style by Doran:


Some more Star Wars, ESB Widevision:


Mr. Gary Kezele, doing what he does best:


Ken Kelly, Fantasy Art cards case topper. One of the first regular card sized sketches ever issued:


The great Tim Shay, by way of Breygent Movie Posters. This one is oversized:


Bob Stevlic from the same set, also oversized

Boop-****-be-doop Beatles homage, Oversized and fully painted by Tim Levandoski


The Spirit by Sean Pence


Leela from Futurama and Peggy hybrid from "Married With children", signed by Katey Sagal herself. Artist is Mark Dos Santos from the Inkworks booth at SD comic-con

Hey Scooby!:


Disney Treasures Series III (Very rare, just 12 per artist)


The truth is right here:


Marvel Masterpieces 1 Artist Proof by Kate Bradley. I told her my two favorite Marvel heroes, and "Red" came up with this beauty:



She-Devil With a Sword!


Freddy Krueger drawn by Freddy himself, Robert Englund


The Man Who Fell to Earth and then Sold the World:


And finally, Marvel Silver Age, by the artists who were there, working on the original comics:

quote:

Originally posted by X:
Those are three stunning cards Juelle Lou. I try to stick to just official sketch cards these days however I'm fast being convinced I need a Desbois sketch in my life, whatever the cardstock.

IMO your Faith sketch is one of the best from the whole release. The likeness of all three are great but I think the SMG is the nicest looking card overall: the lighting and background take take it to another lever.

Yes the moment I saw that Faith sketch I knew I had to have it, it's the first official sketch I have ever bought/not pulled.
And I agree, the colours in the Buffy sketch make it just that bit more lovely than the Cordy one. But boy is it hard to find really high res photos of Cordelia!!




Is there a reason you only collect official?
I'd love to hear lots of different peoples opinions on this question.

Problem is for me Buffy is the first set with sketches to really capture my attention enough to want to spend money on them. As comic stuff, Marvel or DC, just doesn't interest me at all. So that makes things very limiting and why I never been interested in collecting sketches.
Now, the Firefly set will be interesting as that is a show I love.

Well, if you do get David to commission something this is the back of the Buffy and Cordy sketch.

I think the back makes them look a bit more professional if that helps sway your decision.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
Those are amazing! I'm not sure if I ever chimed in with mine, so I went back a few years and didn't see a post, and even if I had before, what I have now would likely be a lot different.

I keep just a small percentage of the sketches I get, so I must love the ones I still have. I'm more of an autograph card guy.
Disney Treasures Series III (Very rare, just 12 per artist)

I love this sketch so much!!!! now that is a treasure to have in ones collection

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:

quote:

Originally posted by X:
Those are three stunning cards Juelle Lou. I try to stick to just official sketch cards these days however I'm fast being convinced I need a Desbois sketch in my life, whatever the cardstock.

IMO your Faith sketch is one of the best from the whole release. The likeness of all three are great but I think the SMG is the nicest looking card overall: the lighting and background take take it to another lever.

Yes the moment I saw that Faith sketch I knew I had to have it, it's the first official sketch I have ever bought/not pulled.
And I agree, the colours in the Buffy sketch make it just that bit more lovely than the Cordy one. But boy is it hard to find really high res photos of Cordelia!!

Not just saying it because it's yours, I remember seeing that Faith sketch on eBay and thinking it was one of the very best from the entire release. Are high-res shots such a necessity? I think a solid artist will capture a likeness regardless.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
Is there a reason you only collect official?
I'd love to hear lots of different peoples opinions on this question.

I suppose it's a psychological thing and comes down to the cards' status as a collectible item. With manufacturer released cardstock, they are licenced products of a finite number, whereas I see personal sketch cards as art that is cut to size. You can have a PSC made at any point by absolutely anyone, in which case one could argue why not get the work done on a larger canvas to show off the artists' abilities? I have PSCs myself, and enjoy seeing other people's PSC cards, but I don't view them as trading cards in the strictest sense. As such I find it difficult to spend money on them when there are plenty of other official cards on my wants list I would prioritise acquiring.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
Problem is for me Buffy is the first set with sketches to really capture my attention enough to want to spend money on them. As comic stuff, Marvel or DC, just doesn't interest me at all. So that makes things very limiting and why I never been interested in collecting sketches.
Now, the Firefly set will be interesting as that is a show I love.

Totally get where you're coming from. I am a huge Star Wars fan but the rapid fanbase keeps prices of decent sketch cards far too high for me to stomach and outside of Star Wars there isn't a great deal to interest me.
Consequently, I only have a handful of sketches (about 12 from 8 different artists) and have not bought a sketch card in about 4 years, nor commissioned one in about 8 years. But the opportunity to get a colour Mark McHaley card (something I have wanted for at least 7 years since seeing his phenomenal work on Indiana Jones Heritage!) was the best reason to end my sketch card collecting sabbatical. To me it doesn't get much better than a personalised Artist-Proof featuring one of my favourite actresses from one of my absolute favourite shows.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
Well, if you do get David to commission something this is the back of the Buffy and Cordy sketch.
I think the back makes them look a bit more professional if that helps sway your decision.

Thanks for the scan. I agree than a designed back makes a PSC look far more professional. I don't need swaying - just more disposable income! My below Randy Martinez has a designed back too:

Thanks for so many great scans chesspieceface, there are some phenomenal cards shown there.

With regards the inkworks booth 2007 sketch - were there any restrictions on what ou could have drawn? Cool that you got Sagal to sign, and in purple no less!

The ROTJ Kezele is just great but my personal favourites are your Simpsons Mania sketches. So impressive you have so many at all, that you have lots of different characters and you have some colour too. Rare and desirable is an understatement for those.
I remember when they were released and I was a little more 'green' in my card collecting, that I thought they looked a little plain! What an idiot I was and how I wish I had picked some up. As a lifelong Simpsons fan, the artists of those cards are of great importance to the show. I'm very jealous!

Heh, yeah those artists together directed well over half of the first few hundred episodes, the "classic" era.

Luckily I was around at the time to get Simpsons Mania when they were new. They didn't last long, but they were affordable for about a year, with 3 sketches per case as I recall. I made my original set out of about 20 pack pulled cards plus that Moe with the phone I got at comic-con. I thought I was done, but then good 'ol recently shuttered Marchant cards had some "polybags" for a brief time for a very good price, so I took a chance on them, even though those tended to be re-packs from retail stores, so there was a risk they could've been searched. It wouldn't have been Marchant's fault if they had been, but nope, they were LOADED with sketches, I think I got 6 or so sketches from about that many polybags, which however it happened, just crushed the odds. There were plenty of autographs in there, too.

I then saw someone selling a huge lot of autographs and sketches a year or two later, around 2004 or 2005, and while the group was costly, I knew I could get most of the money back selling the autos and sketches I didn't need, which I did and then some, and that enabled the near second set of them. I was definitely trying to get each member of the family along with some of the best supporting characters. I did pretty good as it turned out, and truly, on the cheap with these. One other great thing about this set was the Tress MacNeille autograph. She's a popular voice actor (Minnie Mouse, etc.) and while that autograph was no hard to find than any other (1 in 72 packs were the odds), I was able to sell several doubles of those I had for well over $100, which helped cover the money I originally spent on the 2 cases I bought to jumpstart the whole thing.

Thanks for the compliments!

On the Jedi 3D by Kezele, I saw him at Tom Breyer's booth at comic-con literally while the Jedi 3D sets I'd ordered were in the mail to me. (They went live right when the convention ended).
He had an artist proof from the same set with him, gorgeous as you would imagine, and I had the chance to buy it, but I decided, well, I'll try to find one in the set I have on the way, and indeed I did, so that worked out well, too!

quote:

Originally posted by X:

With regards the inkworks booth 2007 sketch - were there any restrictions on what you could have drawn?

The three artists I remember being there those few years that they did it were Mark Dos Santos, Tone Rodriguez, and Tess Fowler. One year, Tone was doing largely "Aliens Vs. Predator" themed sketches, and I think Tess was only doing "Shrek" the year she was there if I'm not mistaken. Tone and Mark were drawing at the same time two years in a row right when the "Family Guy" sets were being issued, and that was a large majority of what they were drawing. We got a "Stewie Vader" and a "Slave Leia Lois", and these well before those Family Guys/Star Wars animated crossovers that were made about 5 years ago.

Mark and Tone are some seriously cool dudes, so they were game to draw pretty much whatever you asked, although they were supposed to be drawing characters found in the various sets issued by Inkworks, I think. They were promoting Inkworks, after all, but Mark had a sample book of various characters with him one year, so he was really able to go off on his cards.

I still have his "Slave Lois" and should probably add it to my favorites. The drawing itself is cool, but it's the memory of Inkworks at SDcc, that really gives it a special place in my heart. They were a highlight every year they were there, although their diminished presence that very last year they attended (2008?) did not augur well for the future of the company, and sadly, that was indeed the end of the line.

quote:

Originally posted by X:
Not just saying it because it's yours, I remember seeing that Faith sketch on eBay and thinking it was one of the very best from the entire release. Are high-res shots such a necessity? I think a solid artist will capture a likeness regardless.

Well that's what David asked me for, big clear pictures to get as much detail as possible. It's quite hard for shows that old unfortunately

quote:

I suppose it's a psychological thing and comes down to the cards' status as a collectible item. With manufacturer released cardstock, they are licenced products of a finite number, whereas I see personal sketch cards as art that is cut to size. You can have a PSC made at any point by absolutely anyone, in which case one could argue why not get the work done on a larger canvas to show off the artists' abilities? I have PSCs myself, and enjoy seeing other people's PSC cards, but I don't view them as trading cards in the strictest sense. As such I find it difficult to spend money on them when there are plenty of other official cards on my wants list I would prioritise acquiring.

I agree with you there, I have a couple of commissions I am waiting on from a couple of different people and I have to admit that given the chance I jumped at the opportunity to go for something bigger the 2.5 x 3.5 size.
But for the Buffy sketches, I just want a complete scooby gang by David and I can't afford to get all official, so I'm more than happy to have just one and commission the rest
And also space, it would be hard I imagine to display alot of work from different artists that is say, 10 x 12. Whereas pieces 2.5 x 3.5 fit easily in the binder with the rest of the cards.

quote:

Totally get where you're coming from. I am a huge Star Wars fan but the rapid fanbase keeps prices of decent sketch cards far too high for me to stomach and outside of Star Wars there isn't a great deal to interest me.
Consequently, I only have a handful of sketches (about 12 from 8 different artists) and have not bought a sketch card in about 4 years, nor commissioned one in about 8 years. But the opportunity to get a colour Mark McHaley card (something I have wanted for at least 7 years since seeing his phenomenal work on Indiana Jones Heritage!) was the best reason to end my sketch card collecting sabbatical. To me it doesn't get much better than a personalised Artist-Proof featuring one of my favourite actresses from one of my absolute favourite shows.

and a absolutely gorgeous sketch it is X! I love the use of colour.

quote:

Thanks for the scan. I agree than a designed back makes a PSC look far more professional. I don't need swaying - just more disposable income! My below Randy Martinez has a designed back too

That's a lovely sketch X!

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
Heh, yeah those artists together directed well over half of the first few hundred episodes, the "classic" era.

Luckily I was around at the time to get Simpsons Mania when they were new. They didn't last long, but they were affordable for about a year, with 3 sketches per case as I recall. I made my original set out of about 20 pack pulled cards plus that Moe with the phone I got at comic-con. I thought I was done, but then good 'ol recently shuttered Marchant cards had some "polybags" for a brief time for a very good price, so I took a chance on them, even though those tended to be re-packs from retail stores, so there was a risk they could've been searched. It wouldn't have been Marchant's fault if they had been, but nope, they were LOADED with sketches, I think I got 6 or so sketches from about that many polybags, which however it happened, just crushed the odds. There were plenty of autographs in there, too.

I then saw someone selling a huge lot of autographs and sketches a year or two later, around 2004 or 2005, and while the group was costly, I knew I could get most of the money back selling the autos and sketches I didn't need, which I did and then some, and that enabled the near second set of them. I was definitely trying to get each member of the family along with some of the best supporting characters. I did pretty good as it turned out, and truly, on the cheap with these. One other great thing about this set was the Tress MacNeille autograph. She's a popular voice actor (Minnie Mouse, etc.) and while that autograph was no hard to find than any other (1 in 72 packs were the odds), I was able to sell several doubles of those I had for well over $100, which helped cover the money I originally spent on the 2 cases I bought to jumpstart the whole thing.

Thanks for the compliments!

Even though some bemoan the varying quality of the Simpsons in recent years it is still a good show and seasons 3-8, or "classic era" as you put it, are untouchable for animation comedy (season 5 is my favourite season). It is great that so many important names contributed to this sketch set.

It's insane that you managed to get so many good examples at a relatively small cost. Whilst I remain extremely envious, I love stories like these and they are great examples of how opportunity, savvy buying and a bit of good luck can pay off, and is one of the reasons it winds me up about when some collectors moan about not being able to obtain certain cards because they're "too rare" or too "this" or too "that". I got the 40th Anniversary Roger Moore auto, 40th style and Women of Bond Carey Lowell (all 3 were Very Limited) autos from Quotable Bond for the princely sum of zero pounds and zero pence because I snapped up a Master set someone had severely underpriced, stripped it down, sold all of what I already had for more than the cost of the set, and kept what I needed.

Nice idea aiming for the main family and key supporting characters. It is nice to see cards beyond the more common Homer and Bart (and on that note, why oh why did no-one take screengrabs of all the Simpsons and Family Guy sketches Inkworks took the time to upload and archive all those years ago?!?) Frink, Ned and Hans Moleman are probably the best of the lot, but if I had to pick one of yours for myself I'd take Rich Moore's Homer.

BTW, I had no idea who Tress MacNielle was beyond this show - now I know why many sellers pitch her auto a lot higher!

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
On the Jedi 3D by Kezele, I saw him at Tom Breyer's booth at comic-con literally while the Jedi 3D sets I'd ordered were in the mail to me. (They went live right when the convention ended).
He had an artist proof from the same set with him, gorgeous as you would imagine, and I had the chance to buy it, but I decided, well, I'll try to find one in the set I have on the way, and indeed I did, so that worked out well, too!

Another stroke of good luck! Not sure I could have passed up an AP, assuming it wasn't mad money most Star Wars sketches go for. The one you landed is a great image.

quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:

quote:

Originally posted by X:

With regards the inkworks booth 2007 sketch - were there any restrictions on what you could have drawn?

The three artists I remember being there those few years that they did it were Mark Dos Santos, Tone Rodriguez, and Tess Fowler. One year, Tone was doing largely "Aliens Vs. Predator" themed sketches, and I think Tess was only doing "Shrek" the year she was there if I'm not mistaken. Tone and Mark were drawing at the same time two years in a row right when the "Family Guy" sets were being issued, and that was a large majority of what they were drawing. We got a "Stewie Vader" and a "Slave Leia Lois", and these well before those Family Guys/Star Wars animated crossovers that were made about 5 years ago.

Mark and Tone are some seriously cool dudes, so they were game to draw pretty much whatever you asked, although they were supposed to be drawing characters found in the various sets issued by Inkworks, I think. They were promoting Inkworks, after all, but Mark had a sample book of various characters with him one year, so he was really able to go off on his cards.

I still have his "Slave Lois" and should probably add it to my favorites. The drawing itself is cool, but it's the memory of Inkworks at SDcc, that really gives it a special place in my heart. They were a highlight every year they were there, although their diminished presence that very last year they attended (2008?) did not augur well for the future of the company, and sadly, that was indeed the end of the line.

I have a DC Two-Face sketch from Mark Dos Santos and always liked Tone's work but have nothing by him. Would have loved to have met him and got a Stewie sketch. You guys have it so lucky in the States for shows like this and access to great guests, artists and manufacturers. Randy Martinez once came over to a UK show many years ago: he did me a Bond PSC and we arranged for an aftermarket Star Wars commission, and as in your case it is nice to meet the artists themselves, and get things such as your pretty much official Futurama sketch card signed by the voice actress herself. How cool is that?!?

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:

quote:

Originally posted by X:
Not just saying it because it's yours, I remember seeing that Faith sketch on eBay and thinking it was one of the very best from the entire release. Are high-res shots such a necessity? I think a solid artist will capture a likeness regardless.

Well that's what David asked me for, big clear pictures to get as much detail as possible. It's quite hard for shows that old unfortunately

quote:

I suppose it's a psychological thing and comes down to the cards' status as a collectible item. With manufacturer released ardstock, they are licenced products of a finite number, whereas I see personal sketch cards as art that is cut to size. You can have a PSC made at any point by absolutely anyone, in which case one could argue why not get the work done on a larger canvas to show off the artists' abilities? I have PSCs myself, and enjoy seeing other people's PSC cards, but I don't view them as trading cards in the strictest sense. As such I find it difficult to spend money on them when there are plenty of other official cards on my wants list I would prioritise acquiring.

I agree with you there, I have a couple of commissions I am waiting on from a couple of different people and I have to admit that given the chance I jumped at the opportunity to go for something bigger the 2.5 x 3.5 size.
But for the Buffy sketches, I just want a complete scooby gang by David and I can't afford to get all official, so I'm more than happy to have just one and commission the rest
And also space, it would be hard I imagine to display alot of work from different artists that is say, 10 x 12. Whereas pieces 2.5 x 3.5 fit easily in the binder with the rest of the cards.

quote:

Totally get where you're coming from. I am a huge Star Wars fan but the rapid fanbase keeps prices of decent sketch cards far too high for me to stomach and outside of Star Wars there isn't a great deal to interest me.
Consequently, I only have a handful of sketches (about 12 from 8 different artists) and have not bought a sketch card in about 4 years, nor commissioned one in about 8 years. But the opportunity to get a colour Mark McHaley card (something I have wanted for at least 7 years since seeing his phenomenal work on Indiana Jones Heritage!) was the best reason to end my sketch card collecting sabbatical. To me it doesn't get much better than a personalised Artist-Proof featuring one of my favourite actresses from one of my absolute favourite shows.

and a absolutely gorgeous sketch it is X! I love the use of colour.

quote:

Thanks for the scan. I agree than a designed back makes a PSC look far more professional. I don't need swaying - just more disposable income! My below Randy Martinez has a designed back too

That's a lovely sketch X![/QUOTE]

Well Desbois is the expert so I'll happily eat my words. I have seen great work done with low-res, but if he wants high-res to turn out his mini-masterpieces who can argue with his method? I'll say it again, all three are lovely. I will have to have him do me one. How much does he charge for a PSC if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks for the kind words on the McHaley, it means a lot to me, I can't understate how badly I have wanted one of his colour cards for years, from Indy to Star Wars, but X-Files means more to this X-Phile(!) but I now feel kind of bad showing it now I know people are waiting silly amounts of time for work from him. I have a nice pencil sketch of his from Indiana Jones I'm not sure if I ever posted but his colour work is where he really shines. I really ought to upload all my images in one place like what CPF has done.

Somehow I thought you'd like my Jannsen Randy is a very good artist and is amazing at flipping from caricature to photo-realistic likeness with seeming ease. I got this one (and the above mentioned Star Wars aftermarket) from him many years ago before he got really in demand and his prices for this sort of work skyrocketed. He was a very pleasant and easy artist to work with.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: X,

quote:

Originally posted by X:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
[QUOTE] I suppose it's a psychological thing and comes down to the cards' status as a collectible item. With manufacturer released cardstock, they are licenced products of a finite number, whereas I see personal sketch cards as art that is cut to size. You can have a PSC made at any point by absolutely anyone, in which case one could argue why not get the work done on a larger canvas to show off the artists' abilities? I have PSCs myself, and enjoy seeing other people's PSC cards, but I don't view them as trading cards in the strictest sense. As such I find it difficult to spend money on them when there are plenty of other official cards on my wants list I would prioritise acquiring.

I agree with you there, I have a couple of commissions I am waiting on from a couple of different people and I have to admit that given the chance I jumped at the opportunity to go for something bigger the 2.5 x 3.5 size.
But for the Buffy sketches, I just want a complete scooby gang by David and I can't afford to get all official, so I'm more than happy to have just one and commission the rest
And also space, it would be hard I imagine to display alot of work from different artists that is say, 10 x 12. Whereas pieces 2.5 x 3.5 fit easily in the binder with the rest of the cards.

quote:

Totally get where you're coming from. I am a huge Star Wars fan but the rapid fanbase keeps prices of decent sketch cards far too high for me to stomach and outside of Star Wars there isn't a great deal to interest me.
Consequently, I only have a handful of sketches (about 12 from 8 different artists) and have not bought a sketch card in about 4 years, nor commissioned one in about 8 years. But the opportunity to get a colour Mark McHaley card (something I have wanted for at least 7 years since seeing his phenomenal work on Indiana Jones Heritage!) was the best reason to end my sketch card collecting sabbatical. To me it doesn't get much better than a personalised Artist-Proof featuring one of my favourite actresses from one of my absolute favourite shows.

Had to cut that down to try to get the flavor of the conversation. I agree with the both of you, but take it a bit farther in terms of my own preference. I like sketches, and sometimes buy individual ones, but rarely buy boxes of sketch focused product because it is just so hard to randomly pull a sketch that you would go out of your way to own. I don't consider myself a sketch collector, just appreciate certain ones.

If I buy a sketch, the licensed product on the licensed card stock is the way I go. APs and Artist Returns are pricey and it seems like most are spoken for by the regular customers. Some ACEOs are very good, but they are really unlicensed images with no copyright. Commissions fall into the same catagory, but the value of the commission is usually tied into the artist that did it. Commissions done by well known artists have value no matter what, but a similar sketch done by the same artist in a licensed product should be worth more, if we are going by market value.

For that reason, my own rule on commissions is this, I want only what has not been drawn in a licensed product. If I can get the subject on a manufacturer's card stock, I don't go out to order it on my own.

For example I would never commission a sketch of Batman because there are tons of Batman sketches on licensed card stock. I did buy a couple of ACEO's on main GoT characters because you cannot find any approved sketches with actor likenesses in the product. I think they are very good sketches, but I also don't think they will ever be worth anything and that's fine.

Now it could change and sometimes sketches that didn't exist before get made, as with Buffy. I'm sure that many fans have commissioned lots of sketches on Buffy characters in the past and until this year that was the closet you could get. Now there are official Buffy sketches and they have to trump the ones not on RA card stock just because they are approved.

So I have about 2 dozen sketches that I ordered, one way or another, but it has to be some subject I want and can't get in product. Otherwise I just look around and if something nice catches my eye and it's an official sketch I might be moved to get it.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I like sketches, and sometimes buy individual ones, but rarely buy boxes of sketch focused product because it is just so hard to randomly pull a sketch that you would go out of your way to own. I don't consider myself a sketch collector, just appreciate certain ones.

This is how I feel, I have seen some really amazing sketches out there in other peoples collections and think I would love to own that. But that happens so rarely that that is why I decided to choose something I really love that doesn't have sketches nor is it ever likely to.

I do love seeing other peoples collections though very much, as I love seeing all the different artists' styles and their takes on the subject matter.

The Desbois Buffy sketches, well, I don't care that they aren't all official. They may not be worth as much, but that doesn't matter to me in the slightest because I didn't commission them as an investment, I just wanted him to work his magic on a show that has alot of meaning to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
The Desbois Buffy sketches, well, I don't care that they aren't all official. They may not be worth as much, but that doesn't matter to me in the slightest because I didn't commission them as an investment, I just wanted him to work his magic on a show that has alot of meaning to me.

Oh your commissioned sketches from Desbois are on another level because of the artist. The Faith is from RA and approved, but the Buffy and Cordelia are still investment grade as artwork. You can even forget about the trading card aspect of it. His work is in demand period and the quality on your commissions is fantastic. I don't know what you paid for them, but I would be surprised if you couldn't sell them for a very good profit right now.

Of course that won't happen because I know you aren't letting them go.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I like sketches, and sometimes buy individual ones, but rarely buy boxes of sketch focused product because it is just so hard to randomly pull a sketch that you would go out of your way to own. I don't consider myself a sketch collector, just appreciate certain ones.

This is my main issue with sketch sets and I do not understand how collectors so heavily invest in breaking such product (different story for dealers obviously). Art is SO subjective, no one collector can like everything they pull. You will inevitably end up disappointed with something. When I read of collectors who bust sketch card cases say how much they LOVE every sketch they pulled (when they all look completely different and are of a skill level most people would consider dreck) I can't but think they're just trying to justify having spent lots of money and got 'less' than if they'd just bought a couple of cards they really liked on the secondary market.

I agree on all counts that an official 'trading card' is far more desirable than a PSC or ACEO if the former is available. That said, the sad thing is that the quality of the work put into some licenced product is truly shocking. Some of the work collectors get commissioned can be truly phenomenal, I guess the artist being paid direct is a good incentive to turn out great work for a client who they KNOW will love the finished piece.

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Originally posted by X:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
I like sketches, and sometimes buy individual ones, but rarely buy boxes of sketch focused product because it is just so hard to randomly pull a sketch that you would go out of your way to own. I don't consider myself a sketch collector, just appreciate certain ones.

This is my main issue with sketch sets and I do not understand how collectors so heavily invest in breaking such product (different story for dealers obviously). Art is SO subjective, no one collector can like everything they pull. You will inevitably end up disappointed with something. When I read of collectors who bust sketch card cases say how much they LOVE every sketch they pulled (when they all look completely different and are of a skill level most people would consider dreck) I can't but think they're just trying to justify having spent lots of money and got 'less' than if they'd just bought a couple of cards they really liked on the secondary market.

I agree on all counts that an official 'trading card' is far more desirable than a PSC or ACEO if the former is available. That said, the sad thing is that the quality of the work put into some licenced product is truly shocking. Some of the work collectors get commissioned can be truly phenomenal, I guess the artist being paid direct is a good incentive to turn out great work for a client who they KNOW will love the finished piece.

OK X, I really enjoyed your post and had to bust out laughing. So now all those sketch card collectors can rise up and say nasty things about both of us, but I do look at some of the sketches that people have raved about and I don't know if they talked themselves into believing it or if they are just blind. Art is HIGHLY subjective.

Anyway to your other point, there are many commissioned pieces that are outstanding and of course certain artists are in great demand. I have not tried to get one for a couple of years and I really hesitate to even approach one of these better known artists now. I don't know what they are charging and I would hate to back out after getting the estimate. Also there seems to be a long wait time if you do try for certain people. So since I don't really feel that strongly about it I tend not to do it.