Artist Steph Swanger/Solo29's Art - Star Wars Galaxy 7 Cards

Hey all,

With my other thread locked, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to start up a new one more focused on my professional work(hence, the change in username as well). I will also be posting other things that I'm working on, including commissions, portfolio pieces, etc.

I'm going to start this thread off with some of my recently approved Galaxy 7 cards I've been working on for Topps:

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/HSolo29/Misc Art/sswanger-swg7-01.jpg]

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/HSolo29/Misc Art/sswanger-swg7-02.jpg]


Enjoy!

 

Love those cards

 

Oh good, you started another thread. That means I can bug you about getting into the business!

For the sketch cards, what mediums do you use? Are you supplied the templates for the sketch cards or can they be done digitally? And in regards to portfolio pieces, will Topps accept a general portfolio?

 

Thank you, everyone! It's much appreciated!

Trak, the majority of my cards are done with Copic markers, colored pencils, fine tip prismamcolor pens and white gauche for the highlights. I found that's what works best for me and it's actually an alternative to painting. I apply and blend the markers like paint anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

In terms of the cards themselves, Topps provides all the blanks. When you sign onto the project, you agree to do a certain amount and that's how many they send out to you. I've never done a digital card before, but I have seen other artists do so for their own personal portfolios. As of right now, digital cards are not accepted onto actual sketch card sets. Everything is done traditionally.

As for sending your portfolio to the companies for consideration for future sets, I found that sending 5-8 samples of your best work is the ideal method. It's good to include mostly sketch cards, but be sure to provide a variety of subjects(for example, action shots, landscapes, scenes and portraits). And depending on the company, I also tend to stick with the properties that they have licenses for. If you're looking to get in with Topps, that would include Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones etc. Aside from sketch cards, it's never a bad idea to include some full scale paintings and drawings for them to look at just to show them what you can really do.

I hope that helps you get on the right track and if you have any questions, I'll try to do my best to answer them!

 

Welcome back Steph! It is always wonderful seeing your works .

I hope the sketch cards are going well, the ones you have shown are amazing. It is nice seeing the different schemes, do you have a preference between colour, mono or bitonal styles? I can not wait to see more of your upcoming works .

 

I echo the same question, sort of. What types of traditional mediums are more widely-accepted? When I color traditionally, I use colored pencils. Otherwise, I work in solely black-and-white.

On average, how many cards do you do and how long does it take to do a card?

 

I also would like to know how long it takes you for a card. Also thanks for sharing the secrets of their birth with us.

Trak, the majority of my cards are done with Copic markers, colored pencils, fine tip prismamcolor pens and white gauche for the highlights.



I had so little time to use the gauche since last summer...

 

Hm, 100 cards... Now, occasionally, I've seen cards done as a larger image, with each card being an element of that image. Would artists be permitted to do that, or are there certain things that are to be expected? How much range in terms of characters are artists permitted to do?

 

So, by that logic, I could do an entire Zuckuss set.

Thanks for putting up with my questioning! The more I know about a sketch card gig, the more I want to do it. So, looks like it's back to padding that portfolio, and then sending Topps a pic a week until they hire me.