#guestagent

We decided to break confidentiality for once and have Lauren Panepinto, Creative Director of Orbit Books (we assume that’s who you mean) answer this one directly:

There ARE thousands of artists out there. Hundreds of thousands probably. But let’s break that down a bit:

A Hell of A Lot of Artists Making Art

minus Artists not making SciFi/Fantasy Art

minus Artists making SFF art but too young/cartoony/anime

minus Artists making SFF art but too line-art based and can be mistaken for a graphic novel cover so prose books stay away from using them

minus Artists making SFF art but only do concept art or visdev, not full illustrations

minus Artists making SFF illustrations but only do pieces that look like interiors or spot art or game cards, not cover compositions

minus Artists making SFF illustrations that look like covers but aren’t skilled enough to be hired yet

minus Artists making SFF illustrations that are skilled enough but have a reputation for blowing deadlines or disappearing mid-job

minus Artists making SFF illustrations that are skilled enough & deliver good work but are known to be jerks/unpleasant to work with (either by direct experience or by word of mouth from other ADs)

minus Artists making SFF illustrations that are skilled & professional & deliver & are good people/collaborators but aren’t what we’d consider “Orbit” style (this is complicated, but has to do with a mix of staying ahead of the curve trend-wise, trying to do things differently from other houses, and a tending toward the abstract and painterly feel)

minus Artists making SFF illustrations that are skilled & professional & deliver & are good people/collaborators & are “Orbit” style but are too busy to take any more work when you try to hire them

And let me tell you…after running down that tree, there’s not that many artists left. I am constantly keeping an eye on new talent to see when I feel an artist is ready to work on their first cover with us, and I’m constantly asking other ADs who they’re using, and always looking in Spectrum to jog my memory. 

For every book cover that needs an illustrator I need to go down this tree 3-4 times, because I like to give my editors & publisher options that all can do the job slightly differently, and then we discuss the hell out of those artists in the meeting. We’ll pick a top choice, run it by the author, and if all is approved only then will I let the artist know I want to commission them. Sometimes it takes a few rounds of artist options to get to the right choice for the particular book we’ve got.

So no, there are not too many skilled, reliable, good collaborators doing what I need for an Orbit book cover out there. There is always room for more. 

And this tree works for every different kind of genre and industry. Every AD, gallery curator, etc has this kind of mental tree they run down, specific to their needs.

Cream rises to the top. Be good, nice, and on time, and really study what the genre/industry you want to work in is hiring, and you will find work and keep finding it. Look a the artists who are constantly on SFF Book covers in recent history (Sam Weber, Richard Anderson, Karla Ortiz, Tommy Arnold, Yuko Shimizu, Greg Manchess, Dan Dos Santos) and they have more work than they can handle because they are good, nice, and on time. They also know book covers and why they work, and they don’t just do what they are told, they are equal collaborators in the process, adding their own ideas into the mix. There are NEVER ENOUGH of these kinds of artists working at any given time. Keep honing your skills. Make sure you understand Art Business. And study the industry you want to work in. There is always room for more great artists.

—Lauren Panepinto