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INTEREST: Street Fighter's Akiman Asked to Design 6 Characters for US$100 each




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hissatsu01



Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 963
Location: NYC
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:17 am Reply with quote
Holy crap, that's an offensively low rate Enterbrain wants. Anyone who works in graphic design should be kind of disgusted.
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Pippin4242



Joined: 01 Jan 2006
Posts: 111
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:36 am Reply with quote
Seroiusly! Were they kidding? Good character design is the first thing that attracts me to a project!

- Pips
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ittoujuu



Joined: 25 Sep 2009
Posts: 164
Location: SoCal
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:30 am Reply with quote
It makes me sad to hear that an illustrator/designer as good as Akiman has no money and no work. I mean, I know what kind of state the industry is in, but really, what kind of state is the industry in where one of Capcom's aces/Turn-A Gundam designer can't even find work? And when you look at a lot of the other art that's getting used in current anime, it's obvious that "quality draftsmanship" must not be the highest priority when hiring, otherwise Yasuda would have more solid employment.
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omoikane



Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 494
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:24 pm Reply with quote
I could've swore I've seen Akiman artbooks go for that price.

I guess that's why so many people turn to self-publishing.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14886
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:36 pm Reply with quote
J-companies low-balling their employees! Laughing
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CKSqua



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 38
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:49 pm Reply with quote
ittoujuu wrote:
It makes me sad to hear that an illustrator/designer as good as Akiman has no money and no work. I mean, I know what kind of state the industry is in, but really, what kind of state is the industry in where one of Capcom's aces/Turn-A Gundam designer can't even find work? And when you look at a lot of the other art that's getting used in current anime, it's obvious that "quality draftsmanship" must not be the highest priority when hiring, otherwise Yasuda would have more solid employment.


Hiring in anime is based primarily on connections, particularly to studio producers. They rarely go around looking for people they've never worked with before (it's just easier that way....if you need to line up staff for a project, you call the people you know first. Your regulars can offer recommendations too in case they're unavailable or if extra hands are needed), so it's important for an animator to make himself/herself known.

Judging by Akiman's profile on ANN, I suspect that he hasn't established that network, making it difficult to find work.

As for games, the industry revolves around exclusive employment. Company employees get first dibs and any freelancers tend to be close to senior staff on projects (hence, they're often ex-employees of the company or friends with a director, art director, etc. Companies spawned by ex-staff of a larger company will tend to contract former colleagues who're now freelance). The big development houses have plenty of employed illustrators, so it's less common for freelancers to be utilized, unless we're referring to bishoujo/moe game art.
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Banjo



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 798
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:04 pm Reply with quote
I hope he finds more work, he has a good mecha designing skill Cool
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Cutiebunny



Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 1767
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:12 pm Reply with quote
That's really low, even for a drawing. Wow. So, the company wants an original character and they're only willing to pay 8000 yen each?! I'd pay more just for a drawing from him even if it's not an original character.

Yeah, I think this is pretty low for a company. It's one thing for a fan to try to lowball at a convention(a practice which does sicken me..), but it's another thing for a company to do, especially since they're going to expect all the rights over the character that's designed.

I'm glad that he posted this on his blog - Enterbrain should know better.
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kgw



Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 1181
Location: Spain, EU
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:36 pm Reply with quote
I don't know how is the condition of Enterbrain, but I am sure they can afford paying the right fees to a professional artist.

I know about the crisis, but US$100 for character? Ridiculous
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Tomibiki



Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 837
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:34 pm Reply with quote
Obviously Akiman's work isn't in demand anymore, such is life.
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Kohii



Joined: 12 Nov 2010
Posts: 428
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 5:40 pm Reply with quote
I've paid more than that for figures. Shame on you, Enterbrain. Shame on you.
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pajmo9



Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 630
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:17 pm Reply with quote
I can't believe they would even attempt to try to get some one as well known as Akira Yasuda to do designs for only $100 a piece. Thats basically charity work.
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Mr. sickVisionz



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 2175
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:29 pm Reply with quote
I wonder if this will work out for him or if him publicly blowing up a company will get him blacklisted by companies who like to keep their financial dealings private.
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Lightning Leo



Joined: 04 Jul 2010
Posts: 311
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:02 pm Reply with quote
Eeeeesh. Akiman's a legend amongst character designers, it's difficult to imagine anyone would solicit his services at such a low price. Enterbrain seems like a pretty small-time developer/publisher, though, mostly RPGMaker games from the looks of it, so to be fair they might be on a limited budget or just not have a professional sense for how iconic/influential the man is. Either that, or the market has just declined more than I realized, or Akiman just doesn't get the same top-billing he used to (though I would doubt it).
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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1247
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:48 am Reply with quote
Lightning Leo wrote:
Enterbrain seems like a pretty small-time developer/publisher, though, mostly RPGMaker games from the looks of it, so to be fair they might be on a limited budget or just not have a professional sense for how iconic/influential the man is.

Appearances can be deceiving - They're mostly known for their game publications and magazines, most famously Famitsu. They don't just make RPG Maker games, they make RPG Maker itself.

So all things considered, it's doubly galling that a big name company like that would find it appropriate to ask for rates like that from a creator who really should be recognized as one of the most important and talented in his field. Whatever the circumstances may be, it's truly crummy that someone of that caliber is hard up for cash. Just depressing.
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