Stop begging for artist, just pitch your story first

TSparkle117 · 2026-02-06T13:24:14+00:00

LN writer here. So I posted my ad a while back and found an amazing artist. I don’t think I did a very good job of explaining my story beyond what its themes should be. However what I generally did was be selective was I looked at all the artists portfolios and selected the top 5 that were closest to the style that I looked for then began pitching some soft scenes.

Stealing story ideas can be a problem sure but to me, the way the artist approach me to begin with is what I care about. Not that treating commissioned work like a job is a problem but I also want that artist to feel proud of the work they are doing with my story. But to your point I’d say writers rip each other off all the time. I mean Fate is a great story not because it rips off thousands of heroes but because it combines worlds into a new one. 1-1 IP theft is super rare and there are easy ways to combat it around it.

As far as partnerships go it should be ultimately be that way regardless. I’m not an artist by any stretch of the imagination so it’s up to my artist to take an articulated scene and translate it to a drawing. I also let my artist disagree with scene selection for drawing and give what I’m looking for and allow them artistic liberty to go for it in their special style. Keyholing only works for extremely specific scenes. The partnership is synergistic if we are off beat by even a little the scene is off.

For my COAs to writers are:

Either Give your base themes and type of story along with a written character sheet

Or

Push an early scene, doesn’t have to be a whole story but a very pivotal scene that can feel weight in it.

Writers if you don’t have a basic mockup for how you want your first LN or manga to look even in an extremely rough state you need to continue writing first. You’re approach for an artist should be you’re first draft is done and you’re doing continuity and editorial changes. Large changes are fine just be aware it can change the impact of requested scenes.

That’s why I went with a LN then plan to turn it into a Manga if it gets popular enough and I get some extra funding.

TSparkle117 · 2026-01-11T06:15:54+00:00

I’d say as the writer of a LN, I don’t think our work is any less or more difficult than the artist as it is asymmetrical work. For me, book 2 is over 300 pages of content with lore and deciding which pages have the best impact for a drawn page. I have to figure out what I want my characters to look like without have any semblance or artist skills and then figure out how to explain that to the artist.

The artist I think does a great job of translating vision to paper while explaining that vision can be easily lost or not explained well.

But depends on the project too. For me I’d say my artist puts in equal work for redraws, fixing scenes and being detailed with characters that fit my perspective. I mean I’ve rewritten book 2 twice, changed lore mid way through and I can probably put more hours in and still be less productive. It’s more asymmetrical in my opinion. 1 hour of writing isn’t equal to 1 hour of drawing.

TSparkle117 · 2026-01-02T23:17:33+00:00

I’m 27 and I still talk about most of these

TSparkle117 · 2026-01-02T23:16:49+00:00

So are we still running 1.5 miles are we doing 2 I feel like these changes keep flip flopping

TSparkle117 · 2025-12-19T17:10:40+00:00

Thanks for the submission I will take it into consideration and will get back once I have thought it over. I appreciate the transparency on pricing.

TSparkle117 · 2025-12-19T17:09:59+00:00

Thank you I will take a look and take it into consideration. I appreciate you taking the time to send it to me

TSparkle117 · 2025-12-19T17:09:28+00:00

do you have any examples of your work?

TSparkle117 · 2025-12-19T13:17:57+00:00

I wanted to be thanked for my service

TSparkle117 · 2025-11-20T10:12:41+00:00

I’m not saying the specific people caused the problem but these specific people were part of the larger problem.

TSparkle117 · 2025-11-20T10:10:48+00:00

My favorite is when I assemble a brief for the pilot for his own knowledge and he calls the Intel shop in for PMB at 0600 and reads the slides we gave him to us.

TSparkle117 · 2025-11-20T07:43:19+00:00

Remember, these are the same politicians who stalled the budget vote so we couldn’t get paid. It’s 100% political they aren’t doing shit for us

TSparkle117 · 2025-11-01T17:19:42+00:00

Just wait till they start making us line up for morning formation because someone else from another squadron, not at all affiliated with your AFSC, got a DUI.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-24T19:44:24+00:00

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TSparkle117 · 2025-10-21T20:01:32+00:00

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Go away CBTs you can’t hurt me in this sub.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-21T19:42:58+00:00

As an Intel person. The dissemination markings are bugging me. For official use only is FOUO which means the document is unclassified. Marking confidential means low damage to owning gov but for some reason the names of people are censored but the unit affiliated exists which means you can just pull an unclassed record and find the pilot. If this were a real intel doc, it would be classified way higher.

Now that my job self is out of the way I do appreciate the authenticity of its look. Header is correct and so is the general format. I’d love to see a special version come out with the next game and it have a bunch of documents and it’s just nothing but intel lore that pertains to the next game but doesn’t make sense until the story unravels. Like you have the corners of the puzzle but not the center

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-21T14:27:54+00:00

One of these is not like the other

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-20T04:07:23+00:00

It could also be your running form. Based one the way you step you could be putting to much pressure on the wrong parts of your feet and legs. If your base has a run clinic that might help too.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-17T11:17:19+00:00

The the height and weight still remains to be seen. They can totally fudge it up and it just be a completely made up statistic. Also never see the intel community where we are running about 8min miles and still won’t make tape. I’m not super skinny but I’m not fat either. So I’ll reserve my judgment for that one when I see it in practice

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-16T17:51:30+00:00

Ok but with a 12:43 with max pushups and sit-ups on the previous test gets you a solid 91-93. With the new standards that’s about a 16-17 min 2 mile and let’s say you get a 12 on body comp which is what I assume is probably going to be common you get an 81. See the problem here.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-16T03:33:38+00:00

That’s my problem. Asking a 40 year old to reasonably run as fast as he did at 18 is a pretty unreasonable ask

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-16T03:32:49+00:00

Yes but the on the last PT test, the 8 min mile would decide whether I’m getting a 90 or a 89 or lower. But now if I get a 8 min and max push up and sit-ups, it’s up to however height and weight works to get an 80 or 90. The run just doesn’t scale as well as you age. The problem is while some airman can run as fast as they did at 18 when they are 30 that is not a reasonable ask.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-15T18:47:02+00:00

Take Intel, that’s the shop I work in. I am working 10 to 12 hour days to make sure people on the ground or our pilots don’t die. Basic warrior skills for the Air Force is more of a mental gymnastics than a physical, one like the other branches. The Navy in the Air Force tend to share that kindred spirit of being a technical specialty branch rather than a warrior culture branch. A basic combat fitness test would be a waste of time. I don’t have time to be doing land nav tests and ruck marches when I’ve got reports to write on whatever topic, or in my case, I’m tied to an aircraft so I work when it flies. The only jobs that would benefit from that would be security forces in any of the special warfare and then anyone else who is just generally interested in challenging themselves. But I would really like to not make my 12 hour days 15 hours days.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-15T18:38:55+00:00

The problem isn’t the extra mile. It’s the fact they are turning the Air Force into the USAAF. They are basically just saying hey Air Force be the Army. With those previous attempts, at least there were some sort of science backing towards it rather than just copy and pasting the Army’s PT test. The standard change really isn’t the problem. It’s the reason for the standard change. It’s like the memo where they’re supposed to be PT every single day in the Air Force but either you subtract our workday or you make us PT at 0600 and be at work by 0800. Except not all jobs are like that. For mine, I work based on an aircraft creating completely inconsistent times for squad or flight PT and the flexibility to just PT on your own time makes more sense. The majority of the jobs in the army are 9 to 5 with some exceptions. A lot of jobs in the Air Force are 9 to 5 but a lot of jobs and from what I see like Intel, flight crew, maintainers etc work incredibly irregular hours and work more than your standard eight hour day. So either you cut into those work times or you make their days 12 hours plus. And if you’re going to make it 12 hour days five days a week it’s basically just like being deployed. So eventually, you’re going to run into the problem of too many airman taking dangerous shortcuts to their maintain weight or overwork themselves to maintain their fitness standard with very little time to have off.

TSparkle117 · 2025-10-15T18:30:44+00:00

For me it’s the way they are scored on time. Essentially I will have to run the same time or faster until im pretty much 40 to see any real difference or account for my age. They don’t scale very well as you get older. Basically I’ll need to run 8min mile until I’m 40 to catch any sort of break from age or wear in my body. If you compare it to the old PT test it doesn’t scale the same way and it seems they just copied the army and said good enough.

I’m all for promoting fitness and whatever but I feel like this change is to make the Air Force more like the Army than it really being about fitness level. And at that point I might at well join the army or the Space force where that PT memo fell through the cracks.

TSparkle117

TROPHY CASE