Broken Frontier

In the time I’ve spent talking with other independent artists, I’ve found that one of the biggest impediments to starting that next project, or finishing the one they’ve been working on for some time, is the inability to fund it or support themselves in the process.

This is a common problem throughout the arts. And most artists understand that their vision is unique, so the value they see in it, at least before it’s done, won’t necessarily be seen by others. The uniqueness of our visions notwithstanding, not all of them will be successful, but that weeding process is how we grow, both as artists and as people.

This is exactly the issue that KickStarter, a new website initiative, is attempting to tackle.

They describe themselves as a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers, etc.  They provide a place where creators can propose a project, describe what they wish to accomplish, how much they think it will cost, and offer rewards to supporters willing to help them reach this goal.

“Kickstarter,” says Yancey Strickler, one of the company’s founders, “works for creative projects large and small. It's a simple way to gauge the level of audience interest in an idea, and project creators always maintain complete ownership and control of their work.”

This sounds fantastic, but it’s the reward system that interests me the most about KickStarter. In the comic world, we’ve seen creators post pages of their work online as they build up to a graphic novel. The best they can do to get money from this is to put up a Paypal button or something similar and hope for appreciative donations.

This method has never proven to do much good as it doesn’t have much economic reasoning or incentive behind it. As much as people like to support their favorite artists, the fact that they don’t know what the money is going to or if it will even make a difference is unappealing. Who’s to say that a small donation would ever contribute to the work getting finished or being published? It might just buy the creator a beer that night, which isn’t terrible by any means, but not a great investment.

But a KickStarter project does make for a good investment. The goal is specified, the support is rewarded, and there’s actually no risk involved.  If the project doesn’t reach it’s goal in the amount of time allotted (and this includes even being a dollar short), it gets canceled and no money changes hands.

So what are these rewards? Well, anyone who donates gets updates on the project as it’s being completed. This provides a “behind-the-scenes” experience and lets supporters feel like they’re really part of the creative process. This often includes blog entries, photos, and videos. It’s a fairly cheap option that can be offered to a large amount of people.

With the projects that have a more material outcome, such as a music album or book, rewards can include preorders of the finished item. It’s also possible to sell special editions or original artwork.

But then there are more creative rewards that offer a more personal incentive like including the name of the supporter in a special thanks or invitations to special events.

A good example of a creative rewards system on Kickstarter is the proposal for the current graphic novel project of Jamie Tanner, creator of The Aviary.

What’s interesting about Jamie’s project is that he hasn’t actually described what the book will be or even given it a title yet. I would think that most proposals would be better off it they were more specific, but I suppose he has a track record of having already created a successful graphic novel, and providing inside information abou this new project might be something he’s saving to share only with his backers.

As other rewards, he’s selling signed copies of The Aviary, but isn’t taking preorders for this new book. He is, however, selling original artwork from both The Aviary and the new project. There are also prints and commissions for sale. I think it’s great to have all this stuff available on KickStarter, and it makes sense that Jamie’s attempting to use it to support his next project, even if the products he’s offering aren’t that different from what he might sell on his own website or at a convention table.

But things get more interesting with the more personal rewards. Jamie is offering a cameo appearance in his new book, which involves sending a photo of yourself (or whomever you specify) for Jamie to draw into a non-speaking role. There were 5 of these rewards offered for a $200 pledge and they’ve all been sold.

A higher-end personal option was also offered. For a $500 pledge, you receive the reward of having a character named after you. There are 2 of these offered and so far, there haven’t been any takers. I would guess that this one is actually less appealing, since, besides the higher price, I imagine that people are less interested in just having their name assigned to a hitherto unknown character over whom they have no control in terms of what they do or say, than actually seeing themselves drawn into a comic.

As I write this column, Jamie’s project is already 90% funded with 53 days left, so things are looking good for him.  And looking around the site, I’m amazed to see how many projects have surpassed their goals well within the allotted time period.

It looks like KickStarter is off to a great start, and I hope it succeeds. A funding platform like this could really help independent creators realize their dreams. There are a lot of great, unreleased graphic novels I’m still waiting to read.