CF Asks: How Much Can You Earn Drawing Comics?
By Terence Choi
Translated by Hew Shih Chien
Edited by Jared Cheah
It’s a question often asked by aspiring comic artists in Malaysia: how much can you expect to make from drawing comics in Malaysia? Managing Director of Art Square (Gempak, Comic King) Terence Choi shares with all newcomers to the scene the common ways that artists and publishers work together in Malaysia. Take note for this will definitely be incredibly useful to plan your future career as a comic artist!
I’m often asked about details regarding the pay rates for comics as well as basic income of comic artists. Alright, I’ll share some information with everyone here. The pay rates actually differ depending on each country’s situation, supply and demand. The following pointers are about Malaysia’s situation:
ONE: The basic rate for black-and-white comic pages ranges from RM60 to RM150. The basic rates for coloured comic pages range from RM 80 to RM180.
[This is not reflective of overseas markets] For example: there are artists who draw comics for the American or European market, and may receive US$200 (RM608.40) – US$300 (RM912.70) per page, while those who draw comics for China may receive RMB200 (RM96) per page. However, there are also cases where people may receive up to RMB 800 (RM384) per page, due to the population of China, and the massive size of the Chinese market.
In Malaysia, new artists can expect to receive a base rate of RM60 per page (for works of consistent quality). Well-known comic artists have been known to carry the price of RM1000 per single-panel comic, but generally comic artists should receive RM 70 – RM 100 per page.
It all depends on your fame, quality and market demand, but if someone requests 6 pages for RM100, they are definitely taking advantage of you. This part does not refer to serialization fees, and assumes that the publisher is the owner of the copyright.
TWO: There are publishers who decide the fees on a project-by-project basis.
For example: for a 200-page comic book, the publisher will offer an amount (usually equal to 200 page x a page rate), and then either request for a discount from the final figure, or for small illustrations to be included without charge, etc. However, In this case, the pagination, proofreading and parts of the publishing process are the responsibilities of the publisher. This format is more common for educational comics and illustration projects.
THREE: There are also some publishers that subcontracts the entire comic to you.
They would would then pay a certain fee per month. However, the artist (or his studio) must then produce a certain number of comic books every month, and the comic artist has to be responsible for the entire production, from the colouring, pagination, lettering and editing of the work to the number of staff/assistance, their wages and its management as well. This is currently Malaysia’s most common way of subcontracting comic work.
FOUR: There are also publishers that work together with comic artists.
They do not pay any fees, or may just cover the artist’s living costs. The money comes in after the comics are published; the publisher will deduct all expenses and, depending on the sales, pay a bonus or share the profits. The problem with this is that the sales results are usually known only after a few months, and as a result the artist’s living costs may become a problem.
It’s even worse if the sales are bad…
The pay rates and income examples stated above are the the most basic ones. Of course there are still many other ways. There isn’t a “right” or “wrong” way, or even a “good” or a “bad” way; it all depends on the comic artist’s choice and the agreement the artist has with the publisher.
However, take note that the pay rates differ depending on each country’s situation (e.g. supply and demand), and it all depends on your fame, quality, market size and market demand. The situations described above only refers to Malaysia’s current situation, and is not a suitable comparison between the markets of other countries.
This write-up has been translated from it’s original Mandarin language which you can find here. Extreme care has been taken to make sure the accuracy in the content of the original text is preserved in the translation. However, some editing had to be made to ensure a proper flow of sentences in English. If you find any errors in our translation, please write to says@comicfiesta.org and we will correct it immediately.