Let's talk artist sketchbooks.
Artist Sketchbooks have been around for a very long time, but the phenomenon of self published sketchbooks goes back about 5 or 6 years (as far as I can tell) to the first Mike Mignola Hellboy Sketchbook. Mignola sold the sketchbook at comic-con for $10, and soon after it was selling for upwards of $50 online. The following year at comic con, fans could find more than a dozen new sketchbooks being sold by various animators and comic artists. The number of new sketchbooks has grown exponentially ever since.
Remember -we're talking self published sketchbooks. Often, these sketchbooks are small photocopied or printed sketchbooks that an artist creates themselves.
Even though the production value isnt always the greatest - they're often worth buying because (a) its a great way to support artists you like (b) its a unique product with art that otherwise would never be seen. Since they're self published most of these sketchbooks come signed. There is no middleman. No big companies or distributors involved.
So why are these sketchbooks so expensive? It's not because they're signed. Its because they are produced in very small quantities. Usually the artists use the money to not only cover the cost of printing, but also to cover convention expenses (like renting a table, transportation,etc..)
About 2 years ago - Stephen Silver released the Art of Silver (note this was his second art book. The first was a black and white, comic sized sketchbook) that in my opinion -raised the bar of what an artist sketchbook could be. Since then, many artists have started producing sketchbooks with far better production values (eg. bob chiu, jose lopez, patrick morgan). Never the less, many others continued to print and sell the small copied variety. The artists that produce these tell us they do it because they are easy to make and can be made quickly just before a show or convention. Others do it, because they can print in small quantities and don't have to invest in a huge inventory that comes with using a traditional printer.
The Labyrinth has been selling self published sketchbooks going back to that first Mignola sketchbook. Often times, we are able to negotiate a wholesale bulk rate with the artist so that we can afford to sell the sketchbook for about the same price as the artist was charging. Some artists (usually comic artists) choose not to wholesale. In these cases we are forced to mark up our prices in order to to make it feasible for us to dislay these great books.
The reason for this post is that we recently found out a customer was under the impression that we photocopied and then sold sketchbooks. Nothing can be farther from the truth.
Every sketchbook The Labyrinth sells is an original item created by the artist. In our eyes -the artist is King. We respect them, and would never ever copy their work for financial gain. By selling self published sketchbooks, we are showing support for those artists which our customers love. Believe me, if we were selling copies, the prices would be much much lower.
ON A HAPPY NOTE: We just got our first shipment of Glenn Villpu Life Drawing Manuals and Quick Sketch Sketchbooks. They are truly cool and should be of interest to anyone studying life drawing with animation in mind. Check these out for yourselves at our next sale.
