I'm sure most people are aware of crowd funding by now, especially as a couple of anime projects have been seeking funding through sites like Kickstarter.
For example, here's a current project as of this writing - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/12 ... lete-guide
Has anyone else donated to any of these animation projects through sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and AnimeSols? What is your opinion of the goodies you've received through them? Did you think it was worth it?
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I've donated to six Kickstarter animation projects, five of which were at tiers higher than $1. I think some people who create these projects have egos regarding the value of their artwork, with creators feeling that their artwork should sell for a couple thousand despite no sample of their artwork on the page. If a project wants me to donate several hundred/thousand dollars for a sketch, they should show a close approximation of what I should expect to receive. I don't want to donate a couple grand only to get a stick figure. That's always the concern in the back of my mind, especially in cases, such as the "Under the Dog" campaign where I've seen what the artist is capable of doing.
The "estimated delivery" date is something that should be taken with a grain of salt. In one project that I donated to last year, the delivery date was supposed to be December 2013. I received my reward in October 2014 and was disappointed. While the sketch I received was nice but small, it was from an artist that I had not requested. Prior to donating, I requested a sketch from a particular artist involved in the project and was informed by the head that they agreed to draw for me. Months after the project ended and no communication, I inquired about the sketch and was told that the artist now refused to draw without any explanation. After selecting a different artist, it took five months from the confirmation that this artist would draw to the receipt of the sketch. If you're donating in the hope of giving your reward as a gift to someone else, you may want to reconsider it as it may not arrive on time.
With exception of that particular project, I am pleased with the project staff's response time, with many project heads answering questions in less than a day. I also like that these projects give me an opportunity to own artwork from artists that I will likely never meet at (for the most part) a reasonable price. Right now, I'm on the fence regarding crowdfunding. I think it's a great idea, but without any solid guarantee that what you pay for is what you'll get, it's best to not get your hopes up.
Crowdfunding Rewards
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cutiebunny
- Yosutebito - Hermit
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Re: Crowdfunding Rewards
Anything I back on kickstart, I'm prepared to never receive, I effectively treat is as disposable money/income. It's a very negative viewpoint, but it lets me sit back and not worry about individual projects. I've backed 17 projects so far, and received somewhere around 4. The projects I tend to back (game development, some music, some anime) tends to have longer development times. MOST of my backed projects deliver semi-regular updates, so I know things aren't stagnant. I think only one or two projects have seriously underdelivered at this point, and I didn't spend much money on them at all.
In this case, I think it's perfectly valid to be concerned about the quality of the cut you receive. I don't think that many (or any?) projects have delivered production artwork at this point, though several have touted them in the past. Of note, Animeigo's Bubblegum Crisis project dug out some Cels from the owners personal collection (If I remember correctly, KS is down right now), and he had one reward tier for each cel, so you knew what you were getting. On the negative side, HarmonyGold (boooooooooo) pulled their Robotech Academy kickstarter before it could fail to meet it's goals. They offered cels used in the production of the Robotech movie, which was made for Harmony Gold, at certain tier. That tier couldn't pick what cels they got, so you were at the mercy of HG.
If you're interested in getting the production sketch cuts, you should absolutely contact the project staff, and see what kind of quality and sequence you can expect.
In this case, I think it's perfectly valid to be concerned about the quality of the cut you receive. I don't think that many (or any?) projects have delivered production artwork at this point, though several have touted them in the past. Of note, Animeigo's Bubblegum Crisis project dug out some Cels from the owners personal collection (If I remember correctly, KS is down right now), and he had one reward tier for each cel, so you knew what you were getting. On the negative side, HarmonyGold (boooooooooo) pulled their Robotech Academy kickstarter before it could fail to meet it's goals. They offered cels used in the production of the Robotech movie, which was made for Harmony Gold, at certain tier. That tier couldn't pick what cels they got, so you were at the mercy of HG.
If you're interested in getting the production sketch cuts, you should absolutely contact the project staff, and see what kind of quality and sequence you can expect.
Re: Crowdfunding Rewards
I’ve only donated to two: the BubbleGum Crisis blu-ray, and Kick-Heart.
The Bubblegum Crisis campaign was easy to donate to. There is already a Japanese blu-ray release of the show, and AnimEigo has already released BGC many times on VHS and DVD… so, I don’t doubt they’ll send out the blu-rays when they're ready. It’ll be cool to have the show on blu-ray with subtitles, and the AD Police key chain looks like a nice small extra. The $50 is less expensive then what I paid back in the day to get my incomplete set of VHS tapes. I want one blu-ray case, and don’t want a large chipboard box. The Daley pan cel was really great, but it was already gone, and I wouldn’t have wanted to pay $400 for it. In the end, I didn’t have to think what level I wanted to donate at, or really question the product. I just did the basic $50 to get the blu-ray (hope I get it before X-Mas).
Deciding to back Kick-Heart was more difficult. I had seen part of Kaiba (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB3gc6Uc7y0) and was watching Kemonozume (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhckxp ... shortfilms), so I wanted to get the short. As the project was by Production I.G, I didn’t have any doubt that the show would be made, however, I wasn’t sure at what level to donate. To get the blu-ray, I would have to donate at least $60. The blu-ray level came with a lot of physical extras, and I thought it was worth it over the $30 1080p digital download. But, the $500 level came with a genga cut. Despite the high price, I wanted it. I hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen any genga on the market from any Masaaki Yuasa anime. Still, given the price, I had to think about it for awhile. I didn’t even make the decision to go for it until the last 5 minutes of the Kickstarter campaign. Before I made the pledge, I fretted about it, wondering what was I going to get. I hadn’t actually seen the short… so, was it really a good idea to spend that much just because I liked some of his other shows? And, I didn’t actually know what the genga set was going to look like. Though, after making the pledge, it was kinda fun not knowing, and waiting to be surprised. I am happy with what I got; in fact, I think it’s awesome. You can see the set in my rubberslug gallery: http://chriscelsite.rubberslug.com/gall ... esID=46961.
The Bubblegum Crisis campaign was easy to donate to. There is already a Japanese blu-ray release of the show, and AnimEigo has already released BGC many times on VHS and DVD… so, I don’t doubt they’ll send out the blu-rays when they're ready. It’ll be cool to have the show on blu-ray with subtitles, and the AD Police key chain looks like a nice small extra. The $50 is less expensive then what I paid back in the day to get my incomplete set of VHS tapes. I want one blu-ray case, and don’t want a large chipboard box. The Daley pan cel was really great, but it was already gone, and I wouldn’t have wanted to pay $400 for it. In the end, I didn’t have to think what level I wanted to donate at, or really question the product. I just did the basic $50 to get the blu-ray (hope I get it before X-Mas).
Deciding to back Kick-Heart was more difficult. I had seen part of Kaiba (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB3gc6Uc7y0) and was watching Kemonozume (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhckxp ... shortfilms), so I wanted to get the short. As the project was by Production I.G, I didn’t have any doubt that the show would be made, however, I wasn’t sure at what level to donate. To get the blu-ray, I would have to donate at least $60. The blu-ray level came with a lot of physical extras, and I thought it was worth it over the $30 1080p digital download. But, the $500 level came with a genga cut. Despite the high price, I wanted it. I hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen any genga on the market from any Masaaki Yuasa anime. Still, given the price, I had to think about it for awhile. I didn’t even make the decision to go for it until the last 5 minutes of the Kickstarter campaign. Before I made the pledge, I fretted about it, wondering what was I going to get. I hadn’t actually seen the short… so, was it really a good idea to spend that much just because I liked some of his other shows? And, I didn’t actually know what the genga set was going to look like. Though, after making the pledge, it was kinda fun not knowing, and waiting to be surprised. I am happy with what I got; in fact, I think it’s awesome. You can see the set in my rubberslug gallery: http://chriscelsite.rubberslug.com/gall ... esID=46961.
Re: Crowdfunding Rewards
I've donated to two anime related Kickstarters. The first being LWA and the other Under the Dog. I'm not overly worried about it.
Yoshinari doesn't tend to half-ass things and all of the shikishi he's done have been phenomenal. He really loves LWA and working on it so I expect he'll put some time and effort into the shikishi.
Now as for Ando, I don't know. I tried requesting if I could get a sketch by Kozaki instead but they were non-committal.
Yoshinari doesn't tend to half-ass things and all of the shikishi he's done have been phenomenal. He really loves LWA and working on it so I expect he'll put some time and effort into the shikishi.
Now as for Ando, I don't know. I tried requesting if I could get a sketch by Kozaki instead but they were non-committal.
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cutiebunny
- Yosutebito - Hermit
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Re: Crowdfunding Rewards
Thought I'd post about my dealings with AwesomeJapan and their Kickstarters. AwesomeJapan is a sort of deputy service for anime projects, where they deal with the communication between both donators and the project's head, and take care of rewards. They've sponsored a couple of projects with different animators/animation companies.
AwesomeJapan (AJ) ran a kickstarter for an art book called "The Making of Santa Company", which is a small short a studio created thanks to a successful and earlier Kickstarter project. They offered a couple of tiers, with "an original sketch signed by the animation director" at the $200 level. As with many projects, the lower rewards were included with the higher pledge amounts, and I pledged enough to also receive some key douga.
Two weeks prior to the close of the project, I inquired about the original sketch. I asked if it would be included at the amount I had pledged. I was informed that it would. I also asked if I could have it drawn by another artist and was told that they would ask. No big deal, I thought, as it wasn't as if I had donated an exorbitant amount and a sketch drawn by the director would be fine for the price I paid as well. I also wrote, at the time, that I would be willing to pay extra to buy a sketch from this artist as I feel it only appropriate to compensate them for their time.
Having not heard anything for a few weeks after the project ended, I contacted AJ regarding my earlier question of the sketch drawn by another artist. After a few days, I receive a terse response telling me that, at my pledge level, no original sketch is included. I was then informed that my request could not be met because the artists are not affiliated with the art book's production and had I donated to the initial animation project, I would have received a sketch drawn by the artist I requested. The problem with this statement is that the initial animation project never stated that this particular artist would draw as every sketch reward from that project stated that it would be drawn by the animation director instead. Nowhere on their initial campaign page does it state that you have the option of receiving artwork from the artist of your choosing.
At this point, I'm upset. I, in good faith, made attempts to clarify things prior to the end of the project. I can live without the sketch drawn by the artist I requested. But I don't appreciate being told that certain things will be included when they're not and it's too late for me to retract my pledge because their fundraising campaign has ended. I'm hoping the issue can be resolved, but I plan on reporting them to Kickstarter if nothing is done. I'm guessing something was lost in translation on AJ's side, but that should have no effect on what I pledged and what was supposed to be included in that tier. The fact that they're not offering any solution to this issue really bothers me.
TL;DR - If you're pledging by a project run by AwesomeJapan, you might want to think twice. They're promising one thing and delivering less than that.
Edit - Now they say they're going to honor the pledge and send me the sketch mentioned in the $200 tier. Not sure why things had to be so complicated...
AwesomeJapan (AJ) ran a kickstarter for an art book called "The Making of Santa Company", which is a small short a studio created thanks to a successful and earlier Kickstarter project. They offered a couple of tiers, with "an original sketch signed by the animation director" at the $200 level. As with many projects, the lower rewards were included with the higher pledge amounts, and I pledged enough to also receive some key douga.
Two weeks prior to the close of the project, I inquired about the original sketch. I asked if it would be included at the amount I had pledged. I was informed that it would. I also asked if I could have it drawn by another artist and was told that they would ask. No big deal, I thought, as it wasn't as if I had donated an exorbitant amount and a sketch drawn by the director would be fine for the price I paid as well. I also wrote, at the time, that I would be willing to pay extra to buy a sketch from this artist as I feel it only appropriate to compensate them for their time.
Having not heard anything for a few weeks after the project ended, I contacted AJ regarding my earlier question of the sketch drawn by another artist. After a few days, I receive a terse response telling me that, at my pledge level, no original sketch is included. I was then informed that my request could not be met because the artists are not affiliated with the art book's production and had I donated to the initial animation project, I would have received a sketch drawn by the artist I requested. The problem with this statement is that the initial animation project never stated that this particular artist would draw as every sketch reward from that project stated that it would be drawn by the animation director instead. Nowhere on their initial campaign page does it state that you have the option of receiving artwork from the artist of your choosing.
At this point, I'm upset. I, in good faith, made attempts to clarify things prior to the end of the project. I can live without the sketch drawn by the artist I requested. But I don't appreciate being told that certain things will be included when they're not and it's too late for me to retract my pledge because their fundraising campaign has ended. I'm hoping the issue can be resolved, but I plan on reporting them to Kickstarter if nothing is done. I'm guessing something was lost in translation on AJ's side, but that should have no effect on what I pledged and what was supposed to be included in that tier. The fact that they're not offering any solution to this issue really bothers me.
TL;DR - If you're pledging by a project run by AwesomeJapan, you might want to think twice. They're promising one thing and delivering less than that.
Edit - Now they say they're going to honor the pledge and send me the sketch mentioned in the $200 tier. Not sure why things had to be so complicated...