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Would you buy ant drawings?

Started By VoidElecent , Jul 22 2020 7:41 AM

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21 replies to this topic

#1 Offline VoidElecent - Posted July 22 2020 - 7:41 AM

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I've been drawing ants lately.. it's a fun hobby, but time consuming and surprisingly expensive. To fund it, I've been thinking about selling signed prints of my drawings—would you purchase one? If you have a few minutes to spare, please fill out this Google Form to let me know!
 
Some drawings I've done:
 
IMG 7841
IMG 6921
IMG 6759
IMG 6678
IMG 3591
IMG 2818

 

Google Form


Edited by VoidElecent, July 22 2020 - 7:57 AM.

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#2 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 22 2020 - 7:51 AM

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These are phenomenal. I might like some to decorate my ant shelves. A Crematogaster cerasi queen would be super cool.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#3 Offline TechAnt - Posted July 22 2020 - 8:05 AM

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I thought these would be simple drawings when I saw the title. Blew me away. You are a excellent drawer and know how to pay attention to detail. These could sell for somewhere in between 50-100$ in my opinion. All I have to say is brilliant, simply brilliant.

Edited by TechAnt, July 22 2020 - 8:05 AM.

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My Ants:
(x1) Campontous semitstaceus ~20 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Camponotus vicinus ~10 workers, 1 Queen (all black variety)
(x1) Tetramorium immigrans ~100 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Myrmercocystus mexicanus -1 Queen
(x2) Mymercocystus mimcus -1 Queen
(x1) Mymercocystus testaceus ~45 workers, 1 Queen

#4 Offline Antkid12 - Posted July 22 2020 - 8:36 AM

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These look awesome!


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Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 

#5 Offline AntsDakota - Posted July 22 2020 - 8:42 AM

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Ferox_Formicae sells drawings on this forum. You could ask him.
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"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

#6 Offline VoidElecent - Posted July 22 2020 - 8:59 AM

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Thanks for the words, everyone. They have some room for improvement but I'm happy with how they turned out. I'm leaning towards only doing 9" x 12" drawings; in that case, I can redo these and clean them up a bit. As far as selling them goes, I have no idea what direction I'll take. I kind of want to keep the originals for myself and sell signed prints. They'd be cheaper and I wouldn't have to draw a new ant every time someone wanted a Camponotus pennsylvanicus, for example.

 

And I'll definitely reach out to Ferox_Formicae, they might have some advice for me.


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#7 Online Zeiss - Posted July 22 2020 - 10:16 AM

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This has been something I've also been thinking about doing.  Your art looks good!


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#8 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 22 2020 - 10:32 AM

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I love them! The C. pennsylvanicus head looks a little small, but maybe that's just me. I think that plenty of people would buy them!!!


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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#9 Offline Domagoj - Posted July 22 2020 - 10:39 AM

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These are great!

Would you be willing to do a commission? Perhaps something suitable for a profile picture?


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#10 Offline FSTP - Posted July 22 2020 - 10:45 AM

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These look really really nice. I'd be interested in the larger size to hang on my wall. Would these large ones be blown up prints of a smaller drawing. or drawn individually to that larger size?

 

 

I love them! The C. pennsylvanicus head looks a little small, but maybe that's just me. I think that plenty of people would buy them!!!

 

 

 

Artistic license, deal with it, lol.


Edited by FSTP, July 22 2020 - 10:46 AM.

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#11 Offline VoidElecent - Posted July 22 2020 - 11:06 AM

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These look really really nice. I'd be interested in the larger size to hang on my wall. Would these large ones be blown up prints of a smaller drawing. or drawn individually to that larger size?

 

 

I love them! The C. pennsylvanicus head looks a little small, but maybe that's just me. I think that plenty of people would buy them!!!

 

Great question. That's kinda the point of the poll right now. If I did smaller sizes, I could crank them out faster and with less hassle, but I would never scale them up for larger sizes—that would be blasphemous. If I did larger drawings, scaling wouldn't be a problem, but I'd charge more and would run out of ink quicker.

 

And yes, that Camponotus head is not nearly as large as it should be. We had an extensive discussion about it on the Discord channel.


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#12 Offline FSTP - Posted July 22 2020 - 11:35 AM

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that's the answer I was hoping to hear. Thanks.


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#13 Offline nurbs - Posted July 22 2020 - 1:09 PM

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Love it! Keep it up!


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Instagram:
nurbsants
 
YouTube
 
California Ants for Sale

 

Unidentified Myrmecocystus

https://www.formicul...ls-near-desert/

 

Undescribed "Modoc"

https://www.formicul...mp-ca-5-4-2017/

 

Camponotus or Colobopsis yogi:

https://www.formicul...a-ca-1-28-2018/

 
Camponotus us-ca02
https://www.formicul...onotus-us-ca02/

 

Unidentified Formica

https://www.formicul...l-ca-6-27-2020/

 
Pencil Case and Test Tube Formicariums
https://www.formicul...m-and-outworld/
 
Bloodworm Soup
https://www.formicul...bloodworm-soup/

#14 Offline VoidElecent - Posted July 23 2020 - 1:49 PM

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Thanks, everyone. Given the amateurish quality of my work, your support is perhaps unwarranted, but I sincerely cherish your words. I'm going to get started with drafting on Tuesday, after I've taken my last final and will be DONE with Java for a whole two weeks. I still have some logistics to sort out before I get down to business. If you happen to have any input on the following queries, your suggestions would be tremendously appreciated.

  • Should I sell prints or originals? There are two ways I could see this going: 1.) People send in requests, pay a fixed fee of $XX and maybe a little more if they want it framed (haven't decided yet), and I'd ship them the final, signed original. 2.) I'd sketch a few of the popular ones and list them for people to order the signed prints. This would be much cheaper for you and I wouldn't have to draw a new ant every time someone wanted one, but you lose the novelty of having a one-of-a-kind sketch.
  • How should I advertise? Regardless of how I choose to sell, I need a robust platform for customers (clients?) to submit commission requests. I'm guessing this will be a website (Maybe I'll just use www.Antsylvania.com), because I also want to showcase some of the work I've done. Also, how do I price commissions? I know this sounds stupid, but some species will be harder for me to draw than others and take a significantly longer time.
  • What size works the best? I'm running out of paper, so I need to pick some up soon. However, I want to try to stick with one size, so pricing can stay consistent. I know people like the big ones, but they do take me a while and could be more expensive.

I'm also planning on sketching a "designer species" series with ants that I just... well... make up. It'll be a silly project, but maybe interesting. I might sell them, but I can't imagine there is much demand for such work...


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#15 Offline AntsDakota - Posted July 23 2020 - 2:08 PM

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Should I sell prints or originals? 

You could, but they should be much more expensive than prints, which could also be sold.


Edited by AntsDakota, July 23 2020 - 2:08 PM.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

#16 Offline ponerinecat - Posted July 23 2020 - 3:54 PM

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Capturing sufficient detail while remaining simple is a fun style to look at. Very visually pleasing.


#17 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted July 23 2020 - 6:45 PM

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Amateur? I’m gonna flip tables! These are the best ant drawing I have personally seen!
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#18 Offline AntsDakota - Posted July 24 2020 - 5:54 AM

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Amateur? I’m gonna flip tables! These are the best ant drawing I have personally seen!

Yeah, anything I would draw would look like a child with crayons, especially compared to those.


"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version

#19 Offline NickAnter - Posted July 24 2020 - 7:34 AM

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Amateur? I’m gonna flip tables! These are the best ant drawing I have personally seen!

Yeah, anything I would draw would look like a child with crayons, especially compared to those.

 

Mine would look about the same. I'm not very good at drawing natural things.


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Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#20 Offline Antkid12 - Posted July 24 2020 - 7:42 AM

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Amateur? I’m gonna flip tables! These are the best ant drawing I have personally seen!

Yeah, anything I would draw would look like a child with crayons, especially compared to those.

 

Mine would look about the same. I'm not very good at drawing natural things.

 

Me too, I suck.


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Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 

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