The first phase of the aliens project is the development of a real collectible trading card series called Alien Inventors and the stories behind them. (Note: Collectible series and fantasy trading card games are based on a real or fictional group/place/time. When it is fictional, there are stories that make them seem more real. Hence the initial need for the stories that will go on the website and into the books.) I will create some trading cards and send them to potential buyers (I recently mailed my products to over 1000 top US corporate creative / marketing executives including Disney, Sony Pictures, etc). I will expand the stories for a website and will write one or more adventures/stories/treatments as a proposal for an illustrated book, a picture book, and/or some form of animated entertainment.

It has been a dream of mine to create a story for children that teaches and entertains. This opportunity is very exciting, for it not only has the potential to become a fully developed set of stories, but it also bridges my passions for inventing, space adventures, and learning. Here is an early storyline treatment. Meanwhile, back to the project.

Here are some sample images that I have been working on. I use Adobe CS tools, predominately Photoshop and sometimes Illustrator. The first version is at the top, and two other, less-complete, versions are below.

• 1 "corporate logo" alien (like on the front of the postcard/trading card). It is green and looks like the "typical" area-51 big head, pointed chin, big black eyes alien. It is obviously an alien but it is not an alien in the story (it is truly a logo-like image). I would like one pose holding a poster board in front of itself (landscape orientation). I would like another simple, front-profile image like you see above. This alien (and/or the things it has with it) represents the Alien Inventors™.
• 4 main alien characters. The aliens are colorful. Cartoon-like. Simple yet engaging. Consistent in style (they look like the belong together). But different in origin (they are not the same species). They are fun and not scary - though their physical attributes are not human. They look like they are from different evolutionary paths but are at a similar level of development. They are not on different levels of the food-chain.
  • One alien is wise, older, taller - the mentor / leader / teacher.
    Attributes: white hair, more than 2 eyes, wings, says "I see" alot
  • One alien is intelligent.
    Attributes: large head, glasses, most humanoid looking, says "That's easy." alot
  • One alien is friendly, helpful, outgoing.
    Attributes: large hands, big smile, extra arms (maybe), strong, says "Alright!" alot
  • One alien is bold, daring, adventuresome.
    Attributes: extra legs, thin and agile, says "Let's do it" alot
• 2 robots. In these stories, the robots play the antagonist roles.
  • One robot is the pessimist - the doubter - the beacon of disdain.
  • One robot is the menace - the saboteur.
• 3 human kids + a pet
  • The eldest is a boy about 15. He is the lead human. He is smart, an inventor, but not nerdy. He will have a family consisting of a mom, dad, and older sister.
  • The other two kids are twins - a boy and a girl about 10. They aren't fully developed - they will provide much of the source for human emotional interaction.
  • Plus, there's a pet dog - large and playful.
• Panel of judges (for the invention contest)
  • probably drawn initially as the group all together at a table - there are 3 aliens (mature, somewhat foreboding) and 1 humanoid

  PLUS

• A spacecraft
• Miscellaneous alien artifacts / inventions
• Perhaps a group "photo shot"

Technical / Business details

I need the images in digital form, suitable for resizing and shading as needed. The images will be printed at 300 dpi, perhaps at 5x8" size. Illustrator / vector images would be great, but aren't required.

We need to be able to work through some concepts. If you are creative and want to offer ideas, that is wonderful. I'm glad to work with rough sketches / however we can to make your job easier.

All your work (which is delivered for this project) must be original and available for exclusive use by this project. You will need to agree prior to commencing work that you won't develop substantially similar characters to be used in a similar project by someone else (you can't sell derivatives to competitors). If you draw Spongebob for Viacom, they'll not want you to develop SpongeBarb for ABC. - that's what I mean.

I would love to work with someone for whom this project offers more than just work - it offers you something you want to work on and be a part of, too.

Please be aware that I cannot commit to this being a whole book illustration project. When you submit a manuscript for publishing, some publishers want to use their own/favorite artists. I will use this work on the trading cards, on the website, and on my book/story proposals and perhaps on a self-published work.

What are your rates / fees applicable to a project like this?

Can you sketch anything appropriate to the comments above to show me what your work would be like?

Or, can you tell me something about your concepts for this project that make your working on it a good choice for me?

Please let me know your thoughts - any and all feedback is welcome. Also, please understand that I will be in touch with you when / if I am ready for the next step but I may take a little while to do so.

Thank you for your interest and time.

Brian brian@insetcards.com