Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Duvall.
Hi Jeff, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Ever since 4th grade, I had a love for drawing. I remember folding construction paper in half and making small comic for my friends to enjoy. It wasn’t until middle school that I decided to take comic creation more seriously. Through my friend at the time, we worked together on various stories and went to different events together promoting our different works. Unfortunately, we did not see that much success and we ended up parting ways. I went on a long hiatus where I would continue drawing and doing commissions, but I didn’t take it as serious as I did before. When the pandemic happened and I was forced out of my job, I started to really think about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The only answer that kept coming to me was creating art for everyone to enjoy. I then started my own company, Fraeofficial, which is a multi media company currently focusing on comics, table top gaming, and social media. It’s been 6 years so far and each day presents an exciting new challenge that has restored my love for creation.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t been easy and still isn’t to this day. When I worked with my friend in the past, I relied on him too much and caused a wedge in our friendship. He was the one finding the resources for our products. He was the one finding the events and most of the time paying. He was the one driving us there. All I did was draw and show up. So, when he didn’t want to work with me anymore, I was devastated. I felt betrayed and angry. It was the reason I decided to take the long hiatus from putting myself out there at conventions and other events. I always envisioned both of us riding to the top. Looking back now, I can see how much of a burden it must have been on him to have a partner that wasn’t acting like a partner and sharing the work load.
As of late, my one problem has always been about branding myself. That has to do with my own fears that my work isn’t good enough. I heavily rely on fan art to spread my work instead of focusing in on my original properties like Endlocke and the OfficialVerse table top game. I’m working hard to improve that because what I’m finding now is that people want more original works. There is only so many times people will buy the same anime characters posing for the cameras. So, the struggle then becomes how do I standout from a crowd of the same type of artists.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My company, Fraeofficial is currently going through a branding change. We are focused on delivering quality entertainment without trying to push you overtly into thinking a certain way. There’s a lot of entertainment out there that is there to push agendas. They use entertainment only as a way to push your politics or in general how you should view society. While nothing is free of your own world view, I don’t present ideas that would push any side away from my company whether I’m writing comics or creating games. Everyone should feel comfortable enough to give my works a try without feeling like I’m preaching something to them.
Currently, I’m known for the sci fi fantasy series Endlocke. It’s about the end of the world and how this one town managed to survive. I like to think of it similar to Walking Dead where the story is about the characters and how they survive after a global catastrophe. I’m incredibly proud of this series as I have four books, one art book, a music soundtrack in the future, and a novel also slated to happen in the future. When I was with a partner selling comics, I could not seem to get as much work accomplished. So, it brings me great joy to look and see all the work I’ve put out currently.
One thing I can say is that my work immediately stands out. There are a few common elements to it. I usually work in bold lines and bright colors. We have a lot of artwork where it’s dark and gloomy. My work is full of life and color just like buildings in the 90s. Now, many buildings are muted colors of grey, black, and whites kind of like many people’s artwork. Also, I do not focus on work that is trying to be as natural as possible. I get much of my inspiration from old 90s and early 00s cartoons along with anime. So, I love doing exaggerated expression and weird posing. What I have also began doing is making art crossing over different series. For example, I have a piece where it’s Harley Quinn from Batman and Jynx from the show Arcane. I put crazy combinations together that make people stop and think about it. It’s an idea that I thought of since I was drawing so much fan art. I didn’t want to just draw characters in cool poses. I wanted something that was a unique and memorable scene.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t feel good or bad luck has played too much of a role. I’m still failing and learning just as much as I’m succeeding and thriving. I think it’s more so that I continue to put stuff out there, take opportunities when they are presented, and continue to try to improve my work. It’s crazy how much further people will get if they just make a consistent try to go for their dreams. Competition is at an all time low because people are too scared to put things out there. The moment they face any type of setback, they give up. Also, artists have this mindset of “if I make art for money, I’m a sell out and not being a true artists”. This broke minded mentality is the reason why art doesn’t get taken as seriously as a career path. Money is not the root of all people like we tend to believe. It’s what you do with your money that determines that. As artist, we act like we don’t have bills, we don’t have our own lives to take care of, or products to restock. But then, we will be disappointed when nobody wants our work or the sales aren’t enough to help sustain their livelihood. Technology has also made things so much easier for artists to thrive now. You have subscription services like Patreon or Gumroad, monetization from social media like YouTube, Print on Demand stores like Shopify or Printful, and if all else fails you can easily create a website and sell your own products off your own website. This is the best time to be an artist, but many people don’t want to put in the effort. You can apply this in life too. For example, when I got let go from the hospital I worked at, I got two jobs to replace my income; one at a gas station and another at a dollar tree. Many people are always looking for that one specific job instead of just humbling themselves and taking multiple entry level jobs to get ahead. The funny thing is because there are so many people jumping from the entry level jobs, you get bumped up really quickly. I went from entry level to a store manager within 6 months of being at the gas station. So, I do not think most of what has happened to me is luck. I just think I kept showing up and pushing forward. That’s what got me where I am today.
Pricing:
- comics can go for $10, but mangas can go for $15 and graphic novels can go for $20+
- keep stickers and buttons low $3-$5 depending on size. These are usually impulse buys.
- you can charge more for prints if you simply frame them. Get smaller frames from dollar tree and save money. Larger frames, buy them in bulk on amazon.
- always have 3 tiers in pricing where you can. You can do a small print for $5, a medium print for $8, and a large print for $10. Depending on what you want to sell more of, make sure your middle price leans towards the higher or lower price. For example, if you want to sell more medium size prints in our example, sell the medium print for $6 so when people who were going to get the small print see it, they’ll say “oh, it’s only a dollar more for a medium”. This works the same way if you price the medium closer to the large print price. They’ll say “well its only a bit more, so I might as well get the large”. It’s what they do at movie theaters with their popcorn.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fraeofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fraeofficial_art
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fraeofficial1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Fraeart
