[Malachi Maloney]

So Fucking depressed.........
I received a letter from the Art Director of Playboy today.....
And while he believes I'm talented........My style just isn't what Playboy's looking for right now.

Damn.

I really don't know how to feel about this whole "art career" thing now.
I've had contact with another person in a the fine arts department at Playboy and it looked hopeful, but now after getting this response from the Art Director of the magazine itself, I'm not sure what the outcome of this other deal will be.

I'm going to be sending samples out to other companies that are lower on my list, but after this response from Playboy, I'm not very hopeful.
I think I'm just going to have to face the fact that my art sucks ass.


Sorry, I just feel like shit and I needed to vent.


Malachi

[edit: spelling]

[ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: Malachi Maloney ]

[snarf]

Dude; don't be so hard on yourself. I know you probably think "easy for you to say", but I speak from experience.

Playboy is a pretty prestigious title to work under. Just because they didn't feel you were quite what they needed right now certainly doesn't mean other magazines will feel the same. You can't shoot for another galaxy and then become disappointed when you only reach the stars. It probably isn't realistic to think that your very first exposure to a career in the arts will come at the hand of one of the top publications on the planet.

I mean, if I wanted to be a concept artist and George Lucas didn't sign me on for his next Star Wars film I certainly wouldn't give up.

Trust me, once you get your foot in the door (wherever that may be) your art will begin to speak for itself. Prove yourself with quality and consistency and THEY will come to YOU.

Take it easy, and keep on truckin'

[Lunatique]

Just let it bounce off of you. You have to if you want to have a career in art. 15 editiors/art directors can tell you they are not interested, and then the 16th guy/woman will say, "Hey, I really like your stuff! When can you have a painting done for the next issue?"

You just have to keep trying. We all go through it--it's called paying your dues.

[Socar MYLES]

There is a very good chance that the art director meant exactly what he said--they just aren't looking for your style. As far as I know, Playboy doesn't print that many painted pinups. The art they buy is mostly editorial cartoons.

[Freddio]

you get one rejection from playboy, which gets approached by thousands of illustrators each year, and you throw in the art game.

[strata]

not that I am an avid reader of playboy especially, but from what I've seen it's never been art like yours Malachi... As the esteemed ms Socar said, they don't usually do painted pinups... the only drawn/painted stuff I've seen in Playboy is for their jokes things... and that's definately not your style... so keep trying, who knows, they might change their mind and go for painted stuff in the future!

Didn't fallen get a few pieces in Hustler? You might want to try there?

But I personally, would definately say your art is good enough Malachi... I've enjoyed every piece I've seen from you thoroughly and it's been quite inspirational for me.

I could see your art going in something like Perfect 10 or something of the sort... so keep trying!

And good luck man!

[balistic]

I'm trying to get on as the art director for "Gigantic Asses Quarterly" . . . wish me luck!



Seriously though dude, just keep plugging at it . . . you're lucky, in that there will always be a market for smut (that's not an insult).

[Frost]

It's hard to get to your dream job in your first attempt. I applied at id and Epic (before they made it rich back in 93 I think), and, looking back at it now, I can only laugh as I was just a kid without enough experience, talent, etc. Now I KNOW my profession, but it took me almost 10 years to get where I am now... I know that 10 years from now, you'll look back on this day and say "Damnit, what was I thinking?! haha", because that is definitely how I feel about my attempts so many years ago.

Bottom line is, don't give up. Keep working at it, and train yourself to become the artist you want to be in the future. Don't jump right in at Playboy magazine and expect to take over a position that professionals with 30 years experience have.

Keep positive and work your butt off. You can do it, but possibly not for the next 5 years. Be patient, and work hard.

Cheers

[roundeye]

i agree with the shooting for the stars bit. i mean, its great to do and all, but it would be like someone applying for ID and getting turned down. no reason to feel like shit. what you did took balls. what about making a series and submitting it to an art mag like "juxtapose" or "art? alternatives" that would be rad. they give people with a fraction of your talent like 5 pages in a multi-national art publication. if "name" is everything like some people think, then thatd be a relatively easy way to get a 'name'.

good luck bro, and no need to get down at all.

[Malachi Maloney]

Thanks for the support people.
I really appreciate the kind and helpful words. Thanks.

Yes, I do realize that applying at Playboy for my first bit of exposure was totally unrealistic. But in my own defense it wasn't without warrant.

A little background on the story........
I'm flipping through a Playboy back in October and I see an advertisement for Playboy's fine art web site '12-20.com'. So I went and checked out the site the next time I was surfing the net. Basically '12-20.com' is a Pin-Up art site, yes they sell and distribute the limited edition prints of Playboy's "Uniquely Playmates" paintings, but they also sell prints of non Playboy related Pin-Ups as well.
I decided to take a long shot and send an e-mail to 12-20.com to ask where I could send samples of my art work to be reviewed.
The problem was that there was no e-mail address anywhere on the site to contact an art director or any type of executive staff.
The only e-mail address on the site was to contact customer service.
So, I sent this stupid little e-mail to the customer service department of 12-20.com asking for a mailing address where I could the samples of my work.
Well, a couple days went by and I had pretty much forgotten about it, just calking it up to being a stupid idea in the first place.
3 days later I get an e-mail from the C.E.O. of 12-20.com telling me that he is very interested in my work and he'd like to know how much I would charge for the commission of a Uniquely Playmates painting. I FREAKED OUT! This was to date the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me concerning my art career. Now, you have to realize that....
1: I didn't send my e-mail to this man personally, I sent it to the customer service department.
2: I didn't include any attachments or url's for my art work in the e-mail that I sent, I was simply asking for a mailing address to send samples of my work to.
What had happened is that someone in the service department had fallowed the link in my signature to my web site, that person must have liked what they saw enough to bring the e-mail to the attention of C.E.O. himself. The C.E.O. then visited my site and was impressed enough contact me himself and ask me about a possible 'Uniquely Playmates' painting commission.
Ok, as I stated above when I got this return e-mail from 12-20.com, I freaked out. I mean jumping up and down, screaming, laughing, freaking out. So, seeing as how I had never been in a situation like this, I decided to ask the advice of a person who's opinion I respect greatly.
After receiving some advice from a few different people I know in the business about how much I should charge and so on.....
I replied to the e-mail from 12-20.com with my price and some other info the he requested and I waited.....
And waited.....
And waited.....
And to this day I still haven't heard back from him.
But, you never know. I mean, he didn't say he wanted a painting right away, so I still try to remain hopeful about that commission.

Anyway.....
That's way I decided to send the art director of Playboy some of my prints. I figured that if the head of the fine arts department liked my stuff, that I had a good shot that the art director of the magazine would like my stuff too.
Obviously I was wrong.

So that's why I had the balls to submit some of my work to Playboy, I would have never done so this soon in my career without some sort of sense that I had a chance. (Even if it was a small one.)

Oh well.....

Thanks again for the support. It really does help soften the blow.

Take it easy,
Malachi

[Awetopsy]

Man, your a good painter.. although I dont always like the subject matter I do like your style.

dont let it bog you down.. in the workd there's alot of letdowns.. best thing is to push through them and make you a stronger person.

keep at it. You'll get your dream job.

[Malachi Maloney]

Awetopsy, Soulfuct~ Thanks for the support guys.

I really appreciate it.

Malachi

[Soulfuct]

Malachi I know you want to do pinups, but think of it this way bro...start off doing anything and everything you can get your hands on...*i presume you are*...get some work published wherever you can..from there ALOT of doors will open for you.
I am currently doing a Record Cover illustration that will be published on thousands of records and a year ago I had no clue where to turn looking for work.

The best advice I can give you....is crawl before you run before you fly....your pinups are stunning and you are a very talented mofo, make it your ultimate goal to oneday have the Art Director of Playboy going WOW this guy owns...youre hired.or even make it your goal to oneday be in his shoes..make that your goal from now on or something similar and don't stop until you get there.

Malachi you rawk man! never forget that.