The Versatile Master Artist

Having frolicked enough among the flowers in the woods today, its hunting instincts satisfied, it joyfully stuck out its big tongue to lick Miss Anna’s feet, making her giggle nonstop.

”Mm-hmm, you’re right. I should really be your bullet and hound.”

Eliot proudly tilted his chin.

In European culture, dogs symbolize loyalty.

Being compared to a dog often isn’t meant as an insult; Thomas Cromwell was once fondly called ”my little hound” by Henry VIII in court.

In this grand estate, the one closest to Anna, the only one who could make the often icy Miss truly smile, was probably the big dog named ”August.”

If anyone among the estate’s staff could be intimately compared to a hound and bullet by Miss Elina.

Besides the old butler, in life, it could only be herself, the female secretary.

That African wild woman who just emerged a few months ago.

Hmph!

She’s certainly not worthy.

Upon hearing Anna’s words, Eliot, as if having just successfully torn apart a mistress in a jealous feud, swayed her neck with shining eyes.

Lately, Miss had poured too much attention into that African illustrator, leaving Secretary Eliot with indescribable complex feelings.

Now it seems—

Though capable, the one closest and most relied upon by Anna is still this capable maid!

”Compete with me for Miss Anna’s favor, you definitely don’t stand a chance!”

Eliot defiantly hummed in her mind against the illustrator far away in Algeria.

”Detective Cat? As for her...”

Anna gazed at the distant sea of clouds, lightly laughing.

That person certainly isn’t her bullet.

She is the flame burning in her heart, the glow flashing in the clouds, the gem discovered in the sand sea, the pearl fished from the sea, the faint purple tone on a Jun porcelain piece.

She’s the Van Gogh found amidst the vast sea of people.

Eliot pouted.

Miss Elina said nothing, just stared blankly at the clouds.

Observing the look on Miss’s face, akin to having drunk a whole glass of honey ice wine, filled with indescribable charm and luster.

The female secretary suddenly felt.

Perhaps being Miss Anna’s dog isn’t something so worthy of pride.

”The final payment of the contract and the sales profit division for Easter will be deposited once the market department at the publisher calculates it. It should be within the next two weeks, remember to keep an eye on it.”

Anna, returning from hunting and being wheeled back home by the caregiver, sent a message to Detective Cat.

Delayed payments from publishers to illustrators are quite common in the industry.

Luckily, Scholastic Group is a big company, and with Osborne’s personal urging, payments are made promptly.

Originally the payment could already be made.

But The Little Prince sold so explosively, with various printing plants needing reprints, new promotional spending, and exchange rate calculations for international sales slightly delaying the remittance.

”Mm, I saw the sales statistics, it should be an amount I never dared to imagine before. Many online artists can’t earn this in a lifetime.” Detective Cat Sister replied: ”Thank you for securing this opportunity for me, Mr. Tree Sloth.”

The publisher is expected to issue a check of at least over $200,000.

In the illustration field, this is truly a huge sum.

Illustrators who are aware of Detective Cat’s contract details at Scholastic Group’s art department, estimating this year’s bonus based on sales, are red-eyed with jealousy.

Jean Arnou may not earn this in a year.

Derong Fan Doorn can afford personal jets because he is a top icon in fashion, not because he is a top illustrator.

He initially designed the promotional poster for Frozen for just a package price of $300,000, and he has an entire studio team to support.

”You’re welcome, I can also earn a lot from this bonus, I’m happy to make money like you.”

Anna typed on the phone.

Her agent position indeed allows her to take a considerable share!

Miss Elina’s total assets might even significantly increase because of this... Mm, approximately 0.02‰.

However, money and money are not the same.

The money sitting before her might not even catch August’s attention, yet it’s indeed the most delightful earning Anna has had so far.

”By the way, regarding the new illustration contract task you previously asked me about, I’ve been keeping an eye out for you.” Anna brought up their previous discussion.

About a month has passed since Detective Cat Sister submitted her manuscript.

Anna has been trying to find new contracts.

Finding a contract isn’t difficult.

Illustration itself is a buyer’s market.

But when an illustrator’s fame reaches a certain level, it becomes a seller’s market.

Good illustrators never worry about having no paintings to draw.

Scholastic Group has a constant influx of painting task demands daily, and Vice Director Shubert hopes to cultivate Detective Cat as a top player under his wing.

Almost the entire task database can be opened for Detective Cat’s agent to select from.

Yet excellent high-revenue tasks are hard to choose from.

Especially tasks like The Little Prince that perfectly align with Detective Cat’s painting knife style, are rare and hard to find.

Otherwise,

Anna wouldn’t have resorted to calling Osborne.

Miss Elina has picked for so long and only selected a few tasks that barely seem attractive.

”The top-priority task at Scholastic Group’s Europe department currently is to create illustrations for the soon-to-be-published new book Blue Moon by bestselling romance author Zola Pease, priced at $60,000 plus a 3% sales bonus. Originally, the art department planned to outsource this to a top illustration studio. The publisher stated that if you want to draw it, they’ll offer it to you first.”

$60,000, typically the price for a quality illustration task.

Zola Pease is also quite popular in recent years, and her cumulative career sales have exceeded 3 million copies.

A 3% bonus for a bestselling author’s new book is almost the standard in the industry, selling well yearly adds up to a significant sum.

The Little Prince is considered an exception.

Honestly, if the publisher knew this book would sell so explosively, and with Anna’s influence involved, they might not even bring up the bonus issue.

With Detective Cat’s previous reputation and circumstances, if allowed to draw for free, she would be forever grateful to the publisher for offering her a chance to showcase herself.

This contract is already quite generous, as long as the number of illustrations isn’t too high, hiring a studio like Vellein to help wouldn’t be an issue.

Shubert’s willingness to assign the task to Mr. Tree Sloth himself already shows a part of fostering relationships and expressing cooperation sincerity.

However...

”Though Scholastic Group’s biggest illustration contract currently has no issues, I actually don’t recommend you take it.”

Anna hesitated for a moment but voiced her thoughts: ”I feel its style doesn’t really match your painting style.”

Anna acquired the manuscript for Blue Moon.

Zola Pease’s kind of romance bestseller is the hottest type currently.

How to put it?

The popular formula of domineering president+cliché soap opera+body literature, perhaps similar to 50 Shades of Grey.

Sales for these kinds of books are never poor.

But the scale of the illustrations is always large, inconsistent with the refreshing, childlike painting knife style.

Anna believes Detective Cat has the skill to manage such style, but Hollywood has a saying, once a vase, always a vase.

It means if a female actor takes on a commercial film with a glamorous seductive role, her career path becomes limited, the clothes she took off are hard to wear again, and playing roles of other styles becomes difficult, like those in Transformers.

Illustrators also have a brand effect.

Temperament,

Temperament is more crucial than a few tens of thousands of dollars.