How to raise a random guy's wife

"Don't make things difficult for yourself, just say whatever comes to mind." Kasumigaoka Utaha noticed Eriri's situation and reminded her, "I have a clear understanding of my own comprehension abilities—it's better than yours."

"..." Eriri glared at her. "For illustrators, becoming a manga artist is a good career path, but it requires too much skill. So most illustrators will develop in another direction—to form their own unique style, increase their popularity, and get more commissions and commercial collaborations."

“These three things complement each other.” Kasumigaoka Utaha understood quickly.

Having a unique style will increase your visibility, and with sufficient visibility, you can get more commissions and business collaborations.

“A unique style requires personal effort, and increasing your profile isn’t simply a matter of improving your drawing skills.” Eriri asked, “Have you ever commissioned an artist to draw for you?”

“I did try it myself before, but later I completely handed it over to Ms. Machida.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s face darkened, clearly recalling some unpleasant experiences. “Speaking of which, it seems that illustrators generally don’t set their prices.”

This creates a very unfortunate situation: people take money to commission artists, but because they don't know the going rate, they become very worried.

If the other party thinks, "Is this how you value me when you ask me to write for such a small amount of money?", the person asking for the article will also feel very uncomfortable.

After all, you contacted the other person because you like them, and it would be terrible if they thought that way about you.

"How much do you think is a suitable fee?" "When would be a good time for me to pay you, and what should I do?" "The weather is nice today~" You need to use these basic social phrases properly.

This is what annoys Kasumigaoka Utaha the most.

Of course, you can prepare a lot of money directly, but nobody's money comes from thin air.

It does happen that artists sometimes raise prices and rip off people who don't know anything about art.

“It’s not that I don’t want to price it, it’s that I can’t,” Eriri explained. “Ultimately, drawing skills are hard to quantify, and if the styles are different, it’s even harder to measure. You can tell which one is better by comparing two pictures, but it’s hard to judge by how much better, so naturally you can’t set a price.”

"But shouldn't you artists have some general standards of your own?"

“That’s true, but there’s another problem.” Eriri explained further, “Drawing skills can be improved. If drawing skills are improved, no matter how much the price is raised, there will be people who are dissatisfied. If the price is too low, people will feel that it is only at this level. If the price is too high, people will feel that it is a rip-off. Raising the price will make people feel that the artist has become arrogant.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha clicked her tongue, "So it seems that authors who don't accept personal manuscripts are actually quite good."

All you need to do is communicate with the publisher; you don't have to deal with commissioners who have all sorts of strange ideas.

“Also, setting your own price is an option for illustrators,” Eriri added. “If you release a price list, you have to accept the job if the client pays you. But if you don’t release a price list, you can pay more if the client makes a request you don’t want to draw.”

I originally wanted to refuse, but they offered just too much.

"What do you mean by 'not wanting to draw'?"

“There are many, like themes and genres,” Eriri replied, “but the most common are personal interpretations.”

"The kind that's for personal use?"

"That's right. I just mentioned the career path for artists, and personal designs have very limited effect on increasing popularity. They basically do not help the path of drawing skills → popularity → commercial cooperation."

"I see." Kasumigaoka Utaha finally understood.

No wonder Eriri takes this project so seriously.

The Superstar Project is essentially a project that comprehensively enhances the influence of idols by focusing on multimedia development.

Brand awareness is a key focus of the project, and it has been a great help to Eriri.

When many people learn about Star Cluster and then see the paintings Eriri created for it, the thought that "such beautiful paintings were drawn by Eri Kashiwagi"—even if only a portion of them have this idea—is a great boost to Eriri's career development.

Many artists follow the trend of creating fan art based on popular anime and manga, which is a similar approach.

"Let's begin then." Having confirmed Eriri's idea, Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately started preparing the script.

"I'll design the chibi-style character illustrations first." Eriri also started working.

“Oh, right.” Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly remembered the previous argument, “At least that’s a long time ago. Now, I don’t consider myself a loner.”

"...I didn't lower my IQ to fit in." Eriri paused for a moment. "Now I don't need to hide my hobbies either."

"Speaking of which, is there any room for you to lower your price further?"

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

Chapter 439 Focus and Dedication

"Will they join?" Kobayashi Megumi asked, resting her head on Kobayashi Sora's arm and looking up at Kobayashi Sora.

"Huh? You're only asking now?"

"Hmm..." Kobayashi Megumi puffed out her cheeks slightly, "Then should I ask you next time when you start?"

"Now is the perfect time to ask." Kobayashi Sora's five fingers twitched slightly. "Considering the special nature of the artist's profession, if Eriri wants to develop in this direction, she will join."

"Let's get down to business, stop being so casual." Kobayashi Megumi grabbed Kobayashi Sora's hand but didn't pull it away. "What about you, Senpai?"

“If it weren’t for you, senior, we wouldn’t be able to come back so soon.” Kobayashi Sora kissed Kobayashi Megumi’s forehead lightly. “You’ve already understood our thoughts, otherwise you wouldn’t have said that you would fill the gap with your own work.”

They acted completely like it was business.

"That way, we can all work together again."

“Let’s go together…” Kobayashi Sora looked thoughtful.

"Ouch!" Kobayashi Megumi opened her mouth and bit Kobayashi Sora's neck.

"Eh?"

"Don't think about it."

"Why?" Kobayashi Sora asked innocently. "Shouldn't we have a plan for our future work?"

"I don't care if you want to work, but are you even thinking about work?"

"Why not?"

Kobayashi Megumi remained silent, looking at Kobayashi Sora's hand.

"This... this was a subconscious action, it has nothing to do with what I was thinking." Kobayashi Sora said seriously, "Besides, how could I do nothing while holding such a big cutie?"

“But you can’t think about others while doing this kind of thing…” Kobayashi Megumi bit her lower lip lightly, “Concentrate.”

“Alright.” Kobayashi Sora obediently put her hands aside. “Although I’d ​​envisioned everyone working together before, there are still many things to consider when it comes to actually starting. Tying them all to one project would be a serious waste of their abilities. But if we start other projects, we have to consider the scheduling and the selection of content…”

"I see..." Kobayashi Megumi fiddled with Kobayashi Sora's hand, which was placed to the side, her fair fingertips sliding against his palm.

"As for other projects, Senpai's light novel is still being serialized. Malz's work is finished, so the long-delayed serialization has to start again. The content is also slice-of-life, so it's alright." Kobayashi Sora looked thoughtful. "As for Eriri..."

Megumi Kobayashi spread her hands out, comparing the size of her own hand to that of Sora Kobayashi's, and asked, "What's wrong with Eriri?"

"Remember One-Punch Man? It's been in preparation for quite a long time, but it hasn't been released yet. At first, it was because I was making Cherry Blossom Promise, and then it was Malz's Chronicle of the Universe XIII. I simply didn't have time to draw One-Punch Man."

“Oh right…” Kobayashi Megumi grabbed Kobayashi Sora’s wrist and tried to move his hand.

"One-Punch Man is an action-packed manga, which is very different from the slice-of-life atmosphere of the Superstar project. If they were to run simultaneously, they might interfere with each other, ultimately leading to..."

Kobayashi Sora was speaking when, pulled by Kobayashi Megumi, his hand landed on her.

Kobayashi Sora felt the wonderful sensation in her palm, looked down at Kobayashi Megumi, and was met with her wife's reproachful gaze.

"You're not paying attention," Kobayashi Megumi said seriously.

“I was trying to concentrate…” Kobayashi Sora defended herself, “but my hands just started moving on their own.”

"Hmm~" Kobayashi Megumi's voice was soft and sweet, "Then what should we do?"

"I don't know either," Kobayashi Sora smiled. "Why don't you help me think of a solution?"

"I never expected this..."

"really?"

“Hmm…actually…” Kobayashi Megumi’s eyes were watery, “I feel like you just can’t concentrate on your work.”

"It seems so."

"So...you can focus on doing other things."

"What other ones?"

"Who knows what you're going to do?" Kobayashi Megumi turned her back to Kobayashi Sora, hesitating for a moment. "Think about it yourself."

Kobayashi Sora tightened her arms around him as she pressed herself against him, saying, "Help me think of something..."

"Didn't I help you...?"

"Then... I'll help you a little more..." Kobayashi Sora kissed Kobayashi Megumi's snow-white nape.

He is very focused now.

......

Kobayashi Sora knew that Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri were very talented in their creative work, but she didn't expect them to be this talented.

The next day, Eriri sent over their results.

Based on the characteristics of the members drawn by Mayu Sagara, Eriri used a chibi style to depict the character features and completed a picture.

In the first cubicle, Tang Keke, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, looked confident and said, "I'm here to prepare lunch for everyone today!"

The second frame shows her busy.

The third compartment contains several plates on a table, each filled with mosaic tiles.

In the fourth panel, Ping An Ming Jin looked speechless and put her hand on Tang Ke Ke's shoulder, saying, "Let me do it."

The other members in the background are unconscious.

Four small squares clearly tell the story of a small incident that happened on Shenjin Island.

Just as Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri said, the four panels form a transition, highlighting the character's traits and personality, and depicting the character's charm.

Megumi Kobayashi posted this short comic on her official account, crediting the scriptwriter Shizuko Kasumi and the illustrator Eri Kashiwagi, and tagging both of their accounts.

As the number of fans of the star group members increases, the official account has also gained 200,000 followers.

Once a short comic was posted, all sorts of comments quickly began to appear.

At first, we were discussing the content of the short comic and praising the members' cuteness.

Later, people started noticing the names Kasumi Shiko and Kashiwagi Eri, which sparked a new round of discussion.

The person we talked about the most was, of course, Eri Kashiwagi.

Kasumi Shiko's works require careful appreciation, while Kashiwagi Eri's works are different.

Naturally, some heroes emerged in the comments section, guiding those who were lost.

However, some people are worried that the project might go in a strange direction.