Chapter 127: Money is Not My Problem

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

When the [Illustrator] task was completed and +1 drawing skills were awarded, Meng Fan began calculating his original drawing skills or base attribute. It was around 6 to 7.

To Meng Fan, the technical value of the attribute set a 6 as above average, and 10 or more to be master tier proficiency.

Since the [Illustrator] task was triggered, Meng Fan had completed over 900 illustrations. It would be absurd if his drawing skills didn’t improve during this period. It was not excessive to say that he gained one or two points.

The editor from the Penguin Animation Network had previously said Meng Fan’s drawing skills were the best in the industry. This made sense according to Meng fan’s “attribute calculations”.

Now with another +3, there wouldn’t be many people, if any, in all of China who surpassed him in drawing skills alone.

Set design +3, scriptwriting +3.

For the former, Meng Fan was able to use the same formula of deduction to figure out his existing value. After all, he was already very proficient in set design.

After researching so much information in this category and even building his own reference library, Meng Fan developed his own style in terms of characters, scenery, and styles. It was definitely up to professional standards. In some cases, he could even be considered the best in the industry.

Meng Fan concluded that his original set design ability hovered around 8 to 9, which was much higher than his base drawing skills.

And the newly gained +3 points would truly make him a master!

As for scriptwriting, Meng Fan was not able to deduct any data.

It wasn’t that he had zero foundation for scriptwriting, but if he did, it was average at best.

Of course, these so-called data derivations were only carried out within the categories he was familiar with. Aside from site design and drawing skills, there was nothing else he could deduce.

However, after seeing the script Xing Ta Ge had written, he felt that his world-building felt more fluid, and his imagination was much more clear.

Putting down “Guide to Campus RoMANce”, he went back to reading the beginning of “There’s A Spirit Underground”. Very quickly, Meng Fan was able to make a preliminary adaptation of the book in the form of a script.

The original plot for “There’s a Spirit Underground” was already very well thought out, plus it had very vivid depictions and scenes, so Meng Fan found it effortless to adapt it into a script with his newly gained +3 scriptwriting skills.

After taking a look at the finished product, he felt very satisfied.

Carefully, he explored his new attributes and combined them with his existing skills. Meng Fan felt that the Penguin Animation Network editor’s advice had been very reasonable. With his current skills, he was most suited for adaptations. He had the ability to create a manga on his own, but it would not be extraordinary in the least.

And he already promised Mr. Sleepy. Meng Fan thought that he should still make accumulating experience his priority as he was still in school.

Creating a manga was a lifelong process. It was not practical to enter the industry in one leap and compete with the big shots.

So he sent a voice message to Mr. Sleepy.

Through their interaction, Mr. Sleepy had stated that he wanted to participate in the adaptation as well. Based on the contents of his novel, Meng Fan could basically confirm that Mr. Sleepy was a manga enthusiast as well, and a person who could share his outlooks on animations. Hence, he asked to be part of the adaptation. Meng Fan didn’t regard him as a stranger to the task.

The two of them chatted for over an hour before Mr. Sleepy sent Meng Fan the textual script he had previously prepared and continued the discussion.

He had planned on finding a scriptwriter, but that wasn’t necessary now that the task had been taken over by the two of them.

They talked for over two hours. Both of them confirmed throughout their discussion that the other party was a suitable collaboration partner. Therefore, Mr. Sleepy purchased a train ticket once again in preparation to visit Hangzhou. In addition to some details that needed to be finalized in person, there was another important step—the formal collaboration contract.

After chatting with Mr. Sleepy, Meng Fan buried himself in adapting the story. At 2:00 am, chapter one was formed!

He then sent it to Mr. Sleepy, who responded quickly. “Holy cow! You’re done with a chapter already? Your hand speed is incredible!”

“Hehe. Didn’t you go to bed at ten? Since you’re not asleep, how about some updates?”

Mr. Sleepy did not reply.

He was only able to produce a chapter so fast because of his previous experience making illustrations for “There’s A Spirit Underground”. He had already created the settings long ago, so he didn’t have to spend any time thinking about it. He had even drawn the scenery several times before, so he could even take some illustrations and use it directly as manga content.

In the afternoon the next day, Meng Fan received a message from Wu Tong, saying she had finished her trip to Hong Kong. However, there were no direct flights from Hong Kong to Hangzhou, so she was going to stop at home in Shanghai first.

Meng Fan thought that Wu Tong was just homesick, or she wanted to bring her family some gifts from Hong Kong. Naturally, he did not think much of it. Even if he did, he would never have thought that Wu Tong was going home to tell her family about being Liang Qing’s goddaughter.

When Wu Tong sent a message saying she had landed in Shanghai, Meng Fan had already met up with Mr. Sleepy, who had just arrived from Shanghai.

“Did you lose more weight?”

“Don’t be so superficial. Do you think I’ll be happy if you say that? Hahaha.”

The two had already met once, so there was no more strangeness between them. Not long after talking for a minute, they began to converse peacefully as they had on WeChat.

Meng Fan fulfilled his host status by taking Mr. Sleepy around the academy before heading for the waterfront restaurant and asking for a private room.

Mr. Sleepy pulled out the contract and authorization forms he had prepared before. “I already prepared the contract and authorization forms for you. Take a look first and we can talk about it.”

Meng Fan read it carefully, finishing after the dishes were served.

“I am authorizing you with possession of the rights to this manga adaptation. You will also receive the rights to anything related to the manga. For example, if the manga receives subscriptions and shares, you will receive half. You can give up the subscription share, and I will pay you double the market price per chapter.”

“All the copyrights derived from the manga will belong to me, but you will receive the corresponding shares of revenue. For example, if the manga is published, you will receive 70% of the profit while I get 30% since the manga is the result of your labor. Same goes for film, television, etc; Because there are several agencies in between, you will only receive 10% of the royalties…”

Mr. Sleepy based the contract on the basic procedure of manga adaptations for online novels. However, since the copyright of the novel was in his own hands, he could adjust it to his desires; hence, he had adjusted in favor of Meng Fan. For example, the publishing royalties; usually, it would already be incredible if the illustrator could receive 30% of the profit, but he had reversed it completely in this case.

As for other revenues and their rights, they had nothing to do with Meng Fan. If the hiring party was nice, they would usually give out a small bonus or let the artist participate in the animation production, which basically meant providing another job opportunity.

It was an authorization after all!

“This is generally the case. If there are no issues, you can take the contract home. It would be best to consult a professional before signing it, but once you’re done, you can just send it to me.”

“As long as you can provide me the textual script on time, there’s nothing that can’t be done.”

Meng Fan knew a little about adaptations. It was impossible to ask for the rights to someone else’s novel. Mr. Sleepy’s contract was as great as it got. It basically screamed—”Money is not a problem.” There was no reason not to sign.

Of course, Meng Fan did not agree with it because of the money. It was not like Mr. Sleepy was the only one with deep pockets.