(Special thanks again to Alstonke for the alliance leader support)

"Have you received the draft request from Scholastic Group? Is it a trial contract or a formal one?"

Anna thought for a moment and asked the question that concerned her the most.

The signing of a contract between a painter and an agent involves complex and professional legal documents, and certainly cannot be handled with just a few verbal exchanges.

But now,

there’s a simple agreement.

She can officially get involved in Detective Cat’s work in the capacity of an agent.

Previously, Anna was hesitant to ask because large film companies or publishing houses generally have confidentiality restrictions on ongoing draft projects to prevent early leaks of movie lines or novel plots.

It’s hard for outsiders to intervene.

However, even the strictest confidentiality agreements don’t prevent a painter from sharing their work with their agent.

An agent is the closest partner in a painter’s career and in many instances, they operate as one.

"A trial contract. They asked me to draw an illustration inspired by the first section of Chapter Eight of ’The Little Prince’."

"Did you finish it?"

"Yes, but I haven’t formally sent the draft to the project assistant’s email yet."

"Are you still insisting on using painting knife technique?"

Anna confirmed again.

"Yes, the painting knife technique is very fitting for the fairy-tale vibe."

"Then before you officially submit it, send me a copy of the draft first. Painting knife technique is a very difficult painting style. Now that I’m your agent, I need to evaluate your visual performance to decide whether you should switch techniques."

Anna seriously warned, "Let me make it clear, I won’t easily relax my requirements."

She’s right.

Anna absolutely wouldn’t lower her standards just because of her fondness for Detective Cat.

On the contrary,

she actually hoped to "kill" Detective Cat’s arrogance a bit.

Many painters have wasted too much time and energy on unsuitable paths.

Van Gogh once hoped to become a sketch expert in his early years, Manet compromised with the traditional Academic School for official recognition in France, and even Picasso spent a lot of time studying ceramics and sculpture... In Anna’s view, these were pursuits on a wrong path.

The painting knife technique is far from the right path.

At the very least... it’s a very difficult, rugged road.

"The difficulty of the painting knife technique lies in precise control, and someone who does this well might be Professor Borges from Brook Art College, USA, especially skilled in portraying weather. It’s said he can complete a mature small snow scene within an hour during an outdoor sketching session, thanks to his extraordinary control sharpened by a lifetime with the painting knife..."

Anna planned to recommend some works of mature painting knife artists she remembered to Detective Cat, hoping to give this African big sister a rough impression of true painting knife masters.

The greatest fear in art is working in isolation.

Many painters, unable to catch up with trends of modern artists, practice half-heartedly and then think they are great.

This is especially evident in painters from small places.

The Scholastic Group, acclaimed as the holy hall for illustrators, won’t lower its requirements just because your painting style is unconventional.

Without a mature artistic foundation,

it is difficult for a trial draft to pass the art department’s review.

The painting knife technique is not difficult to start; even complete novices can play with it for two or three months and create something that looks impressive.

However,

a publisher willing to pay more than a hundred thousand dollars for a set of illustrations naturally demands more than mere flashiness.

Can the colors exhibit good expressiveness, is the paint surface clear, is there consistency in knife layer usage, does the brushwork appear smooth or clumsy...

This requires effort from the painter and also depends on their talent.

In short, while painting knives are easy to start with, drawing well without extensive practice is impossible.

Even with extensive practice, the ability to draw well depends on luck.

This is the harsh reality of art.

Anna doesn’t hope for Detective Cat to match the level of painting knife artists she mentioned, but to secure a formal contract with the painting knife technique alone.

Not counting Osborne’s help.

She estimated that Detective Cat would need at least thirty to forty percent of the skill acquired by those who spent their lives on unique techniques to be secure.

It’s not that Scholastic Group has high demands, but like with rare painting methods such as chalk art and collage, 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

only a few artists are the top in their field, and those who don’t reach great heights ultimately achieve nothing.

She actually hopes Detective Cat’s painting style can be based on the foundation of traditional mainstream methods.

Originally skilled at colored pencil drawing, Detective Cat could even turn to watercolor painting if not oil painting, which would be an excellent choice.

High-end water-soluble colored pencil techniques naturally resemble watercolor painting, and many watercolor artists have experience with colored pencil practice.

For future awards or exhibitions, it would be much easier than being "fixated" on the field of painting knives.

As the phone vibrated, indicating a new message in the inbox.

Detective Cat had sent over her illustration.

Anna was typing when she simply raised her eyelids to glance at it, and her fingers froze.

The complete high-resolution illustration processed by an art scanner was over a hundred megabytes in size.

Even though the messaging app WhatsApp doesn’t impose file specification limits on photo transmission, this large file, before downloading, only loaded as a thumbnail.