Working in the comic book industry.

[will88]

Well, I'll add my $0.02 here and state some obvious things and some personal opinion things. Obviously, getting into the comics business is not going to be easy, even if you have talent, still takes part luck, part dedicaiton and lots and lots of hard work. I'm not an expert on it, far from it, just an observer. Walden has a great perspective on it but keep in mind (and this is no rip on Walden), that is one perspective as well.

Know full well that any critiques that you get will contain things you need to work on and you have to expect that they will find some things wrong. Do be prepared to hear some harsh things and tell yourself to not be defensive about their comments, they are just that. Human nature will be to go into defense mode and attack but try to listen to what they are saying and not attempt to justify the things they are pointing out. Honestly, some of the best critiques that I have ever gotten, you could swear I was getting trashed, and looking back, it was poor stuff I delivered, plain and simple, but it made me look at stuff so much differently. I went through some ink critiques that I still cherish and look back at as those eye opening moments.

Don't expect to walk into the big companies out of the gate. These are going to be the lottery moments that happen to open with DC/Marvel. Be willing to take on a small press gig for little or no money just to get the kinks out. Prepare yourself to not make money and not quit any job. Everyone started elsewhere before they were on Spiderman, Batman, etc. Look at the big picture.

Focus on doing your thing, not trying to mimic the flavor of the month. Learn the rules before you break them. Too often I see that, and personally tire of it, when you see the flavor of the month art. Who's hot, you'll see a ton of art in droves soon after. Stick to your style that way when you get critques, you can focus on those changes.

Seek a variety of critiques and sample contacts. Don't be narrow minded and go in with the attitude that you only want to draw Spiderman for Marvel or Batman for DC. It isn't going to happen. That's not a rip, just reality. But be OK with knowing you could do a small press gig where two people are talking after a college class; 3 rats are fighting in a city warehouse; etc. Each project might not be a goldmine but if it gives you the opportunity to work on different skill sets, take it for that. Set small goals for yourself. Work on getting your backgrounds better, being more clearer in your storytelling, etc.

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. I cannot stress that factor enough. Doesn't matter what business you are in, if you commit to a project, do it. Don't make yourself be the cause of problems. Editors and other creators will remember, appreciate and respect what you do.

All random thoughts and comments, feel free to take or ignore as needed.

[will88]

The industry just doesn't pay well due to the reality of the ROI (return on investment). Even from a DC/Marvel property, the money comes in from licensing and other secondary factors such as movies, publishing deals, TV, video games, etc. And yes, the books do make money for them but after they pay the cost of the creators and printing, sales have to usually be over 10,000 for a Marvel or DC book to remain in publication (certain books may have different accounting structures so those are generalizations). Trade paperbacks, hardcovers, second printings, etc. do help out.

Independents are completely different because printing discounts and publishing discounts don't apply. Usually a small press book has to have at least 2000 copies on hand for Diamond to solicit for order (that is an old number from what we had to deal with and that was not under an established companies banner such as Image, Avatar, etc.) but don't quote me on that number. A small press place, like the expo you are talking, is still printing their own but they are smaller and distributing it themselves and will always have a smaller audience therefore the pay structure will go more towards publishing the book rather than paying a high rate, if any at all.

[Walden]

The Comic industry is a bit harder to get into compared to other jobs out there. I won't say it's easy because I had my fair share of work to get where I am today. But that's not to say it's impossible.

When I started out, I didn't have a clue what to do to get into the business. All I knew was that I wanted to work in comics because as a kid, I enjoy reading them. And thought it would great to make a hobby a career.

The first time I showed my work, it was just pieces of paper with drawing on it. At that time, I was showing my original pencils that I inked myself crudely over. After a few attempts, I was told about inking because another artist notice my control with the inks. I didn't even know what an inker was at the time.

So after getting some samples pencils to ink from, I started cranking out pieces and pieces. Again, all done very badly because I didn't have a teacher or instructor to tell me what I was doing correctly or not. I did, however, get to go to comic book conventions to get critiques from many professionals.

At that time, all of the critiques I've gotten were really rough. Some where it can break aspiring artist to give up. Instead of taking those critiques as an attack on my work, I would use what they told me as a learning tool. So in a way, portfolio reviews was a channel for me to learn from.

I've learned to have an actual portfolio to hold all my artwork together by seeing others do it. I've learned only to included a few pieces of art samples to look at because people don't want to spend hours looking through a portfolio the size of a phone book. I've learned never to defend why you did your art a certain way when people are giving you a critique. I've learned to have packets of photocopies of my work with me in case they asked for them. I've learned to follow up with more new samples when someone gave me their contact info for me to show them new samples in the future. All of which, I've learned myself through going to conventions as well as sending out submission packets when there was no conventions forthcoming. And when I did sent out submission packets, I would included a Self Address Stamped envelope in while others were kind enough to respond to my samples. So there were many times I made mistakes because I didn't know what I was doing. As you grow into what you want to do, you learn from them. Heck, I was still asking for critiques when I was working professionally DC and Marvel comics. Just because I wanted to grow more. Never be content with what you can do now, there's always room to grow.

About the pay in the comic book industry. It does vary. Independent publishers can pay less because they would see less books compared to major publishers. Some companies won't even pay until after a book is published and that still depends on how many books they sell. Bigger companies are nicer because they own character that people know about. Characters like Superman, Batman, and Spider-man. Even people who don't know anything about comic books knows who those characters are. Ofcourse, those characters will sell more book, and with that, more money for the creators.

I'm not saying you'll become a rock star when you work in comics. It is a lot of work and at times, the pay my not be that great. BUT, you'll be doing something you love compared to doing something you don't love. There's two types of jobs out there. Get a job that you love and not care how much you make. Anything you make from it, is a bonus. OR, get a job that pays really well even if it's a job you hate. At least you get to enjoy the money when you go on vacation with it. I chose the job that I love. And I've been very fortunate so far because that's my full time job and I've been doing it for a long time.

As for the comic book industry not having attractive woman, I wouldn't say that. There are many. The majority of the people working in comics are male compared to females. Still, that shouldn't even be an issue. As a freelance comic book artist, you work at home. It's not like you have co-workers. And if you feel like looking at attractive woman, just go somewhere where there are and bring with work with you. There, problem solved.

So, if you want something bad enough, you'll get it. Just don't give up. Concentrate on the work and the rewards will follow. Just remember three things to be able to work in comics (and for any jobs out there for that matter)...

1) You got to be GOOD at what you do.
2) You for to be FAST at what you do.
3) People have to like you.

Hope this helps.

[will88]

As far as presentation goes, Walden is spot on with your portfolio. Have copies of your portfolio, make sure you put your name and contact information on each page, this is good in case your stuff gets ripped apart, nothing is lost. Having a person mark up a copy packet during a review can also be beneficial. That way when you get back after the meeting, you can digest the information and work on those specific things. Especially if you are meeting a lot of people during that time.

Followups: If you have the chance to do a followup with any of the people you've met during the time, followup with a thank you (goes without saying) or if they are willing to do a further critique, it just builds up the repore. You can show them that you've made progress and hopefully worked out some of the kinks or points of concern that they would have pointed out in the previous review.

Ask for additional samples as well. At least for inks, it was always great to get photocopies of different pencillers to work on different styles. Sure, you could ink over samples of Mark Bagley but what would happen if you had loose pencils? A detailed penciller? Someone who doesn't define light source? Those are all different skills that a variety of samples could force you to learn. So the more people you meet, ask if you could get samples. And do that by sending a SASE, don't make the person pay for this. Make it easy for them. Same would be if you want to pencil, ask for a variety of scripts to work on your storytelling, scenes, characters (single vs. team based), etc.

Walden is spot on with his expectations and advice. Even though it is him, those apply to pretty much any role that you would want to get into for comics. It is for the love for sure, if it were big bucks, everyone would want in it. But it is what you make of it.

[dark]

[Walden]

And Thanks to Patrick and Sean for their insight as well. All of which are valuable info for everyone.

Another thing Patrick brought up was have the people critiquing you mark up you copies. That would be best if you have copies. But in case you don't, you should write down notes once you're leaving the critique. So much happens at convention and when you're getting critiques, there's so many different opinions. After a while, everything gets meshed up and you'll forget things.

In the past, after someone gave me a critique and they showed some interest by giving me their business card, I would write down the different critiques the back of their card. When I get back home, I will remember the critique in general and work on new samples to sent to them.

And what Sean said about 'Good, Fast, and Cheap' is also something to think about. For every one professional artist that's doing a comic, there's plenty more hungry potential artist that'll what that same job. Artist who'll work more and willing to accept less pay. That's why once you're in, you still need to learn and "upgrade" your skills. Because if you don't, that's it.