As a cartoonist, I get some pretty interesting e-mails from readers. Most of them start off with the question:
“How can I be a cartoonist too?”
I don’t have any magical secrets. If you want to be a cartoonist, the best advice I can give you is…
MAKE COMICS.
Take a sheet of paper and your favorite writing utensil. Tell stories with pictures and words.
Boom. You’re a cartoonist.
To be a professional cartoonist is an entirely different matter.
Making comics is not a “Get-Rich-Quick-Scheme”. It is also not “EASY”, contrary to what some people think. It is a lot of work, for very little (if any) monetary reward. That’s the truth. I do not make comics because I want to be rich (though it would be nice!) – I make comics because I enjoy making comics. I really love this stuff. I don’t think I’m quite there yet (or anywhere close!), but hey, that’s the general feeling every cartoonist probably has at some point or another.
I come from an Indian family. Like most Indian families (or families in general), cartooning is not looked upon as a viable career option. It really isn’t, for 99.9% of the population out there. Listen to your parents: You will not get RICH making comics. If you love it enough, and you’re persistent with it for many, many years, you might be lucky enough to make a little money off your work. What I’m trying to say is: there are much better methods of making money and cartooning isn’t one of them.
Very few cartoonists have made a full-time career out of comics. I am not in that category. I make comics, week in and week out, because I am deeply in love with the art form. I don’t watch much TV. I don’t go out very much. I am a homebody, and I find time between family and work to practice my art.
You can be a cartoonist. Simply draw. A lot. Cultivate a skill in writing. Always be on the lookout for good ideas, and jot ‘em down when you find ‘em. (Better yet, listen to the Art & Story podcast, with my buddies Kevin, Mark, and Jerzy. These guys really get under the hood of making comics. Plus, they’re awesome.)
You can share your comic with the world online. Start off with a blog and draw. Be consistent in your updates. Update a new strip every other day (regardless of how you feel), and get a sense of what it’s like. See if you can do that for at least 6 months straight. Then a year. Then two. No excuses.
If what I’m describing sounds like a lot of hard work, you’re right. It is. But if you really, really, really love it, and you put your due diligence towards improving every aspect of your craft, you’ll probably find a way to bring your professional cartooning dreams to reality.
P.S. if you’re interested in cartooning and animation, I want you to listen to the excellent Man Vs. Art podcast, by Raul Aguirre Jr. Trust me when I say it’s awesome. Because it is.
-Krishna
I like cartooning as well, but I tend to be on/off with it. I sometimes get into a mood where I draw several cartoons a day and sometimes I go for months without even feeling like I can draw.
I don’t have professional aspirations, but I would at least like to be regular in cartooning. I know it’s highly unlikely given my varied interests and pursuits to stick down to one hobby.
TOTALLY AGREE!!! Good stuff Krish. Staying focused and draw, draw, and draw some more. I do it for the love of it!! (definitely not for the money). I couldn’t have said this better… peace
I can’t imagine anything artistic that could be a get rich quick scheme – if you want to create, you have to love it to put the time in.
Good stuff sir. I suppose a lot of it is perspective. Success can be money but it can be other things as well. I do comics because I love doing it. It is a lot of hard dedicating the time and sticking with a schedule. While I do not make any money at it I have reached many of my goals. I average more than one comment per comic, I have some fans, and I have made a lot of friends all over the world. So while I’m not a commercial success but I feel good about my work….finally. When I get an email or comment from someone new it gives me a thrill like no other, I hope pros still feel that way but wonder if they do.