I was recently asked the following question through Facebook Messenger:
“I want someone to review my work so I can get feedback on what I’m doing right or wrong. I have no idea how to initiate that kind of conversation or who to turn to. What do you recommend I do?”
Quick thoughts: Sending your art unsolicited to a professional cartoonist for a critique is usually a bad idea.
It’s like wanting your car fixed, and instead of making an appointment, just driving it into an auto repair shop and parking your car on a mechanic’s lift – then expecting them to get to work.
Not good.
Posting it online on social media for a critique can be hit or miss. There’s simply no way of knowing the experience and/or professionalism of those giving their two cents worth.
From personal experience I find Artists Alleys at comic cons to be a good bet. The reason being that the artists on hand are specifically there taking the time to touch base with readers and fans. This one-on-one from an artist you respect can be invaluable.
Just make sure to ask if they’re open to doing a portfolio review. They may not depending on time constraints/sketch requests, and that’s perfectly understandable.
Also a heads up that the critique you get can be instructive and/or eviscerating depending on the artist’s demeanor. Be prepared for either.
I would also recommend the Joe Kubert School Correspondence Course (and no, I don’t get paid for this endorsement). In this case it’s a matter of getting what you pay for.
You can check out the Kubert School at Comic Cons they’re scheduled to appear at as well. The above pic is Kubert School Alum Brigid Allanson and Angie Fernot at C2E2 from a few years back.
Hope the preceding was of assistance and wishing you all the best in your artistic ventures!
This post was an addendum to Jim Keefe’s lecture for the Graphic Novel Illustration class at the University of Minnesota.
Class Instructors: Rowan and Bly Pope
To preface these links & resources, here’s my favorite definition of what a Graphic Novel is by Eddie Campbell.
The story of the comic’s birth and evolution in America told through its creators. Starting with Siegel and Shuster in the 1930s all the way up to today.
For convenience the book links are to Amazon, but I’d recommend checking out your local comic retailer or book store. If they’re out of your price range/budget, you can always check ’em out at your local library.
I get asked a lot what’s a decent page rate for comic book work.
First off, it’s hard for me to price a project blind without knowing the specifics. It’s like a building contractor making an estimate before coming out to see the work site, or figuring out a fair price on a used car without looking under the hood.
Generally, if it’s a small press publisher that is printing limited copies the page rate will be low. If it’s a bigger publisher with a larger circulation the page rate should reflect that. There is no standard in that regard.
CEO – high end Isaac Perlmutter (Marvel Entertainment’s CEO) worth $3.9 billion Diane Nelson (President of DC Entertainment) worth $16.6 million.
Comic Book Creator – high end Stan Lee (Marvel Comics) worth $40 million Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead) worth $20 million
Editor Associate Editor at Marvel Comics: $38,000-$41,000 a year. A more senior editor at DC Comics can make up to $84,000 a year.
Writer Salaried gig: $55,000 On a project basis: Script outline $20 and $100 at the bigger publishers. Script/dialogue $80 and $100 at the bigger publishers.
Comic Book Artist The median comic book artist salary is $36,500
Penciller Starting rates at Marvel and DC: $160 to $260 per page.
Inker $75 to $100 per page.
Colorist $20 and $121 per page
Letterer $10 and $25 per page
Now for the long answer…
The best way to move forward is to be as informed as possible. A starting point is the Graphic Artist Guild’s Pricing and Ethical Guidelines.
Remember your bedrock is a good contract, as the following video will attest. Mike Monteiro – F*ck you, Pay me
Now… if you’re new to the business and just starting out, you’re chomping at the bit just to get published – Do not undervalue yourself. If you’re not careful you’ll set a precedent and never get paid what you’re worth.
Here’s some advice from the grumpy old man to a certain type of client…
Remember that part of negotiating a contract is breaking down for the client what the work entails and your worth and ability in providing this. You want to be in a position that the client knows he’s making a good investment for what he’s paying.
Tom Richmond (past NCS president and Mad Magazine artist) gave the following advice to an MCAD class I was teaching.
You’re not pricing your work based on the time you spent on it, but the rights you’re giving away. And if someone wants you to work for free claiming the work they are offering will be “good exposure” – remember, people die from exposure.
The balance between the value of exposure and compensation, experience and pay is contested in every creative field. For those of us who want to make it in journalism, we’re asked to commit time and energy to unpaid internships and supposedly career-advancing “opportunities” that are to our benefit. And frankly, unpaid labour is hugely beneficial to the companies providing said opportunities.
This is nothing new. To some extent, internships and volunteer experience have always been a part of these freelance-driven industries. But there comes a point at which an exchange of money for services needs to enter the equation.
What you always have in your corner when negotiating a contract is the power to decline and walk away – especially if the payment is inadequate. This should be done professionally with your “business hat” on so you don’t burn bridges – not your “artist hat” that wants to punch those bastards (who want something for nothing) in the face.
Along those lines, here’s Harlan Ellison with a few choice words…
Work for Hire
A lot of comic book freelance is working on established characters under a Work for Hire contract where the artists rights are signed away and the client becomes the legal owner and author of the work.
Once again, Tom Richmond…
Illustration groups like the Graphic Artists Guild and the Society of Illustrators rightly disdain WFH agreements and widely suggest illustrators refuse to work under WFH agreements. That makes sense in a perfect world, but sometimes in the real world a WFH agreement is a necessary evil.
I think you have to realistically assess the amount of risk you are taking in doing a WFH job compared to not doing it.
Another popular tactic to pay the artist very little (or even get the work for free) is the bait of a possibility of money on the back end through royalties, licensing and merchandise.
You’re gambling that your work will be popular enough to pay for things the publisher does not pay up front. Most of the time, that’s a losing bet.
I have accepted work like this myself in the past and it has never panned out favorably. Looking back, I also feel I ended up producing less than stellar work – partly because I couldn’t devote the time I would have liked (as paying work had to take precedence) – but also because psychologically it ended up getting under my skin that my work was not valued enough by the client that he deemed it worth payment.
If you do decide to accept work like this, see it for the gamble it is. It’s never anything to bank on.
And keep the following in mind…
If you’re looking for more info and resources for cartoonists, check out my previous post, the Business of Cartooning
My daughter Anna to a friend’s mother: “My Dad can’t come out east when we go because he has to get work done first.”
Friend’s mother: “But why, doesn’t he work out of the home?”
Quick aside; I moved in with my brother for about a year when we first moved to Minneapolis. He said, “I always thought working from home would be great…until I saw you do it. Realized that working from home means you NEVER LEAVE WORK.“
Add to that (and in no particular order);
No paid sick days.
No tech department to fix your computer.
No health benefits.
No HR department to make sure you get paid.
No 401k.
Never mind someone “at the office” to fill in for you when you’re not there.
(Much less clean up and empty your waste basket during the night shift.)
And just to clarify, I get no health coverage through my work but I do get coverage through my wife’s job.
This is not the case for MANY freelancers who are one sickness or accident away from bankruptcy. GoFundMe accounts seem to crop up daily for fellow freelancers (sick or aging) caught in this trap.
Yup, just another day in the merry land of freelance-land!
A few things that I’ve learned over the years that have crystalized through teaching…
• Devote your time to sharpening your art skills AND your business skills – trends, networking, contracts, etcetera all.
• Don’t pigeonhole yourself to one small aspect of the art form, like limiting yourself to just comics. Remember that Michelangelo wanted to devote himself to sculpture when he was commissioned to paint the Sistine Chapel.
• The people who succeed are generally the people who are working their asses off. Surround yourself with people like this, people who commit themselves fully and are getting their work out into the world. They’ll generally be better than you which is a GOOD thing – that way the bar keeps getting raised.
• Working hard isn’t enough, you have to work smart as well. You have to create work that’s marketable – that will suit the needs of someone who will then pay you.
• Working long hours with no sleep to meet deadlines isn’t the answer. Your career is a marathon, not a fifty yard dash. Eat right, exercise and sleep regularly – it’s the bare bone basics and it works.
• Start now (yesterday is even better). Research the jobs you want, look at the submission guidelines (and follow them METICULOUSLY), then work up samples that will blow the competition out of the water. I like the following advice from Steve Martin to those aspiring to enter the entertainment field as it applies to any pursuit – “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”
• To cap this off… If you treat your skills as a hobby then that’s where they’ll stay, as a hobby – and that’s FINE as long as that’s your conscious decision. But if you want to have it as your job, your career, then you need to get on board and on track.
