Part 2: Breaking In
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Generally it's better to try breaking in at a low stress level like submitting cartoons to a magazine before you try to tackle the constant deadlines and sensory overload of a syndicated strip or comic book. When I was 20 I assisted as a penciler on the "Bullwinkle" and "Barney Rubble" comic books and it almost killed me. Then I tried selling cartoons right out of my sketchbooks to National Lampoon. ...to my amazement, the Lampoon paid pretty well and the editors and art directors were very nice people, easy to talk to. If you have an opportunity to meet with an art director in person to show your work, DO IT.

Show only your best work, and show work that is appropriate for the magazine or publication you are pursuing. I showed an editor loads of things I'd done for other people, ads and stuff, and she said impatiently, "I don't want to see what you've done, I want to see what you've got for me." After that I only showed her work that I was specifically trying to sell her for publication in her magazine.

Also, show finished work. Don't show anything that the a.d. will have to use her/his imagination on... they don't want to see that you have potential, they aren't art teachers- they want to see what you've got. I don't want to make editors sound scary. They are not. They like artwork, like seeing cartoons, but they are busy people and a lot of the cartoonists who send then work haven't really thought through their presentation. A common mistake is bringing or sending EVERYTHING to the a.d. Just show your best.


Part 3