|
|
 |
|
So you want to do a comic strip, huh? You have a great idea and/or a burning desire but you have no clue what to do next?
Here's a list of Do's and Don'ts that may help.
But first, let's get through the bad news right up front, so you can determine how burning your desire really is.
The bad news is, this is an extremely competitive business. Look at the comic page in your newspaper. How many strips do you see there? 15? 30? Maybe more? How many of them are NEW? How many have been there since the invention of paper? Now consider this: there are roughly 200 syndicated comic strips out there, battling it out for a bit of precious space on that comic page. If you could see the comics in every newspaper in the country on any given day, you'd see pretty much the same strips in every paper. There are 30 or so that have a lock on the comic page -- some for decades.
But new strips DO break in and yours will certainly be one. IF you can make the syndicate cut. More bad news...
There are 5 major syndicates (the nice folks who represent cartoonists and columnists, selling their work to newspapers). Each year, these syndicates get thousands of submissions. Each year, each syndicate might pick 2 or 3. So there may be 15 new comic strips introduced annually. Sounds like reasonable odds. But do you ever see these 15 new strips in your newspaper? No. You may see a couple. And they probably don't last. The failure rate for new strips is about 50%.
Still, statistically, your odds of hitting with a strip are better than hitting the lottery or getting hit by lightning. Good enough, you say? OK. Then let's move on to the list of Do's and Don'ts.
The DO's
1. DO write, write, write. A successful comic strip is about good writing. Readers may appreciate good art, but it's the CONTENT of the strip that brings them back day after day. Good writing can support bad drawing (do I need to name names?) but bad writing will kill a strip, no matter how great the art is.
When I first created Luann, I wrote 200 strips. I picked the best 24, inked those and submitted them. The advantage here is that by writing a LOT, you become a better writer AND you learn about your characters. Well-defined characters are essential to a good strip. Vague, inconsistent, uninteresting characters are worthless. You need to find out which of yours are strong and which are weak. You only learn this by writing. After I sent my first submission, three syndicates expressed interest in Luann and asked for a second batch of samples. I wrote 100 more strips and picked the best 24. I firmly believe that your second batch should be as good as -- even BETTER than -- your first. Syndicates want to know that you're not a one-shot wonder, that you have the chops to keep producing day in, day out, forever. This is a long-term commitment.
2. DO look in a mirror. Figuratively, not literally. Look inside yourself and identify your personal strengths, knowledge, talents, quirks. What makes you unique? How can you bring this uniqueness to a comic strip? The best strips are ones that reveal the individual behind them. Consider Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbes. Could you or I have come up with a similar concept? Sure. Would it have been the same? No. Because these strips aren't about little kids and dogs and a stuffed tiger. They're about the unique senses of humor, points of view, attitudes and philosophies of Schulz and Watterson. They brought their own personal voice to their work. You need to do the same.
3. DO take this job seriously. If doing a comic strip is something you'd kind of like to try, forget it. You need a deep, burning passion. It's a demanding job. You have to write and draw 365 strips annually, year after year, with no breaks. You spend most of your time in solitary confinement, bent over a drawing board, with an incessant deadline breathing down your neck. You get a week of strips done, sent off... and you have to start all over again. It's not a job for the casual dabbler. Only the cartoon-bug-bitten, insanely dedicated, fanatically driven need apply.
The DON'Ts
1. DON'T be a clone. Copying is a fine way to learn the craft of cartooning. Nearly all cartoonists learn by studying the work of other cartoonists. In fact, the best cartooning school is the comic page of your newspaper. But when it's time to create a new strip, do not copy. Don't do another FarSideBloomCountyCalvin. Yeah, we all love and miss those great strips. But they've been DONE -- and done well. You'll only do a pale imitation. And get rejected.
2. DON'T try to create a "product." Naturally, you want to make scads of money by licensing your strip for use on products, TV shows, giant balloons, etc. But trying to create a strip with products in mind never works. A strip has to have heart and soul and personality. It has to connect with readers first, then, MAYBE, products will follow. But don't be too eager here. Other than Snoopy and Garfield, there aren't many comic strip characters raking in the licensing dough.
3. DON'T use "permanent" markers. Not if you want your work to last. It's OK to use markers, but be wary. "Permanent" markers aren't. In time, they fade, particularly if exposed to light. I've sun-tested nearly all of them and I found a few that passed the fade test: Micron Pigma and Fountain Pentel are the most common. There are others. Experiment. Some cartoonists sidestep pens and paper all together and create virtual strips on the computer with a pad, stylus and drawing program. I have trouble drawing this way, but I do use the computer for my lettering, shading and coloring of Sundays. If you're a purist, you'll use India ink (with brush or pen) on Strathmore board.
4. DON'T go overboard with your submission. OK, you've drawn up your strip and you're ready to send it off. But, gee, if syndicates get thousands of submissions, how will yours stand out? Should you throw a handful of glitter into the envelope? Pack the strips into a nice fruit basket? Sculpt little clay models of your characters? No. These gimmicks only annoy syndicate editors (who have seen it all, trust me). You want to send a submission that's clean, simple, clear and, obviously, brilliant. THAT will get an editor's attention. For a detailed description of how to submit, along with other useful info, go to the comics.com home page, click on "Contact Us" at the bottom, then click the "Submissions" link.
There's lots of other information and technical stuff that you may need to know. But the advice above should be enough to get you started on the right track. Remember, the odds are in favor of your work being rejected. Don't be discouraged by this. Few cartoonists hit the first time out. Usually, your first attempts aren't your best work. I tried a dozen different strip concepts before Luann emerged.
I was 35 when Luann came to me. Most cartoonists are well seasoned when they begin their career. There are no 17-year-old comic strip cartoonists in the newspaper. It's not ageism; it's just that it takes a certain level of maturity and life experience to write a good comic strip. So you may just have to keep writing and drawing -- and waiting until you're 25.
Which leads me to one last point -- and the best news of all. This is truly a bias-free business. Syndicates, newspapers and readers don't care (or even KNOW) about your age, gender, ethnic background, experience or that you live with your grandmother on a farm in South Dakota. You don't need an agent, a 'connection' or a wad of money to submit. It's one of the hardest jobs to get, but it's one of the easiest to apply for.
All you need is a great comic strip. So go get to work.
Best of luck to you.
-Greg Evans
|
|
|
|
Privacy Policy
