You must develop samples of your cartooning work to sclients.
Drawing cool pictures for a living is the day-to-day reality of those artists who work in illustration and cartooning. They create visual messages for books, articles or for the Web. Good cartoonists and illustrators have a style that is easily identifiable and distinct. They hone this style over years of practice and through trial and error. However, the effort is worth it, according to Illustration Toolbox. Having a distinct style is often the key to a would-be illustrator or cartoonist getting the job over someone else.
Instructions
1. Learn to draw. For an illustrator or cartoonist, this means drawing every day to perfect this skill. Freelance artist and author Michael Fleishman recommends that you draw from life often, and more specifically that you draw people from life. Much of illustration and cartooning centers around the human figure, so the better you know it the better you are able to draw it.
2. Learn the latest software programs. This is a corollary to learning draw. Many illustration and design programs exist on the market. Learning to use them will potentially give you new tools with which to work. It also gives you an understanding of the lingo that industry professionals will be using. Not knowing these terms will make you seem unprofessional.
3. Attend a university art, illustration or sequential art training program. Many people have natural talent, but according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the artists who have the best chance of working in the field are the ones who are trained. Additionally, these programs will often provide you with access to industry professionals and help you develop your portfolio.
4. Develop a style that's all your own. People should be able to look at your work and identify it as yours.
5. Create a portfolio of your art. You want to use examples of your best work. You can do up to 20, but if you only have 10 great pieces and 10 mediocre pieces, leave the mediocre pieces out of your portfolio.
6. Build a website. You'll include your artist's bio, samples of your work, your contact information and any other information you think would be relevant for people to know about you. Include your website information on all of your regular marketing materials as well.
7. Start a blog about illustration or cartooning and talk about the industry, but only talk a little bit about yourself. Being the go-to person for information about the profession will eventually lead people to start asking about you and your work.
8. Put together a marketing plan and marketing materials. While you will do a lot of your promotional work online, you also need to have the standard items that businesses use such as business cards, flyers, postcard mailers and promotional pieces.
9. Do a regular mailer promotional campaign. You want to have your face in front of your potential clients often enough that they remember you, but not so often they get annoyed. Sending a new mailing about every 30 to 90 days is about right.
