Put Your Finger on the Pulse (of Comic Publishing)

If you are hoping for a career in comic art, you need to know about market trends. Stuff that was 'huge' a year or two ago is going to be old news by the time you get your portfolio together. While there are always constants - such as a strong life drawing (figure drawing) portfolio, an individual vision and ability to create a consistent style - there are many aspects of cartoon art which are prone to change. Check out the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art to see just how much! It isn't necessarily a case of changing your style to fit the trends (or we'd all end up being boring clones) but finding the right market or context for what you do, and bringing out aspects of your style to appeal to certain audiences (or the publishers who are targeting them). If you're drawing quirky, anarchistic political gags, the local conservative newspaper probably isn't going to be your ideal market. And how do you find out which publisher is going to love your complex, layered graphic novel? Comic conventions are a great place to start. Sure, you can do some internet research, but nothing beats face-to-face contact for learning and networking.

Comic Books guide Aaron Albert has a comic convention map to help you locate the even closest to you. Manga guide Deb Aoki has a calendar of upcoming Anime conventions