It is quite tough becoming a professional comics artist and keeping that career. To my mind, there are four steps to achieving it:
* ABILITY TO DRAW — That means mastering the skill at drawing EVERYTHING — people, buildings, animals, cars, monsters, perspective, etc, and doing it consistently from all angles.
* ABILITY TO TELL A STORY IN PICTURES — Clear, powerful storytelling that is visually exciting, even in conversation scenes. Understanding that it includes dramatic foreshortening, interesting camera angles, drawing each panel in the middle of each action rather than before or after the action.
* A STYLE EDITORS ARE WILLING TO BUY — Someone can be a fantastic artist, but if their style looks like something from the 1950s, or if their technique is too sketchy or “underground,” then they may have difficulty getting work.
* A PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE — If an artist is difficult to work with or doesn’t communicate well, the editor will tend to choose the easy-to-work-with guys and gals.
Any three of those might get you in the door, but all four tend to be important to keep you there. Some say a fifth step needs to be there — having connections or an Agent. I left that off the list, because that would be self-serving.
