Skills
True artistic ability. Don't kid yourself. Can you draw or is your imagination and optimism setting you up for failure? This and an enormous ego will seriously restrict your success in the art world. You need to know. Don't ask friends or family members...they will by default praise your efforts. "Wow... did you draw that? Very nice!" No. Go find other comic book artists in the level that you want to aspire to and prepare yourself to get torn up with a critic. Don't fight it! Get as much advice as you can and work on it. Build up your portfolio. Work on it constantly. Give yourself about 3 month of hard work before you go for another critic by a different source. Even if your art is good...keep working on it. The comic book artist industry is very competitive.Style
Decide on your art style and specialty. Sounds silly? No. Writers often look for a particular look when they imagine their work as a graphic novel. Draw and learn from many great comic book artists in order to grow, but in the end you need to have a consistent art style that defines you. People should look at your art and say "Hey... that's [your name]'s style! Pretty cool!" You'll get closer to your personal style the more you draw. Some artists draw in noir while others choose a light pastel feel to their art. What ever you choose, stick to it and make it your own.Job
Choose a position. Know right off the bat what you want to specialize in: penciling, inking, coloring, letting...whatever you like the best and feel the most comfortable with. Even if you like being a cover artist, choose one of these mediums as a back up for work. I don't just mean how to do it well. I'm talking about the whole sha-bang! Know your turn around time (the time it takes you to complete a finished page), your page rate (the amount of money you charge per page of work), and have a portfolio of your work handy as a physical binder AND an online gallery.Networking
The truth about networking is that it is very difficult in the indie comic industry mostly because the industry is filled with distrust, predators, lack of business knowledge or left brain thinking, and many creators are working on their own projects. I'm not saying that people are shady...just that yeah, people are shady. But this atmosphere changes from place to place. I'm just mentioning what I've personally run into and the experiences of some of my peers. Many artists don't understand the unparalleled power of the collaboration process. Its a give and take action and a collective force to create a project. With honesty and true expectations, a great group of individuals can come together and build a comic, agree on a starting fee, and pay everyone off with the fruit of their labor once the comic is published. The trick is finding reliable people with strong work ethics that are willing to put in the effort into an amazing project that you can get along with and trust. Simple enough? You're better off working with a small group or by yourself until you establish a reasonable source of income from your work. Then they will flock to work with you, but you will then have to review everyone's work before hand. Not just any Jack or Sally will do.Comic Conventions
You need to understand where comic book conventions stand between incredible events of opportunity and total waste of time.
(Continue in Issue #1)