Best Self-Marketing Practices as an Artists

You keep hearing about you need to put yourself out there... but how do you do it and what works best?  I've compiled a small list of things that have worked for me and artists that I know along with what I've read in comic artist books and marketing books.  I'll try to keep it simple and straight to the point:

Social Media:  Facebook remains the largest most influential social media monster out there.  Besides having your personal page for family and friends, create an artist page for yourself with a good amount of art samples for your gallery which will serve as your portfolio.  Connect this profile to your Instagram account...you should have an Instagram account if your an artist.  Communicate daily or at a minimum every few days with either art or updates on your latest project.

Business cards:  You have to have them.  You can get them for a good price off of Vista prints.  They are a must.  Everyone you meet that is somewhat interested in what you do or would like to work with you will appreciate a business card.  At the end of the day you are a salesman selling your service or product.

Networking:  Oh yes...here's the part so many dread.  You need to go out and socialize.  Many artist are very introverted so this can play a particular challenge.  Go to comic book stores and comic conventions.  How to engage in a conversation: Start off with a nice complement (comic art related works well) and smile.  Then follow up with an introduction... "Hi, my name is Andres.  I draw comics."  Have your portfolio with you. Try to avoid showing them your online portfolio on your phone and try to get them to use theirs in order for them to like or follow you.

Small Jobs:  Take on small projects to get your name out.  You can look into magazines for quick 3-10 page projects.  There are also small indie publishers that you can work with but don't expect much money out of it.  You can also go for the Mid-Level publishers.  This will help build up your reputation.  Its good practice on meeting deadlines and meeting editors.

Remember to place your art out there one way or another on a daily routine so that it becomes a habit.  

Building Yourself up as an Artist

The reason many artist fail is because they don't get their name out.  The industry is very saturated, but even within that pool of artists some have very recognizable talent.  Sadly enough several of those waste their efforts in frivolous actions that lead nowhere and quickly become disappointed about the market.  Others have the mistaken notion that if they draw well enough opportunities will simply walk up to their door step and knock.  All of these artists wonder why they aren't making any money or getting more work.  "Exposure", that little word that has gotten so much negative feed back is actually the key.

Many upcoming comic creators have this idea that talent alone justifies them.   The almost cliche' argument of "Working for Exposure..." is the high light of almost every new artistic presenter...and yet these are the same artists that can't find new work.  As an artist myself I will say and stand behind saying that working for exposure is one of the greatest ways to acquire new and well paying clients and jobs.

The single most important thing to know when you work for exposure is the marketability vs work.  In simple terms, do your due diligence and evaluate the opportunity.  There is a big difference between working on a full 34 page comic for a first time writer and/or studio versus working a cover or 3 comic pages for a national recognized magazine.  Use a little common sense.  The opportunities are out there.

To get the best marketing out of it you will want to target national to global publishers and what you would consider small or simple jobs that you could showcase your best art.  You can even get some benefit from helping small publishers with small projects as long as they're well known in their local comic book scene.  Take on a few mini projects.

When you put your art out there with recognized publishers many clients can view your marketability for themselves.  In other words they'll be able to see for themselves that your work sells and is out in the market place.  When you help local small publishers the word spreads and others will want to hire you.  If you can be a bit flexible with your financing many publishers and writers will want to hire you.

The key thing here is to get your art out there in the market place through recognized publishers and local indies so that you're recommended to others.

Powers and Copy Right

All creators can testify to the satisfaction of making a character for their comic story.  And for the most part this is fun and always interesting.  Most indie characters end up on a self published comic of some sort and usually make their debut in a local comic convention or two.  These characters face many perils in their story but none as devastating as success.  You see once your character becomes popular you begin to gain many secret enemies.  And their weapon is intellectual copy right infringement!

First thing you need to know if you plan to make a professional character for a commercialized story, comic that you plan to sell, is that there is nothing new under the sun.  What I mean is that there are many variations of existing ideas.  what's very important to know is that you try to take very obvious elements from other characters...satire being the loop hole in all of this. 

One of the fist dangers is comes from the origin story.  Have you noticed that there aren't many "Super" anything outside of DC or that the term "Mutant" tends to stay within Marvel as "Metahumans/sapiens" deals with super heroes in DC.  These coined terms are some of the few ways large publishers can trip you up when you begin to head towards a recognizable amount of success.  Magic and religion seem still pretty open as most big publishers barrow from Greek mythology and various religions...especially in today's hot topic arena.  Topcows uses technology to explain their characters super powers and a touch of religion and magic as well.

When you start talking about where you characters get their powers, remember where the land mines are and choose a unique way to explain the source of their abilities or keep it a mystery.

 

Creating Intriguing Characters for your Comic Book

The heart and soul of a comic book is it's characters. Daring protagonists and devious villains all surrounded by an incredible cast of side kicks and supporting characters bring a story to life and spark the interest of a wide audience.  Dynamic characters bring a level of sophistication and appeal to the story that to just haphazardly create them is to spell certain doom for your potentially great comic.  Here's what you need to consider when designing a truly unique and inspiring character.

 There is a common mistake among new comic book creators when it comes to drafting up new characters for comic book stories.  For some reason there has been an ongoing misconception that in order to have a likeable character he or she needs to be god-like invincible and have the sex appeal of a porn star.  This is a stereotype carried from popular comics of the 90's during a time where everything had to be bigger, badder, and push boundaries.  But times have changed and as comic fans demand more drama and diversity in their comics the rules have changed.  Comic book characters have evolved to much more than a fancy costume with special powers.

In today's comic reading society your characters need to have depth.  You do this by giving them personality traits and human faults. Alan Moore was one of a few epic writers to change the stereotype of super heroes by humanizing them with social and personal issues.  Orson Scott Card wrote in Character & Viewpoints that characters "...readers want your characters to seem like real people. Whole and alive, believable and worth caring about."  To achieve this level of attraction between your characters and your readers you will have to build them up.

There are many traits that transform your character and bring life to your stories.  Linda N. Edelstein, PH.D. wrote a book called Writer's Guide to Character Traits.  There's a chapter dedicated to 23 personality traits with patterns of inner experience and behavior.  Such personality traits included on the list are the adventurer whose themes are excitement and boldness and the resilient, a personality type which is productive and able to face problems and take personal control.  Stan Lee writes in his book How to Draw Superheroes that there's two superhero archetypes: The S-type and the B-type.  The S-type stands for Superman while the B-type represents Batman. The S-type is a character which is bold and has superpowers.  This character is loud in the sense of being represented with bright colors and the face is visible to show expressions and to give the impression of accountability.  The B-type is a lot more grittier, typically a person without powers that is highly driven by a life altering event to perform incredible feats.

Start your character profile with all the basics: real or alter ego name, date of birth or age, sex, race, religion, culture or ethnicity, family situation such as single, married, divorced, children, parents, etc.  Next add a life changing moment or character defining event in the past, a reputation, good and/or bad habits, give them a flaw or weakness. Give them view points and biases.  Give them a bit of personality. Do they joke around? Are they a shy introvert or social butterfly? Do they hate dogs and love cats?  How do they interact with different people?  Remember, you don't need to fill this out completely before you can start your comic story, but at least have some of these answered to have a foundation to build on as your write your story.

Here comes the typical fun part, choosing powers!  The list is almost endless and feel free to be as creative as you want to be, but keep this in mind: the more powerful your character is the harder it will be to create a believable obstacle or conflict to solve.  I'll entertain the idea of listing several superpowers here to get you inspired:

• heat or laser vision
• elemental control
• invisibility
• special sight like x-ray vision
• ability to fly
• incredible speed
• shape shifting
• magic
• super sense like hearing or sight
• animal or insect like powers
• technology based powers like a bionic arm or camera eye
• super strength
• mythological power like Thor or Wonder Woman
• alien like Venom or Martian Manhunter

Give your character purpose.  People always have a reason for doing things.  What motivates your character?  Define the moment.  If your character is a certain way because a loved one passed away, make your readers understand.  Show them how happy they were or the special moments they shared.  If the reader can identify with the moment or event they will become immersed in the character.  Think of moments that people can identify with like birthdays, being sick, losing a friend, moving away, the loss of a family or friend, even the connection with a pet.

Always try to keep your characters interesting by making them dynamic with personality traits, motivations, and life changing events.  Don't be afraid to make them flawed.  It makes them that much more believable.

Let's Celebrate Independence!

Manuel A. Carmona shared a great idea: Let's create a "Buy Indie Comics Day".  Most of us are already aware of "Free Comic Book Day" which happens to be the first Saturday in May, but this is a way to build recognition to the ever growing indie publishing section of the market.  With the combined efforts of several indie publishers, we can make this into an annual event.

CWI Comics

According to the comic book sales reported by Comichron,  indie comic book sales make up about 9% of the market for 2015, which was an increase from 8.75% from 2014 and 8.70% from 2013.  In other words the indie market is growing and with this growth comes many opportunities for upcoming artists and new publishers to put out amazing titles.  Another reason indie titles are gaining so much popularity is the availability of more resources for creators like distribution through Comixology, webcomics through Patreon and the use of crowd funding to cover printing and distribution expenses through Kickstarter.

SSF Media

And even though the big two, DC and Marvel, that propel the comic industry with it's block buster hits at the movie theaters, its the indie comics that provide the sweet and salt escape from the mainstream that several fans crave after over indulgence of popular titles and characters.  Titles like Angle Wolf by CWI Comics and Pariah Dog by SSF Comics are samples of the incredible titles out there in the indie publishing market.  Besides that, indies can take their stories and art to places that larger companies can't without the fear of market repercussions or the approval of their sponsors.  When you see diversity in comics like Centinals and NightFire by Genesis Comics you know indies are making comics for everyone to enjoy.   

Genesis Comics

Indie publishers offer a wide selection of genre's and a diverse range of characters and art to suite all audiences.  But the challenge lies in getting the word out.  It wasn't until recent years that comic book stores started carrying titles from indie publishers.  On top of that, indie creators have the challenge of competing with the marking efforts of the larger publishers, not to mention the monopoly of certain distribution channels, where the larger publishers have a higher preference.

Genesis Comics

But indies are not going down without a fight.  Many small publishers can be found in the catalogue of digital distributors like Comixology and the webcomics has many great backers thanks to sites like Patreon.  There's also many resources out there to help indies get the word out like Facebook and Twitter.  But to add a recognized day dedicated to the indie comic book market would be phenomenal!  As it stands Manuel A. Carmona suggested making the first Saturday of August as the "Buy Indie Comics Day" so lets make this official and spread the word.  Lets make this a special day so indie creators should come together and schedule an event to mark that day. 

Becoming a Profitable Comic Artist

At this point you have already worked on your talent and have impressed enough people to convince yourself to pursue an art career as a comic book artist.  So lets get into what you need to know to start building yourself up to a professional level as an artist. Now is the time to start taking these specific steps in order to build a solid foundation.  It starts here, right where you are, reading this article and taking notes.  I'm going to be upfront with you and let you know right off the bat that this road to success is a process that takes time and effort. It won't happen over night and you will need to invest your time and effort to carve out your spot of the lime light.

First and most important: draw constantly.  You will need to do this to keep improving your artistic skill set so draw projects, not just doodles or studies.  You need this for repetition. This will help build your creative habit.  Your mind and body will become accustomed to creating art constantly.  Take your sketchbook out in public.  This will have many benefits.  Besides getting use to drawing in a hectic environment it will expose your art to people.  Take in the compliments as well as the critics...yes the critics, too.  The art world is subjective and there are many opinionated fools out there waiting to bring you down.  Take the abuse now and develop leather skin so you can feel much more comfortable when working with an editor later.
 
Network.  You need to be on social media.  If you're already there, awesome.  If not, better get started now.  As of the time that I'm writing this article the most useful and necessary online website and applications to be on are:

Stay in touch with social media.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• DeviantArt
• LinkedIn

There are a few more but these are the basic.  Don't fall into the social media trap where you feel like you have to become a slave and check it every minute and update it constantly.  A few days or weekly post is fine.  Get into the habit of sharing your art work on each of the sites.  Learn about tools that will send the message over several of your sites at once.  Try to maintain an online portfolio on either or both Deviant Art and/or Instagram.  This will be very useful when networking and having to show someone your portfolio on the go.  Keep it up to date.  Remember to also make an artist Facebook page.  Its a good practice to keep your personal and professional life separate.  

 

Become familiar with the Graphic Artist Guild and purchase their handbook.  It contains very important information about pricing your work and contracts.  

 

Challenge yourself.  Participate in contests and trade shows like a comic book convention.  An art contest for comic or pop art is a perfect way to get exposure.  you would be surprised at the amount of people that begin to recognize your style, so always do your best.  Don't just do it.  Really put in the effort and then add it to your portfolio.  Attend comic conventions.  Get some advice from upcoming artists and support your local scene.  You'll get better information if you buy something from the artist.  Remember that you're taking up their time with your curiosity.  After 1 or 2 trips to the convention, get yourself a booth in artist alley.  

 

Don't be afraid of taking work for exposure, but learn when it is appropriate.  Many established artists won't do this, so take advantage.  When done correctly the experience can boost you up incredibly.  Interview the publisher and make sure they have the credentials: a large national or global audience that is verifiable.  Make sure that you are in agreement as to you being awarded recognition for your work and have it in writing as a written agreement with monetary consequences.  The work should be considerably a small job. Once published share it with everyone on your social media. 

 

Establish your rates and stick to them.  This will require you to evaluate the market.  See what other artist are charging for their work, especially artist that have similar talent to yourself.  Start at a competitive rate until you build up your recognition through your art work.  Try to set your price early on as to not be hassled by demanding clients, writers, and/or publishers. Stay firm on your prices, you did your research and you know your talent.      

 

Start practicing this today and mold yourself into a productive and creative artist.  

    

Here comes the next trailer for Dr. Strange!  This film looks very promising.  I wonder how this one like will connect to the other Marvel films.

Survival Guide to Attending Comic Conventions

Going to a comic convention is an amazing experience that can become very overwhelming very quickly.  There are so many things and people to look at that it might take you a while to process.  The best practice is to have a game plan.  Here are a few tips to consider before going to the comic convention:

Stay hydrated.  Whether you come in cosplay or just checking out the local artists remember to drink water.  Take a water bottle with you or buy one inside quickly.  You're going to be walking around and standing in lines so its important to have plenty of water.  With that in mind search for all of the bathrooms.  Try to go when its less busy and go frequently.  Sometimes the bathrooms can have long lines so don't wait until you can't hold it any more.

Bring money.  Besides the admission you should bring some money for food and cool stuff you might like to buy. Budget at least $20 for every 3 hours you plan to be there.  Remember that there are plenty of incredible comics, original art, prints, and collectables available so remember to budget for that, too.

Bring your fully charged cell phone and charger.  Try not to play on the phone to often. Remember they you want to conserve battery life so you can call friends to meet up or in case you or your friends get lost.  Some of these comic conventions can be very big and confusing like a maze.  Keep an eye for power outlets and ask for permission before you plugin.

 

Have a small bag to carry snacks and water bottles on outside compartments and enough space to carry comics and other cool stuff you may purchase.  Don't get offended but some places may require for security to check your bag.  Its usually quick and it keeps everyone safe. 

Buying stuff.  If you see something you like buy it sooner than later.  A lot of cool stuff sells out very fast.  So if you're interested in something consider it quickly.  Remember to budget for thing you may want.  The usual places or venders are: comics and collectables, local comic studios/publishers, artist alley is filled with prints and original art/commissions, special guest and signings.  Figure what you want before hand.  Remember that these events have flyers with what you can expect to find at their convention.

Bring a camera. Your phone is great but you might want to consider bringing a camera.  There's going to be a ton of people dressed up as your favorite characters.  Cosplayers usually flood the conventions and its a specially worth capturing and posting on your Facebook page.  Please ask cosplayers permission to take a picture.  Don't grope or fondle cosplayers.  Be polite because many cosplayers are people just like you and I.  Some cosplayers are models or professionals and may sell or direct you to their website to buy prints. 

Remember to visit and support local artists and indie publishers.  You can find a great amount of fun and creative books and art for your enjoyment and to share with friends.

I hope this helps and keeps everything fun and exciting for everyone.