Drawing Comics: How To Draw Professional Comic Books and Become a Professional Comic Book Artist (Part 1)

For those of you who come here for the first time, let me introduce myself: my name is Julio Molina-Muscara, I have a portfolio website at www.julio.ws, I've always loved to draw, and I am a published comic book artist. My credits include the Omega Chase comic book, written by Keith Dallas, published by Th3rd World Studios, and currently available online at Drunk Duck.

In this series of posts that I call "Drawing Comics: How To Draw Professional Comic Books and Become a Professional Comic Book Artist", I will share with you information on how to draw professional looking comic books that comic book publishers will accept and print, and what to do to become a paid and published comic book artist.

PART 1: SHOW YOUR DRAWINGS TO THE WORLD
The very first thing you need to do in order to become a professional published comic book artist is to display your VERY BEST drawings on the web. Let me say that again: your VERY BEST drawings, only. It is VERY important that you ONLY show your VERY, VERY BEST drawings to MAXIMIZE the chances of being seeing and contacted by a writer or publisher who are looking for an artist for their comic books. This essential step worked for me; I am sure that it will work for you too.  

Options For Posting Your Drawings
There are several ways for posting your very best drawings on the web. From simpler to complex, they include:

• Post your drawings in comic book publisher forums
• Post your drawings in artwork portfolio gallery websites
• Create your own artist blog to post your drawings
• Create your own artist website to post your drawings

I suggest you try all of them. I'll go over the first option in this post.  

a) Posting your Drawings in Comic Book Publisher Forums
Most comic book publishers have forums (AKA bulletin boards) with sections that invite aspiring artists to post their drawings.This is a fantastic and FREE way to let yourself know to them.

Before I proceed, I suggest that since you're starting out, you should concentrate on small to medium size publishers.Yes, I know that you may want to work for Marvel Comics, DC or Image right about now. But big publishers don't hire aspiring artists unless they can draw BETTER than the artists they already have on their staff. If that's your case, then, go for it!! However, if that's not your case, don't worry, you just need to start low and work your way up. With effort, perseverance, study, and time, you could become the "Next Big Thing" at Marvel Comics.

To find a list of comic book publishers, visit Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_comic_book_publishing_companies Or click the following link for a "Google search on comic book publishers"

Visit each publisher and look at their forums. Look for the sections where you can post your artwork. See what attracts you and decide where you'll try out. For example, Antarctic Press' forum is nice and the section for posting your drawings is at http://www.apforums.com/view_forum.php?id=11

You may want to post pinups or sequentials (pages with many panels). TIP: sequentials usually do better because publishers are mostly interested in artists who can draw comics, not artists who can draw covers or pinups. 

Create an account in the forums you like, and post your VERY BEST drawings. Try using the same name and/or user name for all forums so people can recognize you across the board. Set your account to send you email alerts when someone responds to your posts, could be someone interested in hiring you! Check back the forums daily for traffic and feedback.  

IMPORTANT: Always listen carefully to feedback and criticism, you can always learn from it and IMPROVE. Don't interrupt the person giving you feedback. Don't explain your way of doing things unless asked to. Don't take criticism personally. Kindly ask for constructive criticism only. Be humble.

Good luck!