How to get a Job in Comic Books
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2024
- The industry has changed and how I broke in may not be applicable anymore, but there are new ways you can get in. Let me show you the ways.
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- TIMESTAMPS -
0:00 - intro
1:35 - how I broke in
4:20 - show your work
6:40 - preparing your portfolio
11:34 - creating your own opportunities
14:01 - comic book conventions
16:21 - preview of episode 3
#artvlog #studiovlog #drawingcomicbooks 
Хобби
Hey thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this episode, check out the entire series here: ruclips.net/p/PLnSGJ0XeWUB-JP6qnIX7_QCkxcQjmzUvK and if you took something away from these, it would be amazing if you shared these to other artists, both aspiring and pros alike! Thanks!
Do your thing, keep doing your thing until you're good enough for people to pay for it.
This video is way too well put together and edited to have so few views. This was amazing
Thanks, Brandon! It's a building process I imagine
It's funny, this is a thing I've noticed with tons of other professionals who work in the comics industry and also have a RUclips channel.
Their channels are generally small (but will have the most amazing editing and also information quality), but they will be the people who end up having decades of experience in the comic industry versus a larger channel with a person who hasn't worked in the industry. Which makes sense at least in my brain because well... How are you going to genuinely work on making a RUclips channel big if you're too busy actively working in the comics industry with marvel or DC or whoever else. That's a full-time job which is the priority while the RUclips channel is more of a side thing.
This is exactly how I feel you stumbled on my web comic Marina Park. You are definitely correct that more young artist need to just finish something.
I keep my witchblades very close hoping one day you can sing one for me francis, what a revelation your art was when it hit me , what a time to be working on top cow, those guys were a dream team
Thanks! Working there was my equivalent to a college experience. Lots of fun memories.
Heres the easy answer. Don't break into other people's idea of what "breaking into comics might be; Just make your story. Write the pages, draw the pages. Hire people you like and trust to help you. But don't think Marvel or DC or any other outfit will assist you in your goal. They'll suck all your blood out and use your essence to make money for themselves. Make your own. Own your own. HAIL CG!
The idea of "breaking In" is dead because the building you're trying to break into is destroyed. Theere's no roof. There's no place for you.
Creating your own books and generating your own projects really is the way to go. As it was said "if you build it they will come." But as a fan people also want the opportunity to work with characters they love.
oh i came across this video randomly but as it happens you're the guy who did "The Necromancer" comic that i picked up the first 3 issues in a pile at my comic shop... Neat
Yup, that was me.
Great video, love the stylish editing, very interesting!
Subbed and bell’d. This is so thoughtfully made, with just enough polish while remaining earnest. As a comic artist in my own version of this, super appreciate your work.
these are great lil vlogs!!! love the vibe and execution and of course -- the tips / advice ! thanks a lot Francis!
Glad you like them!
I'm glad you're back at uploading videos. I really enjoyed this series. Also, your tutorials were such a big help to me especially the layer mask method. Thanks a lot for this awesome channel.
Thanks! So glad that helped! Love using layers masks.
Thank you for this Francis! You are one of my favorite artists of all time and a huge inspiration for me wanting to make my own indie comics for fun. Your art and paneling on the N52 Flash run with Brian Buccellato changed my entire mindset as an artist for the better (so much so that I bought the Omnibus very recently)!
While I am personally not trying to get into the industry per se, this channel and this series are incredible for honing my own skills as I continue in my journey!
Thank you for all you do and keep it up! 🔥
Hey thanks so much! And hey, the making of the art can be the purpose itself. You don't need to be pursuing the industry to enjoy creating stories and drawing. Happy to hear these videos help!
Hey Francis, thanks for sharing your experiences and process; for an artist trying to break into the big 2 like me, it's always good to have such great advice from someone established in the biz.
Thanks, Rapha! Best of luck with everything!
This is an incredible video Francis, both as a fan and as an indie webcomic artist. Hearing your experiences makes me feel connected and relieved. Like yeah, I’m not the only one going though this.
Thanks! Yeah there's a big community of people going through the exact same thing, you have just not met them yet! Keep pushing!
Perfect time for this video! I going to Thought Bubble Comics Convention in Leeds this November with my portfólio. Thanks.
Good luck!
@@comicfan92 Thanks man!
Hey, good luck, Martin! Hope you have a great con!
@@FrancisManapulArt Thank you, sir. I hope that someone will like my work. I'm currently more of a book cover artist, but I've been trying to make comics for years.
Loving these dude. The format is great too
Hey thanks, Joe!!
I'm currently working on some samples and man finishing something like that takes so much work, and trying to figure out how the story goes and all the angles. It's definitely a learning experience, which is why I think it's fine for it to take as long as it needs to take.
Agreed! take as long as you need. I guess the only deadlines you really have are self imposed or whenever it is you plan to send or show them.
@@FrancisManapulArt Yes exactly. I set a deadline for myself to attend a con next year with them resdy. Do you have any tips on speed though? I think i have what it takes to break in, but I'm slow as hell.
Instagram is a pay to win scheme. The best artists work does not make it to the top of suggested posts. Rather its those who had enough money to buy botted follows and likes, and those who are already tied to a big corporation/ network. An organic fanbase is about 0-300 people. Not enough for the algorithms to push ones work to be seen in the sea of social media distractions. ( in which case the company is really hiring based on percirved popularity of the artist and not skill/ credentials). There is no shortcut to a company investing in good marketing (which is not the artists job).
I'm not well versed in the algorithm on IG but I agree with you in that reach or whatever it's called isn't what it used to be since they moved away from being chronological. I'm simply sharing my past experience of having been told by multiple editors who have found artists on IG and hired them.
Love the 3x3 idea
Awesome! Sorry for the hellish deadline. It’s my super power. ❤
A nightmare of my own doing! You're my guide in this dark world, Will!
Thank you for this VID!
Great Advice with the 3 Page Portfolio Pieces!
11:24 Don't you Miss Traditional DRawing and Inking?
This is the best advice I’ve heard for breaking into comics I’ve heard. Just prove you can finish a book but, it’s a whole lot easier to say than it is to do.😊
Thanks! Yeah finishing can be difficult for many reasons so a strong portfolio is just one part of breaking in.
Awesome and very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Dude... This series is AWESOME! Great information and just a joy to watch. Saving the next two for tomorrow...and that's about as long as I can force myself to wait. Great work as always.
Just curious... why don't you promote these RUclips video's on your Instagram? They deserve to have as many eyes on them as possible !
Thanks for binging! I'll try to keep these on a regular! I promote them a little bit on IG but I've been curious to see if I can build this channel up organically. It's definitely a slower process than IG, but honestly I just enjoy making these videos and has become another outlet for the creative process.
Awesomeness sir
Thanks, Johnnie!
Your videos are as well done as your art. Been subscribed for a while. Nothing ya popped up. I’ll have to start making it a point to check back weekly. Thanks for the education. 🙏🤝
Thanks, Jackson! Much appreciated!
Ty this was very helpful!
Hey happy to hear!
been practicing my inks on your stuff the last couple of weeks!
Oh dope! Would love to see them!
@@FrancisManapulArt can I send them to your instagram?
OH MY GOD THIS SERIES IS AMAZING!
Here's my dilemma, i know how to draw, how to make good anatomy how to make scenes, how to use perspective, and painting. But for some reason when i try to do a full comic page, i fell freeze, and incapable to finish. I really don't know what happens... but i know in my heart i wanna do it. Do you have a tip for overcome this?
Thank you for this series Francis, you are trully awesome.
Ah, yeah a lot of illustrators run into this. Just think of the whole page as a sum of it's parts rather than getting too caught up in each panel. I'm simplifying a lot here but in general you have to put on your storytelling cap and the art is there to support your story. It's a great question indeed maybe I'll delve into this in a future ep.
@@FrancisManapulArt Thank you i will keep that in mind!!
First job is vital but still doesn't always work out. I got mine in 2020, 8 page short. I did everything asked for, including redraws and ink washes when color got pulled a few days before deadline, all in a 13 day period with an author that ghosted me. The book never saw light of day.
I'm better now, so that's for the best, ultimately. But it still stings. Haven't broken in yet. Still trying.
Thanks as always for your videos!
Hey thanks, Hunter! Yeah it's rough out there. A lot of false starts at the beginning. I remember doing a lot of uncredited and unpaid work before I finally got my "first" job with a reputable company. Every now and then you get burnt, all you can really do is learn and keep going. Hope things work out for you man, sounds like you got the right attitude!
BRO! SELF-PUBLISH!!!! Do as Eric July did! Do as Ethan Van Sciver did!!!! You are your own entry into sequential art!!!! Make your stuff, put it out there!!! That's all you need!!!
IMO doors aren’t closed. There are many but some doors are heavy, some are light. It’s about finding them and showing your work. Your work can be the right key for that door. I said door too much 😂
Love the video Francis, gives me even more hope for my projects
Thanks! Just seems more exciting to say it this way lol but in all seriousness, the types of doors change, you just need to uncover it.
@@FrancisManapulArt Agreed, wholeheartedly! I’d like to send you a copy of my comic when it’s done, is it okay to ask to you follow me on IG? I can message you
Fun fact: in Italy the standard "montly comicbook issues" are 98 pages long, the first job is always a pain XD
Hey, this was great. Thank you very much for the extra inspiration. I’ve got an awesome three book start on what will easily be one of the greatest comic book series of all time, if I can ever find an illustrator(s). I just have no idea how to convince anyone else to take on the monumental task with me. I’ve been practicing doing the background illustration work to potentially help lighten the load, but I’m a writer first and foremost and feel it would all be better served if I focused on that and got someone else, whose drawing can match my writing, to do the heavy lifting on that end. Any tips on incentivizing a long term partnership for something like this? Any tips on making a long comic more appealing to artists, since you say you dread a thirty pager, I can’t imagine how I’ll ever win anyone over to an epic.
Thanks, Zach! Yeah it's always tougher for writers. I will say, that it definitely is hard to get an artist. You'll have to either incentivize them by paying them, or somehow they really believe in your project and want to go in on it with you. The problem is that if an artist chooses to, at the early stage in their career developing someone else's idea isn't that appealing unless they're getting paid, or they really really believe in it and you're giving them co ownership of your idea. Hope that helps.
@@FrancisManapulArt It is indeed helpful. Any insight I can get is. Especially when a RUclipsr is classy enough to respond to a question on an old video. Was watching your great video on camera angles when I saw this email. I’ll be leaving a comment on that one too.
As far as this goes, I’ve written all sorts of things that I don’t care if anyone ever reads, but this particular story needs to, not only be read, but be seen as well. And man oh man do I want it consistent. So, I don’t mind splitting royalties for the books. I think I’d prefer it that way, so long as it doesn’t affect my equity/control of the story itself and/or my ability to eventually get it animated.
Not only is it meant to be seen, it’s ultimately meant to be seen in motion. I’m getting back to something I was thinking about watching the camera angles video, but comics and anime have huge benefits over novels and film that I don’t believe are fully taken advantage of often enough. I want a series of comic books on par with any novel, and I want an anime so good that no one would ever dream of it in live-action. And I’ve finally got a version of that on paper. I’m just gonna have to get serious about finding an illustrator. I’ve only reached out to a handful. It’s tough to basically seek out rejection, especially when the writing is going so well and feels infinitely more productive. But the advice from you and Siya has been very helpful and I plan to redouble my efforts when I get to another good stopping point in the writing. Jeez that got long
What's the connection between Top Cow and DC? They're two separate companies so there's a piece of the story missing. A detail glossed over that may provide insight on how one can jump from one's own indy company to a major publisher or from a small publisher to a major one.
Ah good question. The answer is surprisingly simple which could be why I didn't think about mentioning it at all. Basically editors from DC saw my work at Top Cow and reached out to offer me a contract. At the same time Marvel had made a similar offer, but I chose DC at that point in time. I've been fortunate enough that the work I've done tends to be the driver of my next projects. I didn't want to be as cliche as the reward for my work was better work, but that's basically what happened.
I wish they could give me a Cartoon job this right here sa animator that has a RUclips channel. And is working hard on my project homeworks. Trying to come up with my own characters my own stories. I would definitely be good at making comics😮 i really need a job like this so i can be go at it.
In terms of drawing cars and cities do you have to draw them by memory or is it ok to use a reference for it ?
Oh yes absolutely. If I've never drawn something before I use reference. After some time and repetition some things become part of my memory and I'll use reference for that less. There are some cars I can draw from my mind, but some I'll need to look at a picture if I want to be accurate to the model of car or whatever. hope that helps.
Hi Francis, I just started making comics last year, idk how to deal the client rejecting my work and telling me to change certain aspects of it, aspect that maybe you got positive reviews from.
Hey Mohammed, hard to say as I don't know the entire detail. If it's about style, then yeah I agree that is tough to change as it is part of who you are. If it's a practical change then the criticism is understandable. That said as cheesy as it sounds I use all criticism as a learning point, whether I agree or not. Just another reason to keep learning and trying to improve. Wish you the best of luck in your art career.
Can you help me?How to get a job artist for comic books in the Spain city(la Coruna)?And how mauch is paid this job in the Spain?😊
I think the best way is to attend comic book conventions and connect with local publishers.
@@FrancisManapulArt Yes but they don't have info....i ask them..
can i do a professional comics art in an ipad ?
Sure. A lot of artists do.
I have qustion how do own my charaecters so no one takes my ideas because I want to be able to own my charaecters
Would 3x3 method work for an aspiring colorist?
I think it can. Mostly you want to show a variety of situations so they can see versatility
@@FrancisManapulArt Thanks. Clean sequentials are a lot harder to find than pinups/covers for coloring work/practice. Any suggestions on where I could find enough for a 3x3?
12:50 it's taxing.
Yea, it's a grueling marathon...