Creative daily

How to be a Cartoonist | Blog

May 12, 2022

Discover Online Classes in Cartoons

Draw caricatures, superheroes Animals, superheroes, and other things.    

Do you love making cartoons as much as reading or watching them? A career as a cartoonist might be a great fit.

Cartooning is a creative profession with plenty of possibilities in the type of work that you could do as well as the fields you could be employed by. Also, there's a lot of possibilities in the goals behind the work that you produce, such as advertising, entertainment, marketing and political comments.

If being paid to draw sounds like a dream job Learn more about the process of becoming a cartoonist, including an overview of the qualifications of cartoonists and salaries.

What is an Cartoonist?

Similar to many creative careers cartoonists may be employed as an in-house employee for a magazine as a publisher or may work independently as a freelancer. There's an opportunity to earn some earnings and develop new aspects of your artistic skills. If you're lucky enough, you could even join the ranks of famous cartoonists, such as Matt Groening ( The Simpsons), Tove Jansson ( The Moomins) as well as Bill Watterson ( Calvin and Hobbes).

Cartoonist Job Description

What do cartoonists do day-to-day? Of course, a lot of hours are spent on drawing however that'sn't the only job on the cartoonist's agenda.

The other duties of a cartoonist includes:

  • Team collaboration:A cartoonist who works for a certain company, publication, or agency will often work alongside editors and producers or collaborate with animators, writers and editors too. The freelance cartoonist can also perform quite a bit of working in collaboration, interacting with clients as well as doing some back and forth until the work is completed.

What degree of freedom you enjoy as a cartoonist will in large part depend on the organization you're working for and in what capacity. It's possible to work completely independently and simply sell completed work afterward, but that route might not be the same as working within a studio or as a commission.

   Creating Cartoon Faces  

   Drawing Faces: A Beginner's Handbook  

What is the best way to become an Cartoonist

There's no specific path guaranteed to lead you to a lucrative career as a cartoonist. However, there is an array of things that you can do to make yourself more open to new opportunities and become established as a professional in your field. according to the place you'd like to work, that could or might not involve attending school to earn an art degree.

Then, how can you become cartoonist? Here are two ways for you to start.

Learn to be an artist

An undergraduate degree in art or in a related field like graphic design, animation or illustration may be an excellent stepping stone for a career as a cartoonist. Getting a formal education gives the opportunity to sharpen your abilities, discover the style that suits you, and access opportunities like apprenticeships and mentoring that you may not have had access to previously. This can help in showcasing your skills when seeking jobs.

Learn to create cartoons

When you've mastered your skills, consider what opportunities you could get for an internship or entry-level position which will give you on-the-job experience. You should also build a solid portfolio that you can show potential employers and clients.

Average Cartoonist Salary

The median salary of cartoonists in U.S. is about $51,500 each year, according to the Economic Research Institute which estimates that senior-level cartoonists earn closer to $63,000. Like you would expect that a cartoonist's earnings can differ quite a bit depending on their location, skills levels, level of experience, as well as popularity.

It's important to consider the field itself and the ways that most cartoonists make their money when looking at overall income. A freelance cartoonist is likely to have quite a different pay structure than someone who is paid a set annual wage.

If you're considering going freelance and want to learn how much you could make look up some information to discover what cartoonists at your level pay for their work and what additional skills or services can help diversify your offerings and make even more money.

Where to Find Cartoonist Jobs

Cartoons in their visual art form are featured across a variety of media publications. While you advance in your career, you'll probably start to get an idea regarding the type of jobs as a cartoonist you'd like to take on, however it's helpful to understand what your options are and how you'll have the opportunity use your skills to put to.

From The New Yorker From The New Yorker to Buzzfeed From The New Yorker to Buzzfeed, there are plenty of publications that commission cartoons or have cartoonists as staff. This includes newspapers, magazines as well as websites, many with some kind of a particular focus, such as politics, entertainment or health and well-being, or sports.

Film and Television

Wherever you see animation in films and television, you're seeing the work of a cartoonist brought to life. Cartoonists working for this kind of medium is an exciting prospect, although it's a bit competitive, especially when your goal is to be to work somewhere like Disney and that of the Cartoon Network. To stand out from the crowd in the market, you'll have to have additional skills to the table like the capacity to write or animate alongside drawing.

Advertising

Since the beginning of time, advertisements have existed and companies making use of cartoons in order to sell their merchandise. If you're interested in the field of marketing or advertising, or you see it as a potentially lucrative cartoonist career track, keep an eye on graphics and art design jobs at ad agencies and use your talents to create unforgettable media for campaigns in advertising.

Go Solo as a Freelance Cartoonist

Are you looking to do a amount of everything? Make a start as a cartoonist on a contract basis and market your work directly to all sorts of clients and customers. One of the major benefits when being a cartoonist freelance is the fact that you have complete control over the projects you decide to work on. In terms of drawbacks, work (and income) may not be as steady as you would like, and you might have to be working overtime at the beginning to make a sustainable profit.

Show Your Talent Creatively with us on National Cartoonists Day

Any day is a good time to showcase the talents you have as a cartoonist. If you're seeking the perfect opportunity to showcase your art, then National Cartoonists Day, held each year on the 5th of May will be the best time to show it.

National Cartoonists Day was founded in 1999 in order to pay tribute to cartoons as well as their creators, with the date itself serving to celebrate the very first cartoon that was commercially successful, "Hogan's Alley," it was first published on the 5th of May, 1895 in New York World.

You don't need to earn a living as a cartoonist in order to be able to recognize your art and the art of other cartoonists. On National Cartoonists Day, make a point of engaging in the online community of cartoonists, and consider taking the plunge in the direction of pursuing your career as a cartoonist.

   Make Moving as a Cartoonist  

   Cartooning Illustration of People in Motion