Young cartoonist looking for tips

[Digifiend]

The majority of The Beano's artists do. Nobody can make that decision for you though Jonny.

[Jonny Whizz]

I'm sorry, I didn't phrase my question particularly well. What I was really asking was whether it was okay to sign my work, or whether it was best not to. It's a Billy Whizz strip (you might have guessed!) drawn in a Vic Neill style, and Vic didn't tend to sign his Beano work, though he did for other comics (until quite recently, most Beano artists simply weren't allowed to sign their work). From the sound of your answer it sounds like it would be okay for me to do that, so thank you anyway!

[Digifiend]

The only Beano artists who don't regularly sign their work nowadays are Barrie Appleby (Roger the Dodger and Billy the Cat's artist) and Jimmy Hansen (Dennis the Menace and Wallace and Gromit artist). They've been allowed to sign their work for at least 10 years.

[AndyB]

Nothing wrong with signing them. If you were to do an original character for someone who didn't want your signature in print, they could take it out at the reproduction stage.

[felneymike]

Signing is really completley optional at "this stage". You might want to go for self-publishing initially to get people reading your stuff and also it will give you an excuse to draw more often and improve!

There's always the chance that something self-published will catch the eye of somebody who works for a publishing company (not nessescarily for a comic, though, at the current time) who needs an illustrator. If that happens you want your name on it!

[dennis the menace]

will your scan your work in please would love to see it.
also ispyshhguy good look with syndicates

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

GOCOMICS are running a competition, for would-be syndicated cartoonists, with a publishing deal for the winner----I would probably enter, but I don't have the larger-scale 'SUNDAY' strips they require [I can't find out the dimensions anywhere on the web].

Great they are still seeking out new material, however.

[Digifiend]

A quick Google search and I found the info you wanted!

http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/a ... 67016.html

Sunday comic strip borders have two sizes: the first is a large format of 5 3/8” x 11 1/2” and the second format of 3 3/4” x 11 1/2”. The Sunday strips are drawn at the size they are published and usual have two rows of panels.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

nice one, DIGI! I was obviously looking in the wrong places!

[Digifiend]

I just Googled "sunday syndicated strip dimensions" and it came up fourth down the list.

[ComicCrazy]

Could we see some of your work Jonny Whizz?

[Nigel Auchterlounie]

The only bit of advice I have is when you sketch your stuff out before inking use a non repro blue pen or pencil (just light blue really) then a photocopier or a scanner set to grey scale can't see your pencils.
It saves you hours of rubbing out your pencil lines.

Either that or lightbox your pencils.

Rubbing out is really, really boring.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I heartily agree, Nigel....my early cartoon efforts were started with dark HB pencil-----definately the most fun I've ever had in creating cartoons........later of course, I tumbled that it took many hours to erase the pencil-marks [along with an almost disjointed right thumb] in a pile of finished inkings, and in the end it wasn't worth it.

In finished pencils, I nowadays use 4H or plain 'H', which almost 'evaporates' within days!

Animator's rough sketches in the pre-CGI days were always more full of life and vitality than the finished imagery on the cels.......

Welcome to the site, by the way, and may your stay be a long and fruitful one.......

[Jonny Whizz]

Oh bother!

The Billy Whizz strip in this week's issue is quite similar to the strip I was working on. What do I do now? It's not exactly the same, but I'm concerned it might be too much like it.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

It's obviously been a coincidence, Jonny , ---and console yourself with the fact that your own work is very much in the BEANO mould........in fact, very much along the lines they are looking for!

You're only a young whippersnapper, so you've loads of time in front of you to develop your strips/cartoons.