Submission guidelines 2.0 - Finding a Job in the Art industry

[Fallenangel]

Hi,
I decided to make a second version of the submission guidelines thread, here you'd be able to find:
a. links to submission guidelines and contact info for various companies
b. links to places where you'd be able to find some freelance work to help you pay the bills
c. tips, and useful information about starting your way as a new artist in the comics/illustration industry.

If anyone has some helpful links/info/corrections/suggestions, feel free to PM me. (It would become a sticky, so i wan't to keep this thread as clean as possible - to ease the work of the mods here )

Cheers,
Fallen.




1. Prologue: Making a decision, Building a portfolio, What and How to submit....

Some Basic Suggestions:
A. Advertisement: Post on every possible site/forum (from facebook to twitter) that you're taking commissions and that you're looking for work, don't forget to mention your price rates if possible.
Also check general art focused forums for "looking for artist adds" and more. (some listed below)

B. Advertisement part 2: There are a lot sites like this oneComicArtCommissions You can use them to showcase your best work, so it would be supposedly easier for people who search for artists to find you.

C. Building a fan base: Be active online, open a page on DA, start a blog/a sketchbook/submit your work to magazines and contests, thus you'd be able to start building a fan base and would get more exposure. Being friendly to your fellow artists is a good way to make some useful contacts.
Attention! Some of those sites will ask you to pay for their services (like featuring your portfolio on the front page, becoming a premium member to get more exposure and etc.)

D. Conventions: (if possible) there you'd be able to sell prints and get commissions.
Also you can show your portfolio to be reviewed by professional artists.

E. Art prices: It depends a lot on your art quality, how famous you are, your speed, currency in your country, shipping costs (if you'd need to ship the original art) and more...

To make it simple, try to calculate how much time (in hours) you spend on a pin-up/full sequential page/sketch/etc. and multiply it by the average "hourly" rate in your country. That would give you at least some kind of perspective of what money you should expect to get from making your art.
According to the rates that you got, you can build a commissions pricing page for example:
sequential page - 100$, pinup -1000$, sketch -10000$...etc.

Small but important notes for a beginning artist - from personal experience

1. Before you submit your portfolio to the various companies, you MUST do some research about these companies, and try answering some simple yet important questions for each and every one of them;

a. Does this company has a specific criteria to portfolio reviews/submissions - if they do, follow their rules! (do they want a disclosure form attached to the submission? do they accept only snail mail submission or also links to portfolios? do they expect you to attach some jpgs to the e-mail submission or a simple link would be enough?....etc)

b. Does your portfolio match their general "style" of work? - editors (unless specified otherwise) would always prefer to maintain a certain brand/company "style".

2. Never write down or say that you are a "beginner", "aspiring", etc...artist. Editors would understand that by themselves, you do not need to devalue yourself and your work with these statements.

3. If possible, write down your previous experience in the art industry, and if you have, any positive references from people you worked for.
Important! - do not invent imaginary companies and clients.
Important! - doing drawings for family members and friends, doesn't count as previous work experience.

4. When you do receive some proposals from possible clients/companies. Stick to the pay rate (per page/per illustration) that you set to yourself.
Do not work for peanuts or for the promise of future exposure! - you are not doing it as a hobby, it is supposed to be a job, if it doesn't pay enough it could mean only two things. Either you're getting ripped off, or you're simply not good enough yet.

5. When you compose the e-mail, snail mail to the company's editors, BE PERSONAL! as was stated before do some research on what is the name, gender of the editor you try to make contact with.
DO NOT simply send the generic: "Hi, my name is....", "Dear Mr/Mrs...",
but "Dear insert editors name here....."


Useful Links:
Free online Portfolio Site: Carbonmade

SD Con 2008 talk: 2008 SD Con - How Not to break into Comics

Awesome guide by Symson: A Guide to putting together your sequential Portfolio

General Submission Tips: Any tips on what I should do -PJ forum discussion

Portfolio Review: Q&A -PJ forum discussion

How to build an illustrator's portfolio: What do I put in my Portfolio?

Breaking into the Art industry - Clint Cearley

Sean Gordon Murphy - DA Journal Articles
1. The-Detrimental-Awe
2. 5-Levels
3. 5-Year-Plan
4. 5 Art Selling Tips

Escape from Illustration Island
1. Part -1- Skimming the fat
2. Part -2- Consistency
3. Part -3- Segmenting
4. 3 mistakes illustrators make in their portfolios

Art Order:
Portfolio Building Classes - Introduction
Portfolio Building Classes - Class 1
Portfolio Building Class - Class 2
Portfolio Building class - Class 3
Portfolio Building Class - Class 4
Portfolio Building Class - Class 4a
Portfolio Building Class - Class 5
Portfolio Building Class - Class 5A
Portfolio Building Class - Class 6
Portfolio Building Class - Class 7
Online Portfolios the DOs & DON'Ts


2. General art job forums: comissions, paid projects, part/full time jobs and etc.


PENCILJACK - Bulletin-Board

Conceptart - Art Jobs board

DigitalWebbing - Paid Jobs board

CGhub - Paid Jobs board

DA - Job Offers board

Game Artist - Job Offers board



3. Comic book publishing companies:

3.1 Major Companies:

Marvel - Sorry guys...continue to create, and if you have the right stuff...we’ll find you.
Marvel does not accept or consider any ideas, creative suggestions, artwork, designs, game proposals, scripts, manuscripts, or similar material unless we have specifically requested it from you. Marvel is continuously developing and creating its own ideas and materials, and we don’t have the resources to review or respond to unsolicited material. Unfortunately, any unsolicited material you send will not be read or shared. It will be destroyed, and it will not be returned.

Ok so I have asked joe quesada what the best way to present a portfolio is to marvel. He told me they like to see three 3 page stories. Each with a cover.
1 story of a single character
1 story of a team
And 1 story of conversation.

DC Comics - Again sorry guys...good luck in reaching them on conventions
At this time, DC Entertainment does not accept unsolicited artwork or writing submissions.

A high up dc guy (im ashamed i cant remember his name) told me dc comics likes it best when you take 5-7 pre existing pages a redo them in your own style. When presenting your portfolio to them make sure to show the original pages to give them a basis for comparison.

Image Comics - submission Guidelines Image Comics only publishes creator-owned material! In other words, we want to publish YOUR comics -- we aren't looking to have you work on books that WE dream up. When you're submitting stuff to us at the home office, we expect it to be something original, not something utilizing existing Image characters. Image Comics accepts only PROPOSALS for new comic series or graphic novels, etc



3.2 Companies:

Antarctic Press - Submission Guidelines
"It is far more desirable for you as a submitting artist to be versed in penciling, inking, and writing. As publishers, we prefer creators who can do it all. It's much more beneficial for you to be multi-talented in these areas, but it's not essential. If you can do it all, then it's better for you and for us."

Arena Comics - Submission Guidelines
Arena Comics is a small American publisher of genre-spanning comic books, magazines and novels. The company was founded in 2012 and distances itself from its peers by adopting a European packaging style and aesthetic.

Aspen Comics - Submission Guidelines
"Always use only recognizable, published, trademarked characters. We would like to see our characters used, but it is not necessary. Never send us original characters or concepts."

Avatar Press - Submission Guidelines
When sending submissions via snail mail and/or other more comprehensive submissions, your submission should include a wide range of samples, showcasing all your abilities. We want to see panel to panel continuity (storytelling), as well as illustrative work (pin-ups, covers, etc.)

Boom Studios - Boom Studios artist Gallery Forum
Please note: WE DO NOT TAKE ANY SUBMISSIONS!
If you are an artist and you are looking for freelance work, please post examples of your work in our Artist Gallery Forum.

Dark Horse - Submission Guidelines An editor wants to see that you can draw sequential art, not pinups. Five or six consecutive story pages is usually adequate. Include quiet scenes as well as action, utilize a wide variety of faces, figures (male, female, normal people as well as "super" characters, etc.), and well-realized settings. Ask yourself the following questions: Does the angle you've chosen take full advantage of the dramatic potential in a scene? Do the backgrounds establish where the characters are in relationship to their surroundings and to each other? Is there a well-defined foreground, middleground, and background? Is there a clear, readable story even without word balloons or captions? Have you left adequate room for the dialogue and captions?

Devil's Due - Submission Guidelines
There are some basic industry standards that aspring creators should go by when submitting samples. If you have done your research, you will know the customary ways to present your art in a format that is easy to view and lets us know you're serious. We don't have any specific guidelines - so research online and find out what you believe is the best, simplest way to submit your portfolio.

Dynamite Entertainment - Submission Guidelines
Before submitting any material, download the Dynamite Entertainment Idea Submission Form.
It must be attached to the submission.

Fantagraphics - Submission Guidelines We want to see an idea that is fully fleshed-out in your mind, at least, if not on paper. Please submit a minimum of five pages of completed art (high-quality reproductions only, please — no original art!) so that we can get an idea of what you deem a finished product and so that we can adequately evaluate your skill at blending visual and textual storytelling elements.

Heavy Metal Magazine - Submission Guidelines
IDW - Submission Guidelines
Please do not send links to blogs or art forums. To ensure your work gets seen, submit lo-res jpegs (72 dpi) to letters@idwpublishing.com. Please keep attachments under 10 MB in size. We reply when able although it’s not always possible to send a direct response or critique

Imperium Comics - Submission Guidelines
"We are currently accepting submissions for Trailer Park Of Terror
Writers: Full scripts of 5 to 8 page self-contained horror stories
Pencillers, Inkers, and Colorists: Please submit at least 3 pages of sequential art
Letterers: Sorry but all letterer positions are filled at this time."

NBM Publishing - Submission Guidelines
We are only accepting submissions from already published authors at this time, including ones with proven success in online comics. We are also not accepting submissions from authors outside of North America, except for adult material.

Panini Comics - Submission Guidelines
Panini specialize in creating comics which are based on licensed characters - so it's very important if you send in your submissions that your work is relevant to our portfolio of titles. If you want to work on a particular title - send samples demonstrating your ability with those characters or properties.

Top Cow - Submission Guidelines

Top Shelf Productions - Submission Guidelines
Regarding submissions, we're easy. Just send us a xerox copy of what you'd like us to look at (or a URL link), and enough postage if you want the materials returned to you. Just please do not attach and send image files to our email addresses. Also, we cannot accept scripts or plot synopses, unless they are accompanied by a minimum of 10-20 completed pages (i.e., fully inked and lettered comic book pages).

Zenescope - Couldn't find any info yet.

12 Gauge Comics - Submission Guidelines




4. Sci-fi/fantasy publishing companies: illustrations, covers, card art, RPG art and etc.

ImagineFX - Submit your art to be exposed in an art magazine

Wizards of the Coast - Art Submission Guidelines

White Wolf Publishing - Art Submission Guidelines

Alderac Entertainment - Art Submission Guidelines

Mongooze Publishing - Art Submission Guidelines

Eden Studious - Art Submission Guidelines

Green Ronin Publishing - Art Submission Guidelines

Paizo Publishing - Art Submission e-mail

Fantasy Flight Games - Art Submission e-mail

----What to do, if your portfolio was rejected?!?!----

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section was composed from a thread discussion we had over here: Your portfolio was rejected what's next - PJ Discussion

Note 1: I tried to keep the comments as "quotes" simply because i wanted to pay tribute to all the great people who contributed from their experience.

Note 2: I edited few quotes to make them less about my portfolio review and more about general suggestions.

If you're interested in getting work with one, specific, company - then it would make sense to ask them EXACTLY what's missing from your portfolio. They all look for specific skills - and it seems to vary from place to place.
Once you have that info - work towards building an updated portfolio around that feedback.

Don't be afraid to omit weak pieces from your website or submission package (or at the very least date them to inform potential employers that it's older work). They detract from your stronger pieces. I'd rather submit a few strong pieces than a padded submission gallery with a lot of mediocre stuff. Also, try to cover as many genres with as few pieces as you can even if it means genre mashing: fantasy/western, sci-fi/noir, horror/tech, adventure/children's, future/drama, etc.

I think it's important to know why the portfolio was rejected. Did you need to change something about your work to fit their needs? Was there just someone better or more qualified who beat you out for the gig? Was there an active job that you were specifically applying to?

It's fine to be on file with an Art Director. You SHOULD be on file with them. But if they haven't got a gig right then that they see as fitting for you, then all you get is a "thank you, we'll put you on file" or maybe nothing at all (it doesn't mean they don't like you, or won't remember you).

That's the problem with blanketing Art Directors and Editors with your portfolio, it's nice for them to have but for them the job is about putting Artist together with Job. If there is no Job, they don't need no Artist, and since the money tends to flow from the Job, they don't generally go out of their way even for good Artists.

Solution? Try and find out what jobs Editors and Art Directors have going on at the moment. Not easy to do unless you have an inside track, but you can look at jobs you want to do and find out who the Editors or AD was on that job. It's not unusual for them to work on something else in the same vein, or perhaps know someone else who is and needs a person.

Do it again. And again. And again......

First time I banged on Marvels door I couldn't make it past the receptionist. I can't tell you the number of times Marvel Comics rejected me. Then one day, I'm sitting at home, not bothering anyone, when Christy Marx calls out of the blue and says Marvel wants me to work for them. WTF? I guess the lesson there is to get a beautiful woman to shill for you. I couldn't get past the door, Christy bats her eyes and I'm in. (I'm not sure if I'm joking or not)

Most of the years I was trying for Marvel Comics I was in animation trying to get into Marvel Animation. Same story, can't get past the door. Flash forward, I've finished my run on the X-Men, handed in my resignation when, THE VERY NEXT @#%&! DAY, Weezie gets a letter from Stan the Man himself:"Weezie, where'd you find this Paul Smith Character? Don't ever let him go, Stan." uhhh... Stan, I'm the guy who was banging on your door for the past 3 years!!! Weezie pulled me out of your back pocket. Answer the darn door, dude.

Hang tough baby. If you don't believe, nobody will.
Break a lead,
Smitty

Getting work is definitely more a matter of persistence and showing that you care enough to keep trying time after time after time.

Constantly build up your portfolio. Constantly send it out, and try to build relationships with the people you send to. More often than not, this is what will get you work over others.

"The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary." - Mort Drucker

I assume you presently have a job, perhaps not a comic job, but something that is helping you pay the bills? Keep at it and look for work doing interiors in anthologies and with smaller publishers. They may not pay, but they build a portfolio, and one of the keys to making comics is to simply make comics.

Handing a prospective employer a published work is just as important as handing them a portfolio.

Plus it will help you iron out your storytelling and refine your drawing skills.

Work hard, be persistent. There are plenty of guys making comics today that are less talented than folks I see on here, but the difference is those other guys were too determined to take no for an answer. There will always be somebody out there looking to collaborate. So long as you can provide for yourself, then look into those outlets and negotiate a deal that's beneficial to the both of you.

Try to network as well. You may not get in the front door, but somebody in the company may be able to sneak you around back when nobody is looking. Case in point, the two coloring book gigs I wrapped in December. Not the best job out there, but it's published work, and it's reps. Like weight lifting doing those reps will help you build a salable skill set.

Don't look at Jim Lee on Justice League as your inspiration. Look at Jim Lee on Samurai Santa as your inspiration.

If you want to do book work, like covers and such, might I suggest you mock up covers for actual novels that you've read and enjoyed? This has multiple benefits, not least of which is that you more easily attract the eyes of authors and art directors who work for publishers (as opposed to advertising people, or TV people, or whatever). Rather than doing a mock cover for a generic theme, do a cover for John Scalzi's Old Man's War, or Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon. Fans who like your interpretation will help you to spread the word, and if you're doing a good job it's much more likely that you'll go viral.

Also, a second point I'll make is that it's a reasonable idea to apply directly towards clients you would like to work with, rather than applying to the agencies and studios that handle them. I work for Brandon Sanderson because I showed my work to him, not because I showed my work to one of his publishing representatives.

It's entirely likely that you'll be ignored, but it's also possible that they'll like your work enough to forward it to their editor, which gets you pushed to the top of the slush pile.

-EDIT-

Additional note on trying to sidestep and go directly towards authors; choose wisely. Ideally, you want to find someone who's work you genuinely like, who writes books that adapt easily to visual media, and whom aren't so popular yet that they've had to distance themselves from the fanbase just to keep producing content rather than answering emails and letters all day. It helps if that author shows an interest in seeing their work adapted.

Not easy to do. But entirely doable. It helps immensely if you enjoy reading books (I burn through one or two novels a week, normally)

-EDITED EDIT-

I almost forgot! When novels are localized or licensed for foreign distribution, they almost never license the cover art, and instead need to produce new covers. Find out who publishes in your country for the authors you like best, and approach THOSE editors and art directors. For instance, if you wanted to draw covers for George R.R. Martin's most famous books, you won't approach Bantam (the US publisher), but rather Voyager Books, the UK publisher.

And because of this, your chances of getting to do the covers that will actually appear on shelves in your own country is much, much greater.

Bonus; work is work! If you do book covers for Voyager, the odds of being favorably seen by editors and ADs at Bantam (or Tor, or Scholastic, or any of the others) is greatly increased!

This was mentioned, and I want to second it, but I think where you might be lacking for your next round of portfolio submission is your presentation. Misspellings are just NOT acceptable... especially for an illustrator. Make an "about" section in your online portfolio with personality and a professional e-mail address.

Other suggestions I've gathered generally are to send out memorable promos to the clients you really want to work for. Something small that can stay on an art director's desk that will make them remember you. I'm not giving everything away, but I'm working on special flash/SD card packaging for people I'd die to work for. If you don't get a job right away, still keep submitting updated work on a regular schedule. Make postcards. PERSONALLY address submissions as much as possible to show you've taken the time to figure out who you're working for.

Also, networking! This is the biggest thing that I feel makes (good) art schools worth it. Plenty of people can learn on their own, but schools can help you network like crazy. At SU, I meet a new illustrator every week. EVERY. WEEK. They're huge on getting working illustrators in to talk to students as much as possible, and I wring every drop I can out of that. As with most businesses, the unfortunate reality is that who you know and who might drop in a good word can make a gigantic difference.

1) Stay hard headed.
2) Absorb good advice and repel the bad.
3) Learn to identify good advice from bad.
4) Dump your portfolio every 3 to 6 months and replace it with new work. Try to keep only the one best piece from your last set of samples/ portfolio.
5) Send your portfolio to your contacts (old and new) every time you put up your new portfolio.
6) Have fun. Your best work comes when you love what you're doing. Put things that speak to you into your work.
7) Never give up.
8) Find a partner to marry that is hot for creative people, makes lots of money, and has great insurance.

It's really like any job, have to tailor your portfolio to what the company is doing, and the job you are going after.
And then just show your best stuff.

Want a job with Marvel as a penciler? Show them un inked sequentials with there characters
Want a job working for video game company as a concept artist? show them concept art that fits there vision

If a company really likes you then they will ask to see other stuff. That's when you can show them that you are well rounded.
It really is that easy, They can tell from the first couple of pieces of art if they can use you.

Expect rejection, and build a personal portfolio on Deviantart with whatever you want. May be surprised, paying clients may start coming to you versus you going to them.

Also, I know sometimes as artists we feel like we are entitled an explanation on why someone doesn't like are art, but in reality these are all businesses. There only goal is to get the best possible talent for there projects within a defined budget so they can make money for there investors, and keep there company going.

Time is money to them, so if they give you any type of detailed feedback take this as the highest compliment . That means they see some potential in you, and want to see what you can do with some art direction.

Take there suggestions, and work on them. Then come back with new artwork that revolve around there art direction in 3 monthes or so.

If they keep coresponding with you, then they really like you, but may not have room for you at the moment. So keep plugging away till you are at the right place at the right time.

Make your luck happen for you.

[Fallenangel]

Added some articles that imo, were very useful....if you wish to work in an art/comics industry, read them.

[Fallenangel]

Updated this with some basic suggestions and pointers for those who only start their way in the art industry....like me

[Fallenangel]

Updated 8.6.12.
Added lots of new links and arranged the old ones in alphabetical order....USE THEM! FIND YOUR OWN PLACE IN THE ART WORLD!

Fallen.

[Fallenangel]

Updated 3.7.12
Sorry for the lack of updates, i added some more links mainly talking about illustrations, illustration portfolios and etc...however, they are quite useful for comic book artists as well.

If you guys have any information/tips or whatever that could fit this thread, feel free to PM me.

Fallen.

[Fallenangel]

Updated 30.7.12
Added one more link, if you guys have any other information or links that might be useful, feel free to PM me, and i"ll add it to the thread.

Cheers,
Fallen.

[showamerica]

I have read your article & all are too useful for me.

[Smitty]

Got a question in another thread that seems more appropriate to answer here. Here are some quotes to get all up to speed

I really liked those talks, though it is mainly for storyboard artists - it fits for illustrators and comic book artists too.

Tips from the Pros

Good goshawally, that's my old buddy Steve Hickner! We did time at Filmation together back in the 70s! By his own admission, he didn't make it into animation on his draftsmanship (although he's much smarter than he gives himself credit for) he made it on sheer tenacity. You may not know it to look at him here but, this is a guy that can call up Spielberg and say "Hey Steve, got 2 minutes?"

If you're the target audience (college age-ish with an impossible dream) I'd give this guy a listen. This is a guy who knows how to get what he wants.

P.S. Remind me to tell you about the time he came to my Christmas party, met my buddy Cindy, said, "That's the girl I'm going to marry".... and he did.

That is awesome, i always admired people who knew what they want from life, and how to get it.

Btw, if you don't mind me asking, can you take a look at the Submission guidelines 2.0 thread here on PJ
Submission guidelines 2.0 Finding a Job in the Art industry
What do you think? I would really appreciate any comment/link/info that you might want to add to this thread.

Fallen.

My problem here is two fold. One, you guys live in a different world than the one I grew up in. You deal with avenues and tech that didn't exist in my day. We didn't even have the Comics Journal yet. Two, I don't know how to break in because I never did. I was sitting at home when Christy Marx called and said Marvel wants you to work for them, here's the number, they're waiting for your call.

So, how do you get into comics? I say Luck. With luck defined as the crossroads of preparation and opportunity.

Prep is easy; Get good, get better, improve. Do whatever it takes to get an "artistic" job. Before I did Animation I did cartoon ads for local businesses. Silkscreened bar ware and clothing. Airbrushed clothes, motorcycle tanks, photographs for ads. Murals. Wedding announcements. Cartoons for Hughes Aircraft telling the US Navy what we did with their $300 million...

Opportunity comes from networking. Even Sherlock Holmes had the Baker Street Irregulars. Hang with the crazy people, starving artists such as yourself. And not just graphic types; Actors, musicians, poets, dancers. What you don't know, they will. Every direct attempt I made to get through the door was rebuffed (in retrospect, for lack of prep) My big breaks at Bakshi and Marvel came from friends who saw opportunities that weren't for them but, would be perfect for me. "Luckily" for me, by this time, I was prepared.

Steve's best point is that opportunity trumps money. Because he took a massive pay cut to do demeaning, soulless work, he gets to meet Jeffrey Katzenberg. What's it worth if Joe Quesada knows you personally, favorably, by both by face and name? When Marvel asked if I'd like to do the X-Men, I thought, GAWD NO! But that's not what I said. I said sure, I'd do it for a year. That book made me.

Beyond that, believe in yourself. If you don't, nobody will.

Break a lead.

[onceuponasketch]

AWESOME POST!!! Thanks for sharing!!

[Fallenangel]

Updated: 2.2.13
a. Added links to portfolio building classes.
b. Added link to Devil's Due submission guidelines.

Use it! Find a job!

Cheers,
Fallen.