A guide to putting together your sequential art portfolio

[Symson]

Inkthinker raises a valid point. It is risky. People who have stayed in that phase too long are tagged as clones. in the industry.

Cant afford George Perez of John Byrne? Send in the clones!

So if you already draw a certain way, don't waste the time trying to copy someone's style.

[ArmstrongArts]

If it means getting hired or sitting at home reading the attack of the clones, would it not be better to be hired and worry about changing later. Better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. I am saying this hypothetically since I haven't been able to copy anyone's style.

[Cuitla]

I'm coming into this thread late...

No pin-ups or covers.

Coming from an indy publisher's P.O.V. it doesn't hurt to see a few pin-ups or covers in the portfolio. When I see something I like I make a mental note that I can commission the artist for sequential art AND a cover.

On the other hand it can't be stressed enough how important it is to have complete scenes. I've passed over A LOT of artists because their portfolios had dozens of pin-ups and only a few random pages of sequential art (with no context for story, pacing, backgrounds, etc).

If you're an up-and-comer and you don't have any work to present, make some. Create short scenes -- or steal scenes from movies, short stories, music lyrics, whatever. You don't have to invent the whole book. Heck, you don't even need dialogue. Just show me what you can do. Show me that you're capable of going from point A to point B visually.