Breaking into cartooning...

[Fozzie Bear]

Hiya,

I thought this was interesting and could be helpful to everyone, but an MC pal asks:
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Does ur comic strip come in the news paper where u live? If it does how did u start getting them to start putting them in there and how do u come up w/ silly jokes for ur stirp? I need help on getting my strip noticed and I wanted to start and how do start out on drawing a comic strip? Could u help me? Thanks.
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and I respond:

Muley comics have appeared in local and school papers over the years, nothing major outside of radio station websites, an international newsletter, as a matter of fact, there's a LOT of information (not really updated) below:

Muley the Mule and Friends

The story lines for comic strips mostly come from daily conversations, things going on around me, stuff people say. Sometimes from other comic strips, tv shows, movies, radio dj's...depends on what hits me and where my imagination takes me. I never copy other people's work.

Keep in mind that when you draw a comic strip, the frames are NOT small like they are in the news paper. A frame is likely around 3.75x4" squared. Do your letters in the frame first (pay attention to balance), as the story is the most important part, then do the art. Print the letters in a straight line and print NEATLY!!

Keep your lines consistent and your characters consistent as much as possible.

Use Bristol Board to do your art on, use a blue pencil or #2 lead pencil LIGHTLY, then draw out your strip. Go back over it all with a pen-brush (I like the Staedtler Mars Graphic 3000 Duo pens--brush on one end, felt tip on the other). Your eraser? Magic Rub by Eberhard Faber.

I also suggest taking a course on cartooning; check the papers and art stores. One of our members in the MSCA is an internationally syndicated cartoonist and teaches cartooning around Memphis. he's super cool, too.

As far as getting them noticed? I have no idea. Hit up the school paper, then some local papers. I'm still working on this today, as are many people. It's not an easy thing to break into (comics publishing). It's a hard, bumpy road uphill--but, a great ride if it's what you enjoy!

If this helps, good; if not and you have more questions, feel free to hit me up!

Kev

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I love that Muley strips appear in the international journal of The American Donkey and Mule Society!

I've always wondered, is it pronounced Mule-ee or Mull-ee?

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Mule-EE. His whole name is Muleton Mule, Jr. I've only ever let him sign is actual name to only a few things, mostly important letters--like the time we wrote in for a Greencard.

The American Donkey and Mule Society thing was pretty short lived--I think 10 months to a year--because they were running it smaller and smaller, then took my title and credit off altogether. I pulled it then.

Same incident on running it smaller caused me to pull it from The Tipton Times in 1988...sad thing was that the paper was going bankrupt and began running it on paper half the size of normal newspapers after I pulled the strip, and they closed 7 months afterwards. I guess in a town where everybody knows everybody else's business anyhow there's no need for a newspaper.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Got a new question today which would be helpful to others, too; so even though I posted the answer in another thread, I'm putting it here to help for easier reference, too:
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I was wondering on your characters. Do u draw free hand or do u draw w/ Circles when drawing Muley? The reason I want to know is I draw free hand on some characters of my and some I use circles but I just wanted to know because I'm starting my first comic strip. I'll send it to u when I finish.

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I've always drawn Muley freehanded, but that's because I have a clear visual of what he looks like all the time. It's been 24 years since I've had him now, so I had BETTER have a clear visual of him, huh?

I say, whatever feels best and gets the best results--the most professional art--draw it that way. If you have a character that you can draw well freehanded, do that. When I use the circle methods on Muley, he comes out all wrong and flat and no character or personality; but, when drawing Charlie Brown or Mickey Mouse, most especially Goofy, circles are a must!

Go to the art store and get you some Bristol board, a Magic Erase (or Magic Rub?) eraser, a #2 pencil (draw LIGHTLY first before you ink), and a Staedtler inking brush pen (has a brush on one end and a felt tip on the other). NEVER use notebook paper or anything from a spiral bound book for art you'll submit; and start saving $$ now to get a proper portfolio (you'll need it one day). And PLEASE get a ruler! LOL!

Now, take your ruler and draw out your comic strip frames. If you send me postage paid envelope (like 60 cents) I'll send you photocopies of the frames I use. They're originally on 11x17" paper, but I use a light table and using light behind the Bristol board I trace the frames to the board creating the best frames I need for the strips. Thing is, most people think you have to draw and letter the comic strips in 2-inch boxes, and that's just not so. I used to do that until someone told me to do it differently. Draw big and reduce the size and it will also clean up any shaky lines, etc.

LETTERING! Important! Comic strips with reading in them are skewered if you don't have good lettering. Use your ruler and get straight lines on the paper, then carefully write the words to the comic strips, remembering balance and space for the characters you're using. What I do, because my hand-writing sucks, is that I type out on the computer (centering each character's dialogue on the screen) and print that out, using the light table to trace over the letters onto the Bristol board. You'll want to use an 18 or 20-point level on your font, and choose either Arial or Comic sans fonts. They're easier to write. I tried to pull a "Schulz" once while a character was typing, and it got SO monotonous tracing Times New Roman font, that I scrapped the whole comic and went back to have the character WRITE their story (in which case I didn't use the computer printed letters, but was CAREFUL to print the letters).

Also, check your local comic shops and art stores and see if someone is doing cartooning classes!

Practice makes perfect, and I'm usually brutally honest when someone shows me their cartooning because that's what is most helpful! I won't ever forget once many moons ago someone told me that Muley was boring and not a character they could care about; nothing in the lines of what to do to make it better--so, I had to do all of that on my own and now he has personality (so much so everyone around here refers to him in third person, totally seperate from myself).

Hope this helps, and I'm here for ya!
Kev