Online Forums

Getting involved in forums can be very helpful and informative, especially if the forum is well moderated and used by veterans as well as successful comic or concept artists. This can also be a place for you to showcase your artwork and exchange contacts with people in the same field as you. The best aspect of participating in a forum that discusses comic art it is that it can be a great problem solving stage for beginners as well as intermediate artists alike.

For example, you have a problem in deciding which tablet to get for your dive in digital drawing. Put it out in the relevant forums and there will be dozens that can help you decide on what you should get. These are usually people who have faced the same issues as you do and share their experiences and help others. They will also add some really good tips that can help you further in digital drawing.

 

Conventions

There are tons of things that you learn when taking part in conventions. You get to meet new people with the same interests as you and you gain exposure and awareness with your comic works. But you must make sure that people are aware of your participation in an event or convention.

Do not make any announcements of your involvement before you get your place in the convention or event. Ask the organizer about getting a booth or a table and get it done as soon as possible. This is because, depending on how popular the event or convention is, there may be a chance that they run out of booth or table space. Only make the move to inform your audience about your participation after you have secured a place in the convention.

This needs to be done weeks or possibly months before the conventions starts. This gives you enough time to prepare and advertise your participation, while also building the excitement and anticipation
of seeing you in person with all your comic works. Hype it up so that people will look forward to the convention or event. Tell your local community and your friends. Better yet, make full use of the social media and connect with people around the world to tell them about the convention that you are going to be in. You will be surprised of the enthusiasm of some people and how they will go the extra mile just for their love for comic art. We have seen how some are willing to fly in from different countries just to attend a convention that their favorite comic artist will be in.

 

Law – intellectual property

Watermarking or signing your works and registering your logo (if you have one) or shirt design that you are selling, are some of the things that a lot of us ignore or in most case not even aware of. In most countries, there are laws that protect the works or designs of its creators (sometimes referred to as intellectual property) but it is no excuse for you to not put the extra “safety net” for your comic works or art designs.

This can be a pretty serious matter. There is a case where an artist digitally crops the artwork of another artist and claims it as his own. Even going as far as having the artwork in his artbook (he was later charged in court for it). Even in the music industry, irresponsible agencies have used artwork for their album covers without the knowledge of the artist who creates them.

This is why it is better for you to take the appropriate measures to safeguard your comic works or any other art or designs that you have so that you can take legal action for any illegal use of your stuff commercially.

This can be as simple as signing or logo stamp your comic artwork. You can also watermark them but this can sometime disrupt the work visually. If you have something big and serious like a business logo or designs that you use for your business, then you should register it with the relevant authorities that handle intellectual properties.

Licensing is also something that you should look into in your local area. If you decide to publish your book and sell them to bookstores, you must check with the local authorities or agencies on the requirements of doing so. Though it may not be the same as selling your comic books in conventions or events, it is still something that you should prioritize. This is pretty important, as not having any rights or permission to sell your book could lead to your books being confiscated for not having the appropriate licenses (and there’s a pretty big chance that you might not be getting them back).

 

Submit your review
1
2
3
4
5
Submit
     
Cancel

Create your own review

Average rating:  
 0 reviews