2024 Special Guests
Steph Mided
Lara Antal
Jessi Zabarsky
Becca Farrow
MILK Artist Interview
What are some unique resources and tips you’ve learned since getting published?
My favorite resource both before and after getting published has always been other media! When setting out on a new project, I always do some research and read some other comics or partake in media that fits the genre and/or age demographic. I read a little from the best sellers on top and read some from the indie darling online, anything that strikes my fancy-even if the correlation between my project and theirs isn’t instantly apparent. I find growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum- you need outside sources to inspire and push you. I’m not saying to hold yourself to some gigantic standard and expect your work to be an immediate sensation or anything, but the more art you expose yourself to the more you understand about the craft of comics. Don’t stop reading, watching, or listening- you’ll never know where you find your next bit of inspiration!
Also, another fantastic resource is the comics community. Seeing as we don’t have an official union or anything, a lot of companies and people are chomping at the bit to take advantage of cartoonists/artists in general. The best defense we have is each other-keeping each other informed of bad practices and what we can do to avoid them as best as possible. I am in a few different discord comics groups and the amount of advice and inspiration I have received is worth its weight in gold. Don’t see the comics community as your rival for work, see them as a way to strengthen the medium, and your work in turn, as a whole. Plus, comics people are so sweet and so funny and making friends is nice.
Also on a more technical note, clip studio pro is fantastic for digital comic artists! That and a well organized google docs/drive will make you a well oiled machine!
Are there certain goals someone should reach before they are ready to be published?
I don’t think there’s necessarily a checklist or anything that needs to be completed, but I do highly recommend having at least one small personal project done and one small collaborative project done before heading towards traditional publishing. Comic creators tend to dream big, especially at the start, and sometimes our ideas can get to One Piece-size levels before we even finish inking our first page- so I highly suggest getting used to the format and routine of working on a comic before you sign yourself up for a lifetime with a project that’s grown out of control. My first completed comic was a short, self-published fourteen page comic called “Scout”, about a Boy Scout befriending a ghost. It’s black and white, with terrible lettering, and it was printed and assembled by me before conventions. To me, that little comic was some of the best training I could have done to get ready for graphic novel production. I learned the basics, I told a complete story, and I even learned a little bit about the production/printing end of things. It gave me the courage to take on slightly bigger things and also gave me a completed project to show prospective clients! Finished comics/comics that are out in the world are some of the best business cards you could ever have!
I also mentioned working on a collaborative project, like a zine or a writer/artist comic, so you get used to working as part of a team. Believe it or not, even if you’re the artist and writer, chances are you’ll be working with a team of editors, color artists, and potentially even letterers. You have to learn how to communicate and set reasonable expectations for yourself, while also understanding that the timeline and some design choices may not always be under your control. Once again, people can make or break your experience in the comics industry, so learn how to work with them while also advocating for yourself.
Once you do those things, try your hand at traditional publishing! But to be honest, it’s not for everyone, and being traditionally published doesn’t necessitate an artist being “good” or “professional”. It’s just another way of getting your work out there, it’s not the end all be all of the comics world and it’s not necessary to make and put out the work you want to make.
What’s your best advice for someone looking to get published, but unsure where to start?
It’s frustratingly simple, but just make stuff and put it out there. Post it online, go to conventions and markets and sell your work, whatever you do just get your comics into peoples line of sight (as long as its legal and you’re not being a jerk about it, obviously). A lot of artists are kind of waiting for someone else to give them the go-ahead to start that dream project of theirs, or waiting until their OC looks juuuuuust the way they want them to- but no project starts perfectly and no project exists without someone just making it in the first place. Especially when it comes to traditional publishing, the publishers and editors don’t know what they want until they tangibly see it in front of them. You can have a great idea, but unless you have a written out pitch and/or supporting comic pages to go with it, it might as well be a passing thought to them. Editors want to see that you not only have the ideas, but the skill, and the dedication to make the project actually happen.
So if you’re serious about getting into traditional publishing specifically, first learn how to make a good pitch! This is a great time to connect with the comics community and ask them what makes a good pitch, what parts are needed, and maybe even share some examples of them. I’m always more than happy to share my pitch format with others if they ask because sadly there isn’t an industry standard for this sort of thing, but yet again, this is where the community really shines. After you have a pitch put together, you can start querying agents and/or editors (though I do suggest querying an agent before an editor!) It all sounds like a lot, and in some ways it is, but the most important first step is making work and getting it in front of people! Your work is your best advocate.
MILK Artist Interview
What advice would you give to your younger self when you were first starting out in comics?
Finish stories and work small. When you publish something, as in, make it available to strangers, you level up. An impending audience makes you work harder to create thoughtful and polished work that will represent you in your absence. You can explain your aspirations to friends, but for readers who don’t know you, the work has to speak for itself.
More importantly, putting something out there means you will inevitably *fuck* up. There will be copy-editing errors, you’ll receive story-altering feedback, or find your artwork cringe over time. My mistakes train me to do better. There is no shortcut to growth and you have to live out an entire relationship with each project: from the honeymoon of ideation, the hard marriage of production, to the bitter divorce, alimony, or happy anniversary that is publication.
So scratch that, there is one shortcut: make shorter-length stories so you can cycle through as many lifetimes as you need to get better!
How do you go about designing an entire page of your comic?
If I’ve written a script I look at how many panels need to fit on the page and, as a guide, spread them out evenly. Then I rework the sizing of each panel based on its emotional resonance or pacing; big moments might take up more space, faster moments might call for multiple, smaller panels, etc. I do the same thing with panel borders; some pages require orderly and even panels, while others need jagged or irregular shapes. Lastly, I look to see which panels might benefit from being “opened up,” aka full bleed versus being fully closed (this often works well for the first or last panel.)
As for writing a page, I make sure to have big reveals on page turns and try to arrange the compositional elements (directional lines within drawings, sound effects, word balloons, etc) in a way that keeps the reader’s eye moving through the page.
What’s your best advice for someone looking to get published, but unsure where to start?
“Work backward,” and in a variety of formats and lengths.
So, rather than start with an idea you want pitched, look for where you’d like to be published.
If we put graphic novel publishers aside for a moment, there are many other types of publications, news sites, and organizations that publish comics. Many of these publications, like NPR, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post, already accept comic submissions and have high visibility and readership. However, if you expand your search to include magazines, news sites, art spaces, and even educational publishers, you may find many are receptive and excited by different ways of storytelling, like comics. The one catch is your story needs to align with what they do.
For example, when The Lily (The Washington Post’s now retired gender & women section) started publishing short comics, I researched. What was the length, tone, and subject matter of their comics? Knowing their approach challenged me to create stories true to my voice, but on topics and with a cadence that aligned with their brand. I find these types of creative constraints lead to interesting outcomes.
Pitching a graphic novel is a lengthy process with a lot of competition. This is not to discourage you, but to say don’t put all your comic eggs in one basket. At any given time I like to work on a few things; a book, short comic pitches to publications, and personal work. I like to work backward; thinking first about the final product and then brainstorming a story that would best be served in that format. The type of story I’d send to The New Yorker is very different than what I’d send to my book agent, or what I’d make as a personal mini-comic for that matter.
I think of this as working smarter, not harder; bringing your ideas to people receptive to them, versus pushing your ideas to outlets, regardless of context. I’m not advocating trend-chasing or only making stories that fit into the market, but instead knowing where your voice aligns with the people who are holding the “proverbial megaphones.”
MILK Artist Interview
What are some unique resources and tips you’ve learned since getting published?
You don’t need to have an agent before pitching or receiving an offer! Once you’re sent an offer, you can absolutely tell the publisher that you’re seeking representation and then query agents. Having an offer on deck is pretty attractive to agents, so they’ll be more responsive, but still do your due diligence in picking one who works with your goals!
How do you go about designing an entire page of your comic?
I first think about what each panel *needs* to look and communicate its best. Does that hallway shot work most ideally as a long horizontal or vertical panel? Is there an establishing shot that needs a lot of space? Is there somewhere that negative space would add emotional oomf? I also try to prioritize- what are the one or two panels which are *most* important on the page? I start with their needs and work in the others around them. And, above all, it has to read clearly! If the reader doesn’t know the panel order instinctively, I’ve messed up.
How did you go about the querying process?
There are a couple lists online now of literary agents who represent comics. I looked through one of those, and had also noted a few agents who represented cartoonists with work similar to mine. Agents will usually have what kind of stories they’re looking to represent listed on their websites, so you can pick ones who might be interested in your work. They’ll also sometimes have submission guidelines. I looked up general rules for querying agents (there weren’t comics-tailored ones then, there may be now) and mushed those together with agents’ specific requests.
Any advice for how to get your work published in comics anthologies?
Find ones with themes you’re interested in and requirements you can work with! The definition of “zine” or anthology has stretched quite a bit in the last decade, but I started by submitting one page comics (achievable) to photocopied collections my peers put together. They paid in a few copies of the finished product I could sell myself, but this is one time when I think working for “exposure” is worth it! I made connections with other cartoonists, built my comics portfolio, learned to work on a deadline, and the pay-contributors-in-copies model meant that the books had pretty good distribution and lots of people could get ahold of my work. If you can’t find anyone organizing this kind of thing, start one yourself!
MILK Artist Interview
What advice would you give to your younger self when you were first starting out in comics?
I came from an illustration background, so I’d say two things; be less of a perfectionist, and actually read more comics. Read more comics intentionally looking for what you do and don’t like in a comic. Also, branch out and read comics outside of your normal tastes. You’re not just going to magically know how to do good paneling or pacing, nor will you understand things like the 180 degree rule unless you take the time to actually study them. And in terms of being less of a perfectionist- people will look at a panel for a second, or even a fraction of a second. Learn to identify the most important part of what you’re depicting in a panel, prioritize that part, and be able to shorthand the rest as much as possible. It can be so tempting to make each panel a fully realized gorgeous illustration, but doing so will inevitably burn you out (in addition to making deadlines impossible if you have them).
How do you go about designing an entire page of your comic?
The first step for me includes reviewing what’s happening on the adjacent pages, especially whichever of the two will be visible at the same time in the two-page spread. I want to keep the action, narrative, and setting as consistent as possible, and I want the composition of the page to play nicely by itself as well as inside the two page spread (keeping a close eye for things like uncomfortable tangents that can cause visual confusion). Next, I identify which panel seems to have the most important beat on the page, and structure the composition of the page around that emphasis. That panel will also most likely receive the most time and attention in terms of actual drawing. While thumbnailing, I make sure to leave space within panels for those with dialogue, and I’ll typically draw a line across the panels that represents the path I’d like the eye to follow. I try to fit dialogue and important visual moments (certain expressions or actions) along that path. I’ll go back in to make sure character actions and movements have been consistent, and once I hit all these points I can begin to go back in and start fleshing out pencils. Thumbnailing is by far the most frustrating and brain-hurting part of the process, but it’s absolutely essential for me in order to make sure the comic works on all levels- from a single panel, to page, to spread, to chapter, and to the book overall.
Are there certain goals someone should reach before they are ready to be published?
There isn’t necessarily a checklist of accomplishments or goals you should be looking to meet before thinking you’re ready for publication. Every person’s journey to publication is different, and it’s impossible to create a road map that would fit and work for everyone. That said, there are a few things that I think are important to know objectively about yourself before you should begin actively seeking publication. Can you draw a character consistently and recognizably? Can you keep up with the workload that a comics deadline might demand? If you’re writing and drawing your own script, are you able to take pages from your brain all the way through to having fully drawn pages? If you’re drawing a script someone else has written, can you read a script and use its direction to draw a comic page? Are you able to draw sample comic pages, and have you done so? Can you communicate regularly with editors and other collaborators? Are you able to take feedback and/or criticism and respond productively? Will you be able to handle an editor vetoing a creative choice you made? Trying to get work published and working in publishing can be a grueling and eye-opening experience, and while incredibly rewarding, takes an enormous amount of discipline.
Any tips or advice for successfully funding and advertising a project/Kickstarter?
Networking and budgeting! Building up a reliable audience before launching a crowdfunding project is crucial, but so is actually understanding how your budget will work. Get reliable production quotes beforehand, and make sure to include a buffer in your goal amount; even the most reliable production quote can run into unexpected charges, and if you’re including shipping fees in your goal, those are changing constantly.
