Year in Review: 2019

Hello! It's the end of 2019 and this is my ELEVENTH annual year-in-review post! (See also: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009.) This is a self-centric and navel-gazey exercise, but I keep it up because it helps me keep track of my goals, remember what happened each year, and take a moment to say "thank you" for the year.

2019 Accomplishments / Highlights:

• I did three big items from my bucket list this year: I made art pilgrimages to Monet and Frida's homes in Giverny and Coyoacán, and I presented a short film I directed ("Exchange Student") at Annecy! :D

• It was a great career year - my team finished Exchange Student, and I got to see it screen at El Capitan Theater with the other Short Circuit shorts. I learned that the shorts would be released on Disney Plus, and all of the Directors got to go to D-23 to screen them and talk about them. I spent most of 2019 working on something I can't talk about yet that I'm SO excited about! I was named one of Variety's "Top 10 Animators to Watch", and got to go to a swanky Hollywood party with my friend Michael Herrera to celebrate that and rub elbows with other animation folks. I gave a workshop at Gallery Nucleus that had SUCH a great audience, I went to Tennessee for the first time to give a talk and a storyboarding workshop to the passionate students of Tom Bancroft at Lipscomb University, I gave a solo Comic Book Commentary (who knew I could speak uninterrupted for 45 minutes?! I did not), Chris Oatley invited me onto his Visual Storytelling podcast, and I spoke with SyfyWire at Emerald City Comic-Con:

• I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation went back to print soon after its release! Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but that's the first time one of my GN's has gone back to print, so I was thrilled. The book was also nominated for a Ringo Award for Best Non-Fiction Comic Work.

• After book promo stuff died down, I was really good about holding the line and saying "no" to extracurricular commitments, interviews, and side-quests. I desperately needed the time and focus this year to move forward on my next projects.
• I got to go on a nice France trip in June for work as well as for personal travel. I gave a solo talk at the Annecy international animated film festival and that was so awesome!!! People told me they got in line 4 hours early just to get in, and they were so kind and enthusiastic! People were even willing to sit on the floor and wings and stairs to not be turned away! :0 I spoke on a WIA panel and was able to give portfolio reviews with Disney. I finally got to meet one of my Skype WIA mentees, Sarah Vettori, in person. I did a casual meet-up at Café des Arts that turned kind of crazy when more people than I expected showed up. Thank goodness for Jerry Huynh, who jumped right in and helped entertain and manage things. I saw Giverny, rode bikes to Monet's house, went into the Catacombs, and visited Le Fiancé's sweet sweet family in the countryside.

• I made it to Oregon 3 times this year! Le Fiancé and I went on a trip to Cannon Beach in March, plus Portland trips for Thanksgiving and for xmas. Got to see many members of my extended family in Bend as well. It's great to see my friends who still live in Portland; I really love them and I'm glad we've been able to stay close despite the distance.
• I also went to Mexico for the first time! Carrie Liao, Amelia Lorenz, and I spent a long weekend discovering Mexico City and we LOVED IT. I want to go back immediately. The pyramids! The food!! The canals! The crowds! Day of the Dead! Wow!

• Went to SDCC this year with my friend Kellye Perdue, and my brothers flew down to join me!
• Mom came to visit LA and I brought her as my +1 to the Frozen 2 wrap party.
• Le Fiancé's fall visit was great. He was here for Halloween, which is SO much fun with him, and he was here for Thanksgiving in Portland with my family. While he was in town we also finished his visa application, built him a custom wood desk, threw axes, hiked to Pittock Mansion and looked at wedding venues in the woods, went on a distillery tour and a triple winery tour, and visited the good folks at Helioscope Studio.

• I unfollowed everyone on Twitter, so I can still use it to post my art, but I don't have the compulsion to scroll through the feed. I spend much less time on it now, and I think it's helping me feel happier.
• I started streaming on Twitch and I'm having fun! 
• Got my blue "verified" badge on Instagram!

• I was proactive with friends this year, and I especially enjoyed a Halloween double-feature movie night I hosted (The Craft, Lost Boys) with home-mulled wine and spiced cider.
• I found time to read several new (to me) books this year: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Bulle de suif, Save the Cat, Pride & Prejudice, The Bluest Eye, Au Bonheur des ogres, Morphology of the Folktale, and Screenwriting: the Sequence Approach

• I've kept my expenses low even though my salary has increased over the past few years (roommates, wink!). This year, I lived off of 30% of my post-tax income and put the rest in savings! :0 That feels good. I would like to own a house and/or retire someday.
• I was way over-taxed in 2018 and I got a big tax refund HAYYY
• The first Lightbox Expo was great! That promises to be a strong new tentpole event in the LA animation industry. I sold out of books and walked around for half of Sunday just admiring the other tables.
• After 4 years of freezing every day at work (in LOS ANGELES! In the SUMMER!), I finally procured time with the mystical, elusive AC man and convinced him to shut off the AC valve in my office. VICTORY!

2019 Shortcomings / Lowlights:

• They moved me to a new office a couple of months later. Booooo.
• Waiting on visas suuuuuuuucks. We have a good lawyer, but it's a ton of paperwork and money and uncertainty. We just want to get on with our lives, TOGETHER.
• I'm house-crazy and I can't afford anything. I don't know when/if I'll be able to afford something in a city where I can work in animation.
• I still have TMJ, but now I have braces, too. Ha ha. They come off in January, looking forward to that.
• I still have back pain off and on. :-/
• One of my roommates moved out and I miss him!

What Did We Learn?

• So...presenting a short at Annecy has been on my bucket list since 2014, and it was INCREDIBLE to have the privilege of doing that this year! But...I thought it would feel better than it did? I saw so many objectively better shorts than mine that week, and I saw how incredibly niche our little world is. Even in this tiny world of animation, so many people had no idea what we were up to at Disney. Most people had lovely things to say about Exchange Student, but I also got critical feedback on the short, some of it legitimate and some of it just dumb lobs aimed at Disney in general. I think it was just a good reminder for me not to let myself be ruled by external validation. I wrote on the back of my office door in big sharpie letters: "Don't chase gold stars from other people. Make stuff YOU think is good."

• At home over the holidays, my parents pulled out family videos that I had never seen before - them as young parents with baby-me! HONESTLY, this made me understand a lot more why people would want to have kids??? I've been ambivilant about it, leaning towards not having them, but this tipped the scales a bit the other direction. Mom and Dad just looked so happy (and hey, it was very nice seeing how much they loved me), not like the poop-covered, underslept, bickering trainwreck that I imagine parenthood being. It was fascinating how quickly babies grow and learn! :0 I was shocked how much just watching those old family videos with my parents changed my perspective on parenthood.
• I got some very practical convention-life advice from another exhibitor at Lightbox, and I think I agree with her philosophy. She believes that merchandise has a 2-year shelf-life. If it sells out before 2 years, you can go ahead and order some more (still aiming to sell out at the 2-year mark). If it sells out around 2 years, congratulations, you ordered the perfect amount and you don't need to buy more. If it doesn't sell out after 2 years, don't mark down the price. Just take it off your table and make room for more recent art that better represents you NOW. You can liquidate the old merch online, give it to friends, etc., but don't keep straggler merch on your table.
• I really miss having animals in the house and spending time around animal-friends. :,( 

• I found Natalie Lue's Baggage Reclaim podcast episode on "Jealousy & Envy in Friendships" EXTREMELY helpful. I've posted before about professional jealousy. Envy is absolutely the deadly sin that I relate to the most. I liked Natalie Lue's reframing of envy as a teacher, which tips us off to things that we didn't know we wanted, or things we think deep down we are supposed to have by this point in our lives. I have absolutely been envious of people for things that I don't even want, just because they seem so happy knowing what they want. Anyway, I felt like 2 hours of listening to this podcast untangled a LOT for me.
• That meet-up I organized at Cafe des Arts in Annecy this year was a learning experience. I organized identical meet-ups in 2014 and 2016, and 3-5 people showed up, so I was expecting maybe 10 this time? Well, we had 40 or 50 people show up! It was a BLESSING and I loved meeting everybody, but we really confused/crowded the restaurant and it was hard to talk to everybody. I felt bad for the restaurant and I felt responsible for people having a good time. I believe that when someone organizes an event, or manages a website or a fandom or whatever, it's their responsibility to keep things safe and respectful for the group, and I could have done better with this event. In the future, if I don't know how many people are coming, I'll probably do it somewhere more suitable like a picnic on the lakeside lawn.

Goals for 2020: 

• Get le Fiancé over the the US! Plan a wedding! :0
• Do a big roadtrip around the American southwest
• Do a good job at work on (exciting thing I can't talk about yet)
• Thanksgiving - maybe travel with Le Fiancé? Japan? Mexico? National Park? Think ahead of holidays, try to book trips earlier this year.
• Keep studying film theory, watching classic movies and movies from lots of different cultures / perspectives, hosting movie nights and making it more fun/social
• Go to the gym after work, or swimming before work, at least 2x/week
• Stretch every day
• Write something every day
• Start fostering kittens
• Schedule all the medical checkups I need, plan ahead (I haven't been to the eye doctor in 5 years. Adulting is hard!)
• Find a new counselor / therapist who specializes in career counseling, stress, & anxiety. Preferably one who doesn't believe in crystals (or god, tbh).
• Self-Care Sundays: I won't make plans or commit to anything on Sundays. I will get my chores done on Saturdays, save Sundays for myself, and do whatever I feel like when Sunday rolls around.
• Schedule more lunches with friends / people I want to know better in animation
• Finish the first draft of my next GN (!)
• Do Inktober again! Break the rules, pick a theme that's fun for me, draw 30 finished colored pieces (5x7") and frame them to sell at the Disney holiday craft fair in December

Notable Media:
Films: Do the Right Thing, Parasite, Knives Out, Trainspotting, The Favorite, Cleo from 5-7, Us, About Time, Virgin Spring, My Fair Lady, Peau d'Ane, The Taste of Tea, Moonlight, Jojo Rabbit, J'ai perdu mon corps, Raising Arizona (somehow I'd never seen it before!), Cyrano de Bergerac with Depardieu

TV shows: Killing Eve, His Dark Materials, Fleabag season 2, the end of Broad City, Russian Doll, Derry Girls, Mrs. Maisel season 3, One Day at a Time, Salt Fat Acid Heat, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, The Good Place, the Matt Smith Doctor Who episodes, Love Death and Robots, Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Shorts: Kitbull, Perl, Inocente, Acid Rain, Fille dans le Couloir, Je sors acheter des cigarettes, La chanson de l'elephant, Memorable, Mimi, Nuit cherie, Per aspera Ad Astra, Symbiosis, Toomas dans la vallee des loups sauvages

Favorite Memes / Jokes / Whatever :
The #1 most quoted piece of media in our household this year: "It's an EMU"
kn0nker: Lion King animation
Jack Bensinger: "took a picture of myself every day for 10 years"
Ayla Kirstine: running like a horse
Lewis Vaughan Jones: Drone runs out of battery over a lake
al.nesta: "you're not weird for liking anime as a kid"
Whoever mashed the headbanging dog video with "Jump Around"
zachrecker: squirrel TikTok
Pretty much every Gritty meme
McVaporwave: "Ash minding his own business"
thechrispycream: "JEANS"
TikTok has just been giving me life this year. Thank you, TikTok.

 

Advice for aspiring comics artists aged 14-18

(If you are more interested in storyboarding for animation, please check out this post!)

I visited my former high school this week to talk about my career in comics. In the process of preparing for the talk, I built this massive block of text with advice and resources for artists age 14-18.  I wanted to post it here for anyone interested, and update it over time as I think of new things, or people poke me for forgetting things.

It's not perfect, it's not complete, it's colored by my experiences and preferences. Some of this stuff is only available in Portland, OR, where I grew up. But I think there's plenty of stuff here that can help if you are interested in a career in comics!

*If any links are broken, any info is outdated, or you have unanswered questions -- let me know in the comments!*

Advice for artists under age 14:

1. Draw/write what you want and have FUN!

General advice for artists ages 14-18:

1. The most exciting and the scariest thing about this is that there’s no road-map or formula for success. Comic artists are self-employed and they design their own job/career based on what works for them. The industry is changing every year. You have to be willing to find your own path, explore, make mistakes, and constantly, CONSTANTLY be learning and adapting as you go. Learn to enjoy the process and realize that even the artists you love are still developing and trying to improve themselves.
2. It’s possible to make a good, even great, income from art. But if becoming rich is important to you, this is probably not the best path! Most people I know are still working very hard in their 30s and 40s just to meet expenses. They live in inexpensive cities and have frugal lifestyles.  Many artists rely on their partner while they are between big projects. Many artists do not have a plan to retire someday. They do what they love and I don’t think they would trade that for a stable career in dental hygiene, but it’s something to think about. Be honest with yourself. It’s OK if you want a better chance at financial stability.
3. Out of all the things you can control, your character as a person is by FAR the biggest indicator of how successful you will be in your career. Be kind, be positive, be honest, be reliable, and don’t let your ego get so big you stop listening to others (that’s when you stop growing!).
4. Be social! Seek out and connect with other aspiring artists. Join art clubs and online forums. Go to local conventions, lectures, and book release events at comic shops and bookstores. Post your work to social media and follow people whose art you like. Draw in person with other people whenever possible – you’ll learn a lot from each other! Other artists are not your competition; they’re your network. You’re on the same team and you can help each other a lot.
5. Remember to keep the fun alive. Artwork has the word “work” in it for a reason, but it’s important to do things that just feel fun, too. If you want to take a break from comics and do some pottery or shadow puppets or guitar for a while, do it! That could really reinvigorate you artistically, and you might come back to comics with some fresh new approaches from what you learned while dabbling in another art form.
6. You can learn a lot from copying. It’s OK to copy other artists as long as you don’t try to pass it off as your own work. Copy pages from your favorite comics – even trace them if you want – but always cite the work that you’re copying if you post it anywhere.
7. However, eventually it is important to develop your own voice. You have experiences, opinions, and ideas about the world that are unique to you. You draw things in ways that no one else does or can. It might be scary to be different, and those things might feel like flaws while you’re in the early stages of your career, but your unique qualities make you distinct, and could become what people love most about you as an artist.
8. Rome wasn't build in a day. They say it takes 10 years of hard work to become an overnight success. You'll probably see some stories about outliers - young people with incredible talent or success for their age - but please don't use them as benchmarks for whether or not you're on track to be successful. People develop and peak at different rates. As long as you keep doggedly working to improve, it's just a matter of time before you get there. To give you a very rough ballpark of how much time you should expect to invest, I drew comics for free for 5 years, then joined a syndicated site that gave me some pizza money for 2 years, then started getting paid a little bit to draw comics for other people (not enough to live off of) for 3 more years, and then I was getting paid enough to be able to do it full-time. So for me, 10 years turned out to be the investment of time before I was able to draw comics for a living.
   (Another personal example: I applied to storyboard positions in animation studios for 7 years before getting a positive response. As I turned 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, it started to feel like maybe it just wasn't going to happen for me. There were so many younger people graduating and getting jobs immediately; I thought I was out of the running. But I am so glad I stuck with it, because it did eventually happen for me, and age does not matter in the grand scheme of things.)

Specific advice for artists ages 14-18:

1. Keep sketchbooks around you. Draw in them as much as possible. Keep one in your backpack. Keep one by your bed and draw one thing before you go to sleep every night. It doesn’t have to be good, it doesn’t even have to be finished, but open your sketchbook and draw something in it every night.
2. Experiment and be open to different types of art and storytelling. You’d be surprised how helpful a drama background or knowledge of a foreign language can be in a comics career! There are many kinds of comics and each one can teach you something valuable; try not to get so focused on one style or author that you neglect others. If you’re into comics from Japan, try reading a few from France. If you’re into superhero comics, try a few indie titles (and vice versa!). It’s great to have a broad base of knowledge, to be curious and open-minded, so you can combine influences and find a unique style rather than just copy things that have already been done. 
3. Read books, watch film and animation, attend plays, listen to all kinds of music, and think about what works and what doesn’t work in other people’s stories. What do you like about Harry Potter? What would you change to improve Twilight? What can you learn from that and implement or avoid in your own stories?
4. Everyone has an epic, 12-volume story in the back of their mind, but work on SHORT stories while you’re developing. Trust me! Focus on getting good at telling a story in 20 pages or less. It’s important to learn how to END things, not just begin them. Plus, an editor can read your 20-page story in 15 minutes and see your skills as a storyteller. It’s very important to have complete stories to show. If you don’t have a story you want to draw, or you’re not confident writing stories yet, start with autobiography. Make a comic about something funny that happened with your friends, or a vivid memory from your life, or a story that people in your family love to tell, or just something that happened today. Another way to practice writing is to make a non-fiction comic about something that you know by heart, like how to make your favorite recipe, or a non-fiction comic about your favorite musician / historical figure / author. Is there a cute story about how your grandparents met? Or a dramatic story about how your family arrived in your current country? Even if your ultimate goal is to team up with a Writer so that you can just focus on the drawing-side of comics, it's a really good idea to know how to write your own short stories. I believe it gives you more power and more options.
   
5. Get your hands on a tablet, scanner, and Photoshop or knockoff image editing software if you can. Learning to draw digitally has been VERY beneficial for me, and a lot of people transition to working digitally for good reasons (it’s fast, clean, easy to make changes, and travel-friendly). A lot of lucrative art jobs like storyboarding and graphic design require digital art skills. This isn’t something you absolutely NEED right now, but keep this on your radar and look for opportunities to learn digital art skills. Some schools and libraries have tablets that you can use or even check out - it's worth asking!
   
   
6. Draw from life as much as possible! Even if you want to draw very abstract or stylized characters, you still definitely want to know how to draw realistically. Realism informs good cartooning. Sit on the bus or in a café and sketch what you see. I like cafés in busy areas where I can sit facing out a window and people-watch. Go to the zoo and draw the animals. Go to figure drawing or do it online. (I link to some online figure drawing resources later in this post)
   
7. "Should I go to art school??" You know what makes it a LOT harder to get an art career off the ground? Crippling debt! My thought here is: don’t feel like you have to go to art school. It’s great if you can afford it, but don’t borrow money or go into debt because you think you have to attend an art school, especially for a career in comics. The truth is that a good art school will put all of the resources you could ever want at your fingertips, and that’s a great thing, but they won’t do the work for you or guarantee a job when you graduate. YOU are the only one who can put in the work studying and practicing, and honestly you can do that from home, or in your free time while you are getting a degree in another subject (or while you are working a traditional job). Employers are more interested in your portfolio than your pedigree. To be honest, I believe a lot of art schools are predatory (meaning they are out for your money, and will accept anyone who can pay). If you do decide to attend an art school, be clear about what you are hoping to get out of it, exactly who the professors are, and how recently they worked in the industry you are trying to enter.
   I believe there are three specific situations where getting an art degree makes sense. First, if you ever want to TEACH art, having a bachelor and master's degree in art will help you qualify for teaching jobs. Secondly, if you are from outside of the US and you want to immigrate to the US to work in an artistic field, a 4-year degree in art might be necessary for your visa. Lastly, if you want to work in animation, an art school education might be worth it. It's helpful to have those 4 years networking with professors and other young artists; knowing someone who knows someone in a studio can definitely help you land that first job. And animation studios that offer internships sometimes ONLY accept people currently enrolled in an art school. However, I worked for Disney feature animation as a Storyboard Artist, Head of Story, and a Director, and I did NOT attend an art school. There are loads of successful artists in animation who did not go to art school.
8. I highly, HIGHLY recommend every artist listen to episode 8 of The Animation Happy Hour podcast, which takes a deep dive into money for artists, covering student loans and the cost of art school - LINK
   Here are some alternative sources of art knowledge you can use to self-study:
   
   • Schoolism (I recommend Alex Woo's gesture drawing class!): LINK 
     
   • There are some great classes on Brainstorm. If you ever see an open spot in a Stephanie Stine or David DePasquale class, book it! - LINK
   • Inkstuds – insightful interviews with cartoonists http://www.inkstuds.org/
   • Justin Oaksfield's mini tutorial on environment painting: LINK
   • Emel's mini tutorial on how to emulate paints in Photoshop: LINK
   • Tamra Bonvillain's mini tutorial on how to color bookshelves in your comics quickly: LINK
   • Every Frame a Painting: LINK
   • Leo Matsuda's Skillshare classes: LINK
   • Violaine Briat's tutorials for art and animation (pay what you want): LINK
   • CGMA - http://2d.cgmasteracademy.com
   • Concept Design Academy: LINK
   • SILA classes: LINK
   • California State Summer School for the Arts' animation program: LINK
   • CalArts' extended studies (check out the summer Animation intensive program): LINK
   • The Story Whisperer: LINK 
   • Steve Ahn's workshops:LINK
   • Storyboard Art: LINK
   • Stephen Silver - http://www.silvertoons.com
   • Michael Mattesi - http://www.drawingforce.com
   • Rad How To - http://radhowto.blogspot.com/
   • Emma Coats’ 22 Story Basics: LINK
   • Purge Theory's Story/Design tips: LINK
   • Flooby Nooby breaks down cinematography in The Incredibles: LINK
   • Mark Kennedy’s blog Seven Golden Camels: LINK
   • New Masters Academy Youtube tutorials: LINK
   • Toniko Pantoja's animation tutorials: LINK
   • Alex Small-Butera’s Flash tutorial series: LINK
   • The library! (I listed some specific titles under “Resources” below)
   • For Portlanders, the Independent Publishing Recourse Center (“IPRC”) is a non-profit organization that helps enable individuals to self-publish. The IPRC provides affordable classes and workshops, access to printing/publishing tools, and an extensive library of zines and self-published works: LINK
     
   • Youtube / Vimeo (type in “tutorial” + SUBJECT and explore)
   • Alex Grigg – how to animate in Photoshop LINK
   • Christ Oatley - LINK - interviews with hundreds of professionals working in animation, links to resources, and positive & inspiring messages for aspiring artists
   • Griz and Norm - tutorials by a talented couple who work at Disney LINK They published two wonderful tutorial books called "100 Tuesday Tips" and "100 Tuesday Tips volume 2", which tend to sell out, but snag yourself copies if you ever see them for sale!
   • Crayon Dragon animation tutorial: LINK
   • Animation Mentor and AnimSchool are online animation programs that several working animators have told me they used and would recommend to other artists. They are expensive, but not as expensive as most traditional art schools.
     
9. "How do I make money as a comic book artist? Who is paying me? Who do I work for? How do I apply for a job?" So again, comic book artists are self-employed, freelance artists. Comic artists don't have a steady income or benefits or anything from one single employer. If this is the path you take, you will hustle to find your own gigs - keep social media presences, post new artwork (daily, if possible), contact publishers, and attend local events and comic conventions to meet people and self-promote. You handle your own scheduling, email communications, PR, invoicing, taxes, merchandise, and negotiations. You (probably) take on multiple jobs at the same time, because you know there will be months when you won't be able to find any work. Your income fluctuates a lot from month-to-month and year-to-year. You set aside about 35% of your income to cover taxes at the end of the year. You invoice your clients yourself when you want to get paid. Sometimes you have to wait a LONG time and send increasingly stern invoice emails to get paid. Sometimes clients flake out on you and you don't get paid at all (this has only happened to me once). You pay for your own healthcare plan. Unlike other jobs, there is no 40-hour-workweek in comics (unless you decide to stick to that schedule). No one is keeping track of the number of hours you work per week. You are not earning vacation time. You are not a traditional employee; you are a freelancer. I used to work 7 days / week, because I felt like I was losing money any time I wasn't working. This can lead to burnout or injury, but it's very common for comic artists to work too much and push themselves too hard, especially when they feel financially insecure. Being a comic artist is A LOT OF WORK, but there are some nice benefits like working from home, choosing the days & hours you work, and taking vacations when you want to.
10. "How much can I make as a comic book artist?" This is one of those things you'll never see spelled out clearly online, because it's always changing and it depends on you and your specific career. Artists can earn money in myriad ways, from the obvious, like drawing comic pages for a publisher and getting paid a page rate, or making a graphic novel and being paid an advance in a lump sum, but there is also ad revenue from webcomics, deals with webcomic apps, Patreon pledges, Twitch or Youtube revenue, having your IP "optioned" for film, collecting royalties on past projects that continue to sell, selling prints and tee shirts...it's a really big topic and I can't speak to all of it because I don't have experience with all of it.
    But just so you have SOME idea what to expect, I'll tell you some specifics from my life. In my first 4 years as a freelance artist I worked my butt off (focusing mostly on drawing things for publishers, taking commissions from individual people, and selling printed goods at comic conventions). I earned 18k in my worst year, and 45k in my best year. Here are some rates I experienced:
    $0 (yes, $0...) for a 300-page graphic novel (story, pencils, inks, letters, and tones) for a mid-size publisher. This book took me a little over 2 years to draw. I was compensated with 200 comp copies of the book, which I then sold at conventions for $20 each, for a total of about $4000.
    $50-$200 each for commissioned drawings (i.e., "draw my son as the Flash"). This was a staple in my career for a long time because it's relatively quick money. It can help supplement a lean month, and there's often demand for commissions, meaning you can find people who want one pretty quickly if you put the word out that you are available.
    $2,500 for a 160-page graphic novel (pencils, inks, & tones) for a small publisher. This book took me 18 months to draw.
    $160/page (pencils and inks) for a French publisher
    $200/page (pencils, inks, and colors) for a mid-size publisher
    $300/page (pencils, inks, and colors) for one of the "big two" publishers
    $1,800/page (pencils, inks, and colors) for an advertising campaign for a big corporation. This is an outlier, to be sure, but this sort of wildly lucrative gig exists, especially in advertising.
    $1500 (roughly) in royalties from that "big two" publisher project, from sales over the following 2 years.
    $8,000 lump sum publishing deal where a traditional publisher wanted to print the book-version of a graphic novel I had previously published online (story, pencils, inks, color, & letters).
    $8,500 lump sum when Netflix optioned one of my creator-owned graphic novels. I believe the total option money was $34,000 : the publisher got half and my co-creator and I split the other half. If the project was greenlit and made, there would have been a second, larger payment to all of us. I think it would have meant another $13,000 or so for me, so $21,500 total for my cut. People think that having your comic optioned / made means you're set for life, but that's not true for most people!
    $18,000 lump sum for a 118-page graphic novel (pencils & inks) for a book publisher with a comics imprint. This book took me roughly 1 year to draw.
    $40,000 (roughly) in sales on a graphic novel I published on Gumroad (story, pencils, inks, colors, & letters). This book took me roughly 8 months to draw. 
    I have never made significant money from ads, brand partnerships, tee shirts, merch, or Twitch / Youtube.
    
11. Start a webcomic – there are ways to do it for free, and it’s the best way to become consistent, find your voice, practice storytelling, build an audience online, create a brand / entity that editors can find, and learn to be your own boss / manage your time. There aren’t rules; you can really experiment and do what you want to. And who knows? Maybe a publisher will want to print a nice collection of your work once you’ve got a few hundred pages! For inspiration, check out these webcomics/blogs:
    
    • Tapas - LINK
    • Webtoon - LINK
    • Instagram - LINK
    • Hark, A Vagrant! (http://www.harkavagrant.com/)
    • SuperMutant Magic Academy (http://mutantmagic.com/)
    • Tragedy Series (http://tragedyseries.tumblr.com/)
    • Bouletcorp (http://english.bouletcorp.com/)
    • The Oatmeal (http://theoatmeal.com/)
    • Emitown (http://emitown.blogspot.com/)
    • Les Petits Riens (http://www.lewistrondheim.com/blog/index.php)
    • Tu Mourras Moins Bête (http://tumourrasmoinsbete.blogspot.com/)
    • Bambiiblog (http://bambiiiblog.blogspot.com/)
    • XKCD (http://www.xkcd.com/)
    • Hyperbole and a Half (http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/)
    • Strong Female Protagonist (http://strongfemaleprotagonist.com/)
    • Girls With Slingshots (http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/)
    • Lunarboom (http://www.lunarbaboon.com/)
    • A Softer World (http://www.asofterworld.com/)
    • Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (http://www.smbc-comics.com/)
    • Smackjeeves (http://www.smackjeeves.com/) – hosting site with THOUSANDS of webcomics

Advice for artists over age 18:

1. Get an email address that uses your real name and ditch xX_ameTenki2011_Xx@msn.com
2. Get a clean, simple, modern-looking website with samples of your work, information about what kind of work you are available for, and your contact information. Keep it updated and answer your emails regularly.
3. Clean up your social media presence. It's ok to have private accounts for just family or for your most niche memes. But for anything public-facing, think about branding it with your business image, and making it appealing to a large number of people, or at least the people you are hoping to work with. Just like with your website, give it regular love, post new artwork often, and answer comments / messages you receive on social media. Employers love to check our artists' social media profiles to see how they interact with the public - are they abrasive, offensive, or absent for long stretches of time? Does it look like the artist is going to be pleasant to work with? Have they fostered a following, which translates into a built-in audience for any material they publish?
   
4. Buy business cards with your name, email address, and website URL (Moo.com makes small print runs of affordable, quality business cards, and I like Overnightprints.com as well). Keep your design simple and legible.
   
5. Attend life drawing sessions / courses whenever possible (Portlanders can check out Hipbone, Dead End Drawing Club, PNCA’s open sessions, and Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. In LA there are affordable life drawing nights at Center Stage Gallery) 
   There are also lots of great online figure drawing sites:
   
   • Line of Action: LINK
   • Quick Poses: LINK
   • Sketch Daily: LINK
     
   • Croquis Cafe: LINK
     
   • Senshi Stock: LINK
     
   • Proko: LINK
     
   • New Masters Academy: LINK
   • Bodies in Motion: LINK
   • (Btw, I made a Youtube video with a bunch of figure drawing advice for cartoonists: LINK)
     
6. Attend comic conventions / anime conventions / pop culture conventions. Walk around, observe, meet people, exchange business cards, ask questions. Bring a portfolio with samples / printouts of your best work (10-15 pieces is enough, but try to have some sequential pages, like a run of 5 pages). Visit publishers’ booths and ask if there is anyone available to look at your portfolio. If there isn’t, ask if you can leave your business card behind and express interest in working with the publisher. You could even make a small batch of pamphlets or saddlestitched minicomics of your best samples to give away. It's definitely more expensive than a business card, but I did this back in 2013 and I got good responses and a job offer from it.
7. Solicit feedback from a variety of professionals* and LISTEN to what they say. If you can get a portfolio review with a publisher or an artist at a convention, awesome. If you are enrolled in an art class where the teacher is willing to give individual feedback, awesome. When someone spends their time giving you feedback on your work, even if it is critical, thank them and be humble. Don’t make excuses or argue – you might miss valuable feedback if you're not focused on LISTENING. Portfolio reviews can be nerve-wrecking and disappointing experiences, but if you go in with a humble attitude and willingness to learn, you can take that feedback and improve by leaps and bounds!

*OK, one thing. Don't just surprise-attack people with your portfolio. Ask if they're doing portfolio reviews, or if they have time to look at yours. At conventions this can be a really bad time for artists, because they're trying to sell their work. Some artists are open to portfolio reviews, but many are not. There can be legal reasons why an artist is not allowed to look at any portfolios, especially in the animation industry. Ask first, and respect the response.

Resources:

Advice from other people:

1. This is Everything I Know by Spike

How-to books:

1. Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure
2. (Anything and everything by Andrew Loomis. I find the sexism and lack of diversity disturbing, but there’s good info in them, too)
3. The Animator’s Survival Kit
4. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
5. An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists
6. How To Make Webcomics by Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub, Dave Kellett, and Brad Guigar – a thorough, extremely helpful guide to making a webcomic. Covers everything from setting up a website to creating your characters to selling merchandise at conventions.
7. How to Draw Anime & Game Characters (volumes 1-3) – there’s some cheesy stuff in here, but it is REALLY great for learning to design characters, draw a variety of expressions, draw faces from many different angles, and pay attention to body language and acting.
8. How To Cartoon The Head And Figure by Jack Hamm
9. 100 Tuesday Tips volumes 1 and 2 by Griz and Norm
10. Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers
11. Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes
12. Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators
13. Color and Light: Life Drawing for Animators

Creators/titles to check out:

1. Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaa)
2. Rumiko Takahashi (Maison Ikkoku)
3. Naoki Urasawa (Pluto)
4. CLAMP (Card Captor Sakura)
5. Aude Picault (Fanfare, Transat)
6. Chris Samnee (Daredevil) 
7. Gurihiru (Avatar: The Last Airbender comics)
8. Mary Blair (Disney concept art, Golden Books)
9. Bill Peet (author and Disney story artist)
10. Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy)
11. Penelope Bagieu (La Page Blanche, Culottées)
12. Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim, Seconds) 
13. Faith Erin Hicks (The War At Ellsmere) 
14. Fumio Obata (Just So Happens)
15. Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets)
16. Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich (Lady Killer) 
17. Akira Toriyama (Dragonball)
18. Art Spiegelman (Maus)
19. Katsuhiro Ootomo (Akira)
20. Hergé (Tintin)
21. Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns)
22. Will Eisner (The Spirit)
23. Jack Kirby (Fantastic Four)
24. Steve Ditko (Spider-Man)
25. Alan Moore (Watchmen)
26. Jamie Hewlett (Tank Girl)
27. Morris (Lucky Luke)
28. André Franquin (Gaston)
29. René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo (Asterix)
30. Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis)
31. Scott McCloud (The Sculptor)
32. David Mazzucchelli (Asterios Polyp)
33. Daniel Clowes (Ghost World)
34. Alison Bechdel (Fun Home)
35. (Superman Red Son)
36. Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki (This One Summer, Skim)
37. Bill Willingham (Fables)
38. Mike Mignola (Hellboy)
39. Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (Bakuman)
40. Hiromu Arakawa (Full Metal Alchemist)
41. Katie Shanahan (storyboard artist)
42. Madeleine Flores (storyboard artist at Disney)
43. Hilary Florido (storyboard artist on Steven Universe)
44. Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie (Aya of Yopougon)
45. Becky Cloonan (Gotham Academy)
46. Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (The Wicked And The Divine)

Software:

1. Procreate - a powerful and affordable tool for drawing on the iPad. Some people have switched over to drawing comics entirely on iPad with an Apple Pencil and either Procreate or Manga Studio. Procreate also has a rudimentary animation function that's a fun way to experiment and learn.
   
2. Adobe products (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Flash, etc.) – Adobe’s software is the standard for many industries. It’s expensive, but students can get big discounts, and there are free 30-day trial versions available of most of the programs through the Adobe website. Before buying it, check to see if your school and/or library have Adobe software.
3. Clip Studio Paint (previously: Manga Studio) – TONS of people use Clip Studio to make comics these days. You can buy the program for like $60, and it was designed expressly for the creation of comics, versus Photoshop which was designed for photograph manipulation.

Art stores:

1. Jetpens.com sells all the good stuff - LINK
   
2. Kinokuniya has lots of great pens from Japan
3. Blick has a good selection of affordable supplies - LINK
   

Art supplies:

1. "The Only Sketchbook You Will Ever Need" by Bee Paper is my FAVORITE sketchbook. Pens, pencil, watercolor, copic markers all look fantastic and don't bleed through to the next page. With everything except copic markers, I can draw on both sides of the paper, which makes them last twice as long / saves paper. - LINK (This company went through changes and their paper became more difficult to find.)
   
2. Platinum Co. Carbon pen – used by Sarah Glidden and Boulet! A travel-friendly, low-maintenance alternative to pen nibs. Draws thin, graceful lines, even if you're heavy-handed like me. It DOES have a tendency to leak during air pressure changes like car trips or flights; keep this pen in a plastic baggie while traveling, pack some tissue to clean up any spills, and don't open it on a plane. - LINK (This pen has been updated, and I have not tested the new model yet so can't speak to it.)
   You can buy replacement cartridges in bulk on Jetpens.com - LINK
   
3. Pentel pocket brush pen – a travel-friendly, low-maintenance alternative to using a brush. It can draw thin to very thick lines, and mimics the line quality of a brush. It DOES have a tendency to leak during air pressure changes like car trips or flights; keep this pen in a plastic baggie while traveling, pack some tissue to clean up any spills, and don't open it on a plane. - LINK
   You can buy replacement cartridges in bulk at Kinokuniya and Jetpens.com - LINK 
   This pen is also available in gray; I keep this in my pen bag for easy on-the-go shading over my ink sketches. - LINK
4. Windsor & Newton series 7 sable Kolinsky (size 1, 2, or 3) + Windsor & Newton Black India Ink – the traditional American comics inking tools. If you buy these, make sure to also buy a good brush cleaner like The Masters Brush Cleaner And Preserver and take care of your brush! Dip the brush in water before adding ink, wash it after every time you use it, gently form the tip into a nice point so it dries properly, and store it somewhere the hairs won’t get bent or bumped while it’s not in use. I’d say start with the Pentel pocket brush pen and buy a “real” brush later if you feel the need.
5. Copic markers – these are fun, but expensive. Start with a couple and see if you like them. I love the neutral gray colors for shading characters and adding effects in my sketchbooks.
   
   
6. Kuretake disposable pocket brush pen (fine or extra fine) – these are great pens for general drawing, and not hard to get the hang of. 
   
7. Strathmore series 300 or 400 sketchbooks – great paper for drawing with most art supplies, except maybe watercolors. If you use Copic markers, put a piece of scrap paper behind the one you’re drawing on, so that they don’t bleed through and ruin the next page.
8. For digital drawing, Wacom makes the industry-standard tablets (pressure-sensitive drawing surfaces that connect to a computer) and cintiqs (same thing, but the tablet surface is a monitor, so it feels more like you’re drawing ON the screen). The Bamboo line of tablets is affordable and I’ve heard good things about it. See also: this post about value graphics tablets.
   

Conventions, groups, and events (some of these are just west-coast-things, because that's where I'm from and what I know):

1. Steve Lieber offers free portfolio reviews on the first Friday of every month at Books With Pictures (Portland) - LINK
2. Rose City Comicon (September, Portland) - LINK
3. Lightbox EXPO October, Glendale
4. CTNX November, Burbank
5. First Thursday – galleries in NW Portland open their doors every first Thursday of the month around 6:30pm with casual receptions for their new expositions. Check out Floating World Comics, Pony Club, Sequential Art Gallery, Compound, and Upper Playground
6. Association Internationale du Film d'Animation (“ASIFA”) – the Portland chapter is very welcoming and organizes all kinds of enriching screenings, social gatherings, and workshops for animators and people interested in animation - LINK
7. LoopDeLoop – a bimonthly challenge to animate a looping clip based on a prompt. Very fun, informal, and excellent practice for animators. Submissions that meet the requirements are screened internationally - LINK
8. 24 Hour Comic Day (October) – an insane challenge to draw a 24-page comic in 24 hours. I have attempted this three times and finished it ONCE. Sometimes comic shops host all-night parties for participants; you can locate one on the 24 Hour Comic Day website - LINK
9. Hourly Comic Day (February 1) – a more reasonable challenge to draw one comic for every hour that the artist is awake on February 1. Great practice, a lot of fun to post your comics online (#hourlycomicday) and feel real-time community with other artists doing the challenge at the same time - LINK
10. Portland Indie Gaming Squad (“PIG Squad”) – group of programmers and artists that meets up for fun events & game creation challenges. PIG Squad encourages creators to meet one another and form collaborative teams.
11. One Game A Month – an online challenge for programmers and artists to form teams and create one game per month based on a prompt. A very fun and informal way to practice, meet people, and build your resume/portfolio - LINK

Portland publishers:

1. Oni Press / Lion Forge
2. Top Shelf
3. Microcosm Publishing
4. Image Comics
5. Dark Horse Comics
   

Portland comic shops:

1. Floating World Comics
   
2. Rose City Comics
   
3. Cosmic Monkey
4. Books with Pictures
   
5. Excalibur Comics
6. Things From Another World
   

Internships (a lot of these programs changed or were put on hold during the pandemic):

1. Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Titmouse, and LAIKA all offer internships
2. IDW - LINK
3. Fantagraphics Books - LINK
4. Helioscope Studio (for candidates 18+) - LINK

Art industry job sites:

1. Animation / VFX / Game industry job posting database - LINK
2. Portland Creative List - LINK
3. Entertainment Careers - LINK
4. Ubisoft – international game development company - LINK
5. AFJV – French job site with primarily video game art positions, many of which seek English-speaking candidates - LINK
6. Creative Heads - LINK
7. Companies like Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Titmouse, and LAIKA have job portals on their websites, and their open positions/internships might not show up on aggregate job sites. Bookmark studios you’d like to work for and check their job portal every week or two.

"What would I even do in Portland?"

So, are you only in town for the day?  Don't worry, because here's your...

The PDX Airport carpet is a whole thing.  Don't photograph the wrong pattern (there are a few in the airport, but only ONE is correct for your selfie, Grasshopper.  Unless you want to get it wrong ironically, in which case +10 Portland Points for you).

Vector art by unknown artist.  You read my mind, unknown artist.

Are you in town a little longer?  Get out into some of the beautiful nature surrounding Portland!  Like...

Here's the Oregon Metro brochure for the 4T Trail Hike.
Also, you can of course start this loop in a different place.  If you're staying in the South Waterfront, for example, you could start with the TROLLY and end with the TRAM.  Here's a site with good info on the hike.

I'm going to keep the rest of my recommendations to text, so I can come back and edit them when I inevitably think of something I missed.  Leave a comment if you live in Portland or have visited before and have suggestions for things to do in town!

If you haven't visited before and these things sounds like fun, check out the many great resources available to help you plan a trip!

Detroit Lake, photo by Ron Chan

NATURE
Near to downtown (no car necessary): Wildwood Trail, Pittock Acres Park, Washington Park, Forest Park, Mt. Tabor, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, Lan Su Chinese Garden, Springwater Corridor
Nature you probably need a car to access: Mt. Hood, Timberline Lodge, Mt Bachelor, The Gorge, Oregon Coast, Painted Hills, Crater Lake, Tamolitch Pool hike, Rogue river rafting, Multnomah Falls, Bridge of the Gods, Sauvie Island, Cougar Hot Spring (clothing optional), Silver Falls, Pacific Crest Trail, Camp Sherman Campgrounds, Lost Lake Campgrounds, Devil's Punch Bowl, Haystack Rock, Sea Lion Caves (outside of Florence, OR)
For the best weather, visit between July - October.  You can have fun at other times, but if you visit during the winter or spring, pack a good umbrella, boots, and warm rain jacket.  What you've heard about the rain is not an exaggeration.

EAT/DRINK:
Cafes: Tea Zone, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Public Domain, Coffeehouse Northwest, Sterling Coffee Roasters, Barista, Fresh Pot, the usual chains
Restaurants: Higgins, Montage, Portland City Grill, Blue Hour, Mother's Bistro, Olympic Provisions, Tasty n' Sons, Pok Pok, Sushi Land, Sakura Sushi, Old Town Pizza, Sizzle Pie, Little Big Burger, Brunch Box, Elephants Delicatessen, Saint Honoré Bakery, Papa Haydn, Southpark, Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessen
Food Carts: Thai Sky, E-San Thai, Nong's Khao Man Gai, PBJs Grilled, Gauffre Gourmet, Mr. Taco, Don Pedro
Dessert: Salt & Straw, Ruby Jewel, Papa Haydn
Pubs: Deschutes Brewery, Bridgeport Brewery, Burnside Brewery, Henry's, McMenamins (many locations)
Bars: Rontoms, Doug Fir Lounge, Camellia Lounge, Vault Martini, Paystation, Departure, Portland City Grill, Saucebox, Tugboat, Shanghai Tunnels, Whiskey Soda Lounge, Momo's, White Owl Social Club, Rialto, Bungalow Bar, The Matador
Brunch: Sunshine Tavern, Slappy Cakes, Screen Door, Junior's, Stepping Stone Cafe
Local foods: visit the Portland Farmer's Market, Tillamook Cheese Factory, and the many breweries/distilleries that offer tours.  Also, have you ever eaten a marionberry?

Geeky fun: Wild/Grimm/Leverage/Portlandia/Goonies/Shining sets, Ground Kontrol, Sequential Art Gallery, Floating World Comics, TFAW, IPRC, Oregon Museum of Science & Industry ("OMSI").  Check out Geek Portland for events!

EVENTS
Weekly Events: Saturday Market
Monthly Events: First Thursday, Last Thursday, OMSI After Dark
Annual Events: Naked Bike Ride, Beer Festival, Bluegrass Festival, Rose Parade/Rose Festival, Zoo Lights, Rose City Comic Con, Hump Fest, PDX Soapbox Derby, Oregon Zoo Concert Series
Other Events: Blazers / Timbers / Thorns matches
Pick up a free issue of a weekly paper like The Portland Mercury, Willamette Week, or Just Out for more ideas.  You can also find events online at PDXPipeline.com.

Concert venues: Crystal Ballroom, Doug Fir Lounge, Aladdin Theater, Wonder Ballroom, Roseland Theater, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Keller Auditorium, Moda Center

Shopping: Nob Hill (NW 21st and 23rd avenues), SE Hawthorne, Pearl District, Mississippi Ave

Mississippi Avenue has a lot to offer, from brunch (Gravy) and restaurant spots (Mac!, Samurai Blue, Por Que No) to ice cream (Ruby Jewel), comics (Bridge City Comics), clothes shopping, galleries, insane hipster crap, taxidermy + curios (Paxton Gate), the nicest sex shop you will ever visit (She Bop), and great bars (Bungalo Bar has a huge outdoor area with fires and table/chair SWINGS!).  I recommend spending a day on this street if you want to get out of Central Downtown and experience a fun Portland neighborhood (the #4 bus runs regularly between Mississippi and downtown).  If you visit in July you can even catch the annual street fair!

More fun/weird stuff: McMenamins Kennedy School, "brew 'n' view" theaters, Morgan's Alley, Living Room Theater, The Roxy (24-hour diner), Portland Rock Gym, Glowing Greens (glow-in-the-dark, underground, Pirate-themed putt-putt golf), Voice Box, Vista Bridge, Prasad (part yoga studio part vegan-friendly restaurant), Eagle's Lodge, Jupiter Hotel, 24 Hour Church of Elvis, Hat Museum, Portland Spirit Cruise, Portland Segway Tours, flotation tanks, ChocoLab

Places that take some arranging to visit (do not just knock on the door), but maybe you have a friend or professional connection within the company?: LAIKA, Dark Horse, Oni Press, Top Shelf, Wieden + Kennedy, Nike campus, Nike/Adidas employee stores, Periscope Studio.

NYC: Maybe don't try to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2 hours

...And then there was a Renoir room.  We were late.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is incredible.  Lesson learned: next time I'll take at least half a day to see everything I want to and not sprint to a lunch meeting.

So no, I'm not back in NYC this week; this is a retrospective comic from my trip in July (featuring @passingfair!).  I have a BUNCH of comic ideas from the past year that I'll be going back to complete retroactively -- look forward to those! :D

What have I been up to since coming back to Portland at the end of July? 

• I scanned and edited alllllllll of my Europe sketchbooks for publication - issues 1 and 2 are out now!!  More coming soon.
• I had an art show to promote Sarah Mirk's new book, which I drew illustrations for
• I did a few solid weeks of commercial storyboarding/illustration work (much needed and appreciated!)
• I resumed work on a project with a friend and posted this little teaser for it:

• I was a guest at Boise Library Comic Con (which was a BLAST!)
• I took a short vacation to Central Oregon with some comics friends

 

• I helped out on Abigail Baird and Matthew Melis's "Aerial Animation" project (featured on America's Got Talent!)
• I met with my publisher about my next graphic novel
• I ate a LOT of Mexican food
• I did my taxes X_X
• I've been appreciating family/friends time after a year away.  Lots of movies/dinners/coffee/drinks
• I've been continuing to sketch, trading Parisians for Portlanders:

 

 

 

...and plenty of things from my imagination :)

I'll post again ASAP with more!  Thanks for reading :D