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Jim Zub

26 Jan, 9 tweets, 3 min read

A former student of mine reached out wanting to know how they might be able to pivot from working in animation to making comics.

I sent them a response and figured the advice might be useful to other people online as well-

#makecomics #ComicsSchool

I don't know if this will turn into a new career or is a daydreaming/"grass is greener over there" situation.

Either way, the same advice-

Set deadlines and build a thing.
Finish it, learn from it and then, if you're still engaged, make more.

It's that easy and that hard.

We all want to make our first attempt at something a soaring success. Doing research and getting advice before you start is a natural part of that.

But, in the end, you still have to make the thing for yourself and learn from that process.

And, here's a really crucial point - it is 100% okay to make stuff for FUN. Not every creative endeavor has to be a career in the making.

You can cook fancy food without wanting to be a chef.

You can sing because it brings you joy, not because you want to be in a band.

That goes for art as well. Draw, paint, make comics, animate or whatever else because it's a new skill and a good use of your time no matter what your end goals might be.

It doesn't have to be monetized to be valid.
It doesn't have to be pro quality to be worthy.

BUT - have your eyes open and be aware of what the work is or isn't.

If it's a hobby then don't expect a publisher to suddenly throw money at you unless the work stands well beside the other projects they publish.

If it's not pro quality, don't build up the same expectations.

I really like going out for karaoke (and damn, do I miss it in this pandemic) but I'm not auditioning for talent shows or expecting that I'm going to be a professional singer.

Deciding to do that would mean adjusting my priorities in a BIG way.

I enjoy singing, cooking and playing video games, but the focal points I've deeply poured my brain/time into are writing stories (mostly for comics), teaching and drawing, with a side hustle knowledge pool of tabletop RPGs and superhero continuity.

That's what works for me.

A lot of this is similar to the advice I first wrote about on my livejournal (hah) back in 2007, reformatted here on my site.

How Do I Break In?
jimzub.com/how-do-i-break…

Along with 40+ blogposts here about the industry, created when I had way more time:
jimzub.com/category/tutor…

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More from @JimZub

Jim Zub

@JimZub

24 Aug 20

Artists: Let's talk about portfolios.

In simplest terms, in order for you to get work doing art for other people, you need a portfolio that grabs attention and gives potential clients a clear path for contacting you.

It's that easy and that difficult.

A portfolio is _not_ just a social media feed or a blog.

It's _not_ a gallery/archive of everything you've ever done.

Focus and clarity are key. Don't make it hard for people to figure out what you do or how they can hire you to do it for them.

An online portfolio is ideally something you control that’s not platform dependent (Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc.)

Social media for showing off work is fine, but they're _not_ a portfolio.

Platforms and tastes change.
Don’t be dependent on one source for your outreach.

Read 20 tweets

Jim Zub

@JimZub

25 Nov 19

Remember six months ago when I mentioned that comic piracy numbers were easily 20x legitimate buyers and it was a real problem?

Sometime yesterday a bunch of other comic pros looked closer, saw the numbers and the cold chill of it really hit.

Yup.

In the early days of online piracy, media that went viral in those channels could benefit from the visibility boost.

Nowadays most of it is rapid consumption that never leads to support. Digital content is quick and disposable. On to the next show, game, comic. Rinse and repeat.

The piracy sites will ask for donations to "support" their efforts, they'll repackage content that's already available for free through legitimate means. It's a relentless stockpile of content they're leveraging to make money because they can.

Read 10 tweets

Jim Zub

@JimZub

5 Mar 19

https://twitter.com/kmichaelrussell/status/1102771215591268352

This is a constant conversation I've been having with friends and industry people since D&D 5th Edition launched.

Why has #DnD surged so much in the past few years and what ingredients came together to encourage this upswing in visibility and enthusiasm?

Lemme thread this-

https://twitter.com/kmichaelrussell/status/1102771215591268352

In no particular order:
- A young audience hungry for unique experiences and looking for personalized entertainment. Tabletop RPGs like #DnD are infinity customizable and don't have to be expensive.

- The game can be dramatic and nuanced, or slapstick-silly. Strategic with minis and grids or highly narrative. You can play with kids or get a group of adults together and be raunchy and "inappropriate". All with the same basic framework and rules.

Read 23 tweets

Jim Zub

@JimZub

27 Nov 18

An animation industry friend reached out to ask me about creating his own graphic novel.

He assumed, like a lot of entertainment people do, that he could waltz in, get his concept published and then pitch it as a movie/TV show.

I asked about his art budget.

"Won't the publisher pay for that?"

Not if you want to retain media rights.

"Oh. Well, how much will it cost?"

It varies wildly, but high quality art and production on a 100+ page graphic novel could run $30,000...probably more.

"WHAT?!"

You're asking an artist to dedicate themselves to your project for at least 6 months, and probably more. You want to keep all the rights.

Dude, you work in animation. You know what art is worth. You'd never make these flippant assumptions about an animated film.

Read 7 tweets

Jim Zub

@JimZub

10 Nov 18

@SenecaCollege

I've posted up examples of student work from the first year Animation Layout & Design class I teach at @SenecaCollege (like these Kitchen scenes attached here), but that doesn't really give you the scope of what one of these final drawings entail.

Let me show you-

Each of these scenes starts with coming up with a concept. We don't just want a basic by-the-numbers kitchen, this should be a specific place with visual elements that help tell our story.

Here's a short write-up example I did for the class.

The next step is gathering visual reference. The internet makes this a breeze, and you can quickly amass a reference folder of furniture, objects, and decorations that will help inspire the final version. These are just a few of the ref pieces I pulled down for this concept.

Read 23 tweets

Jim Zub

@JimZub

6 Jun 18

Artists: Social media presence is great, but make sure you have a curated portfolio site for potential employers to see what you're capable of.

Sketches and progress stuff is fun and worth showing off to fans, but art directors/editors need to see finished work.

It doesn't have to be fancy. Keep it simple:
Organized sections with your latest/best finished work.
Quality over quantity.
Credits for any collaborators where appropriate.
A simple short bio.
An email to contact.

I keep stumbling across artists on social media with vibrant sketches and lots of potential but they don't seem to have finished work or a landing page for their portfolio/contact info.

Read 10 tweets

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