Chewing Pencils

Method 2:- Using an Agent

Contrary to what you might hear, there are still plenty of people looking for cartoonists to produce work for them. One of the biggest hurdles they often face though, is actually finding one they like. Some clients don’t have either the time or the inclination to put the effort into ringing individual cartoonists or searching websites to find the sort of look they’re after. Often, they’re happy to let somebody else do all the hard work - enter the agent.

Agents (sometimes called studio representatives, art representitives or agencies) are companies that have numbers of cartoonists on their books whom they can refer clients too when they come looking. The deal is that when they find you work, they take a cut of the agreed fee.

There are some obvious benefits to using an agent:

1. Somebody else does all the hard work of looking for a client for you

2. If you strike up a good relationship with an agent and are reliable, they will send lots of work your way

3. Clients that find you through an agent have money to burn

But there are some downsides too:

1. The agents fee can be as high as 40% which cuts your profit dramatically

2. Dealing with a middle man can be a pain in the bum

I’ve tended to steer away from using agents at this point as I’ve preferred the freedom and flexibility of dealing with clients directly. However a number of collegues work almost exclusively through agents and do quite well out of them.

My very talented sister has worked in the illustration industry for ages now, both as an employee and as a freelancer. She has used a number of agents and recommended the following as places to explore:

http://www.thestylefile.com/
http://www.illustratorsaustralia.com/
http://www.illosight.com.au/home.taf
http://www.drawingbook.com.au/
http://www.theillustrators.org/gallery/gal_nc01.htm

Plus some others:

Cartoon World has a list of Agents in London
CartoonStock is a mixture of agent and online folio

And there are numerous sites that advertise freelance jobs on the internet. Simply ‘Google’ Freelance cartoon jobs and see what happens!

If you go down this track (and it IS worth a try) here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you read and understand all the legal stuff before signing anything. If they’re taking any more than a 40% cut you’re probably getting ripped off.

2. Have a well developed folio and a good archive of work before approaching an agent. They need to see the depth and bredth of what you can do, not just what you think you can do.

3. Some agents might take you on, but then forget about what you can do. Be sure to send them new folio pieces every few months and ring every other month to see how things are going. Always ask if there’s anything else you can be doing to improve your chances of getting work. Remember, the sqeaky wheel…

4. Be nice! When an agent gets you work, thank them! Send them Christmas cards and the like. Make sure your working relationship is a good one.

5. Don’t abuse the relationship by covertly dealing with a client that the agent has put you in contact with. You will get a bad name and no agent will touch you in the future

6. Keep looking for clients on your own at the same time. Don’t rely on an agent to find all your work for you.

If you’ve used an agent before, or have one you can recommend, or even run an agency yourself, let us know some of the details by leaving a comment.