Chewing Pencils

Here’s a question from Mat Threadgill of Texas:

Hello from Texas! I am an aspiring political cartoonist. I’ve always enjoyed political and social satires, and have recently taken the step of concepting and developing my own cartoons. Right now it’s a hobby, but I’d really love to try to get some of my work published. But, my question is, how do I go about that? I’ve read your cartoonist tips and am starting to take action. But what would your advice be for someone specifically looking to get into political cartoons?

Editorial cartooning is probably the hardest part of the business to get into! So until you get to where you want to go, don’t give up your day job. I say that with all sincerity - you need to eat, so you’ll need something else in addition to your drawing to keep you going. But here’s a list of things to think about until the editorial job comes along.

1. Get yourself a website and try to put one of your political cartoons up each week (at least). Because politics changes so rapidly, you can’t wait three weeks to draw a really good idea - by then it’s old news! If you go for a blog (which I would recommend) make sure it is easy for people to subscribe.

2. Advertise your website on as many illustration/cartoon/political type forums on the net that you can find.

3. Draw local political issues and submit it to the local papers. Repeatedly. Keep doing it until they tell you to stop!

4. Do other types of drawing too. While it may not be political stuff, doing other types of cartoon work will at least give you some more exposure and business experience.

As for the political work you do, make sure you have something to say. The real power in the cartoon is the message it sends, not the quality of the art, so make sure you research well and put forward an opinion. Try to combine two or three big news stories into the one cartoon if you can.

And practice. Always practice!

Any editorial cartoonists out there with anything to add?