Chewing Pencils

Method 7:- Whatever you can think of…!

During this series I’ve covered numerous ways to sell your cartoon and illustration work. Most of these methods fall at least a ‘little’ into the traditional category, but as our culture changes, new media takes hold and technology goes beyond what we could have ever imagined, new markets and new ways of selling open up all the time.

Hopefully these ideas have sparked new and fresh ideas of your own that will see your cartoons starting to appear in all sorts of places and money starting to appear in your bank account. To finish off the series, here are a final few methods for selling your work.

Creating your own market

Over the last few months, I’ve been impressed by the markets created by Grant Brown and Bob Staake. In both cases, there was no obvious need for cartoons, but a potetial that both took advantage of. Opportunities like this exist everywhere around us. The internet in particular holds many possibilities for a cartoonist willing to think outside the square.

Face to face

While technology has grasped nearly every area of life, there is still a place for making an appointment with a potential client and meeting with them face to face. There is no better way to strike up a good working relationship than this, and you can instantly see what sort of reaction your work is getting. The client can give you feedback on how your work could be more suitable to their needs which suddenly gives you a huge advantage over everybody who sends in a ‘cold’ submission.

If you are going to try this approach (and I recommend everybody does at some stage!), then make sure your folio is up to date and your website is up to scratch. 

Word of mouth

Never underestimate the power of a good reputation. Nearly ten years ago now, I managed to score some paying work with a client who found me via my website. As they were preparing the posters on which my work appeared, a consultant who was working for them asked for my details. The consultant then commissioned me to illustrate a series of training manuals. In turn, one of his clients asked me to do a similar project for them, which again lead to more work for a client of theirs. 

Two things helped ensure that this chain of events unfold:

1. I delivered the work on time to the quality they had asked for.

2. I worked on keeping a good working relationship by keeping lines of communication open at every stage of the project.

Each client was more than satisfied and happy to pass on my details.

Drawing live

People like watching you draw (even if you hate it). And people like to be drawn. So, if you’re any good at caricatures, consider hiring out your services for coporate functions and community events. Take a stall at a festival or even set yourself up alongside the queue of people waiting for concert tickets. If you can do a decent likeness in 15 minutes and charge $50 for the privilege, you’re looking at some good money for a days work.

Even if you’re not a caricaturist, simply drawing your stuff in public and then selling the orginal on the spot will ‘draw’ a crowd. This is almost a form of busking, but it pays well and is good fun!

Teach kids

A few times now I’ve taught cartooning classes for primary school children. Again, it’s lots of fun and most schools will have a budget which alloows them to pay artists to come in and run sessions. It’s not selling your work as such, but more your services. If you do a good job, however, you can almost guaruntee that it will lead to more work in the future.

Ebay it

If you’ve managed to get your stuff on to t-shirts and the like, and your work is of general appeal, then give Ebay a go. Either set up a shop or auction off your work to the highest bidder. You never know how far people will go to get somethng they really like!

Anyway, I hope that at least one thing in this series has sparked off some ideas and motivated you to get your work out there. Even more so, I hope you’ve managed to sell something and earn the title of ‘professional’ cartoonist!

Draw well!