Four Tips for Finding a Great Artist for Your Comic Book Project
When starting out writing comics, one of the first challenges you’ll face is finding an artist. Even trickier, is finding one that will deliver exceptional art to a deadline.
Here’s 4 things I would recommend looking for when trying to find an artist for your project.
Sequential Storytelling Skills
If you want an artist to draw your comic then make sure they can actually draw comics.
Sequential art is a specialised skill that takes deliberate work and practice to master. Just because an artist can draw a kick-ass pin-up, doesn’t mean they can draw 20 comic pages.
If a potential artist doesn't have sequential work they can show you, then they aren’t the artist for you. It is as simple as that.
Now, here’s another thing: just because an artist can technically draw sequential art, doesn’t mean they can tell a story.
Study their sequential work. Look at how action carries over from panel to panel. Observe how they handle layouts and if the layouts vary from page to page. Test to see if you can follow what’s happening from panel to panel without any lettering.
2. Substance Over Style
When I first started looking for artists to work with I was obsessed with style. I think this is true of a lot of new writers.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, a unique and vivid art style can really elevate a book. Stories like ‘Little Bird’, ‘Head Lopper or the ‘Luther Strode’ series immediately come to mind. However, there is a risk here.
A strong stylistic approach can sometimes mask a lack of understanding of anatomy, perspective and storytelling. Again, this is where studying an artist’s sequential work is invaluable.
A sequential artist needs to be able to draw anything, so make sure they can.
I recommend looking at their backgrounds and studying how they handle action and movement. Also observe their characters to make sure they look natural in their surroundings, not stiff or ‘posed’. Doing this will give away whether an artists ‘style’ is fleshed-out, or just a flashy coat of paint.
For an example of an artist with both a strong style and strong storytelling skills check out the work of Marie Enger.
3. Reliability
Here’s the inconvenient reality: a lot of people involved in the arts and/or creative pursuits aren’t the most reliable.
I can’t count on two hands the number of collaborators that have ghosted on me. It happens. At this stage it’s occurred so frequently I know not to take it personally.
It makes sense. After all, the creative process has an ethereal and volatile quality to it that tends to attract ethereal and volatile people.
Your job as a comic writer (and therefore a project manager) is to find collaborators that are reliable, as well as being reliable yourself.
The key difference between an aspiring writer/artist and a professional is the ability to consistently create work and to complete that work on time.
So, how can you tell if a potential artist is reliable or not? Here’s some things to look out for:
Past output: Make sure they have at least one finished project to their name. Even a short story is enough, although the more they have done the better. A published credit is also a huge plus here.
Responsiveness: How quickly do they respond to your emails? Are they thorough in their responses? Do they catch the details?
Ask around: Know someone who has worked with this particular artist before? Great! Ask them about the experience to find out if there are any red flags.
Commission them: Try hitting a potential artist up for a commission to see what they are like to work with. This is a low risk and low cost way to establish an artist’s ability to work to deadlines.
4. Mutual Interest
This is important and often completely overlooked. If you want the art to really pop then find an artist who will be invested in drawing your story. Even better, they may want to make it their story as well.
Take a look at their social media, website and portfolio. Get a feel for the sort of media/ properties they are into. Figure out what genres they are interested in, what things they enjoy drawing and what they don’t.
Trust me on this; 100% of the time comics turn out better if the artist actually cares about what they are drawing. The more invested they are, the better.
So, do your research.
What About Writers?
This article has been all about scrutinising potential artistic collaborators, but don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about writers.
Next time I'll run through things writers can do to ensure they are an attractive collaborator for potential artists. See you then.
