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Introduction to Magazine Cartooning
Magazine cartooning is a fun way to make extra money and gain
experience for more lucrative cartooning jobs.
I am going to discuss the opportunities that exist for magazine
cartoonists, and how you can get started in this career. I will give you some ideas about
what type of earnings you can expect to make and where this career can lead you. You will
learn what type of skills and education you need to succeed in this field, and how this field
can give you some nice benefits other than money.
The Magazine Cartooning Market
According to one statistic published on the internet there are 18,000 magazines published in
the U.S. today. Hundreds of new magazines start up each year, many of them with circulations
as small as 1000. Magazine cartooning is a good place for a cartoonist to begin his career and
as you can see, there are numerous potential markets for your work. It is a highly
competitive business and most magazine cartoonists don't make that much money. Magazine
cartooning, however, is a good training ground for other areas of cartooning which are more
lucrative.
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Work From Home
One of the benefits of being a magazine cartoonist is you can
work from your own home. Your markets are as near as your mailbox. In fact, considering
that many magazine cartoonists today submit by email, your markets are as near as your computer.
How To Submit Your
Work To Magazines
As a magazine cartoonist you can choose your own working hours. Work days, or nights, part-time
or full-time. You can take a vacation or a day off any time you like, keeping in mind,
however, that the less you work the less you earn. You won't have a boss standing over your
shoulder, or annoying co-workers. Magazine cartooning, on the other hand, can be a lonely
job.
Educational Requirements
There is no specific educational requirement for magazine
cartooning. I do recommend, however, that you go to an art school if you can afford to do so. It's also
a good idea to read a lot and self-educate yourself on a number of topics. The more you know about the
world around you the better you will be at cartooning. Creative writing is another area you may want to
study. Cartoonists generally write their own gags so the ability to write is helpful. Finally since you
are an independent businessman (or woman) you will want to learn some business skills such as bookkeeping,
business correspondence and perhaps some marketing. You'll never have to show anybody a degree in order to
sell magazine cartoons, but your education or lack of it will be reflected in the type of work you turn out.
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This cartoon sold to a children's
magazine for
$15.
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This cartoon sold to a Dental Magazine
years ago for
$35.
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How Much Money Can Magazine Cartoonists Make?
Magazines pay anywhere from $10 per cartoon to several
hundred dollars. The average payment is probably around $50. At first glance that sounds like
pretty good
pay and it would be if you sold every cartoon you drew. The reality, however, is this is a
competitive
business and you will probably sell about 1 percent of the cartoons you send out if you are
average. If one
magazine rejects your work, you should send it on to another one. Often a cartoon is reviewed
by several
different editors before it sells. Sometimes you can increase your income by selling the same cartoon
multiple times. You'll read more about this in the section on business practices.
How To Find Magazine
Cartoon Markets
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Because cartooning is time-consuming work, and because the markets are limited and highly competitive, one
can probably not expect to make their full-time income from just magazine cartooning. Most magazine
cartoonists also do related work, such as book illustrations, art for advertising, website design,
syndicated comic strips, animation or other custom work. Magazine cartooning is a good place to start,
develop your skills and get the exposure you need to move on to these more profitable areas.
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