What's in that Portfolio?
DON'T stuff your portfolio with artwork.
Be ruthless about your portfolio. Evaluate
the work you plan to show an editor, then cut it down. Think about the
number of people who will want to show off their art and may be queuing
behind you.
This sound harsh, but any editor worth their salt is going to make a judgement
about your art after seeing the first page, not the last of 20, so make sure
everything in your portfolio is the very BEST you're capable of. If you aren't
happy with the art, don't include it.
DON'T include splash pages, cover illustrations
or if you do, keep it to the very minimum.
What editors want to see is that you can draw
comic strip, not pretty pictures. Have both pencils and inks of those pencils
to show editors. Present pencils on the left, inks on the right. (Copy your
pencils before you ink them if you're used to inking your own work). If
you're looking for inking work and have inked some samples, show editors
copies of the pencils you've inked.
Consecutive pages is a good idea, as suggested by others. I don't think size
is important, an A4 ringbinder/portfolio is probably a damm sight easier to
carry to a convention than an A2 folio.
Less is More
Less is more. You'll have ten minutes at most with an editor. Be ready to have your very best work on the opening pages of your portfolio and be ready to change those pages to suit different editors (see above about drawing samples for specific publishers)
Present a good script
Find some professional scripts and work from those
if you can. I've encountered many a determined comics artist has been let
down by with their portfolio by trying to draw a badly written script.
If an editor likes your samples, be ready
with a set of photocopies of your work for him to take away.
Follow up a positive response with a letter
of thanks as soon as you can when you get home, and send the same set of
copies. There's always a chance the one you gave them got lost on route,
or your address got separated from the samples (so make sure you put your
name and address on them.
If you're after advice from editors, then
please, please don't start arguing the toss if they don't like what they
see.
A comics convention is a good opportunity to
meet several editors, and if one editor doesn't like what you've done then another
sure as heck may do. Thank them for their time and move on.
If a professional editor offers advice about your
work, listen: even if you don't agree, if you argue, that will be remembered.
Editors will be looking for specific things in a portfolio. If your
portfolio doesn't offer what they're looking for, they'll say so. Accept
it and try somewhere else, or take note of what's said and you'll be better
prepared for the next time. (That, by the way, isn't to detract from the
quality of anyone's art. The professionals will be looking for work they
can publish that fits their corporate needs, not just good art).
By the same token, I don't consider it appropriate for editors to be rude
about someone's work, but that doesn't stop them from being honest.
Fanzines sell your work!
I cannot emphasise enough how great it is for
an artist or a writer to give an editor a fanzine they've had a part in. For
one thing, all editors like freebies. For another, it shows that you, as a creator,
have the commitment and belief in what you're doing to get right down to it
and draw a strip people want to see. Plus, publishing a fanzine and selling
it at a convention might just cover your bar tab (but there are no guarantees).
"I think they work pretty well as business cards to complement a portfolio," says Pete Ashton from bugpowder.com
on taking fanzines to conventions: plus if you make them A6 they fit in pockets
better. It's a good way to stick in the editor's mind when they find your mini
in their jacket pocket a few days later and read it on the train. About 12 pages
A6 should do it.
"Make sure your address/email/site is clearly on it though."
Tailor your work for the target publisher.
Have pages for DC with Batman, Superman
etc, Marvel heroes for Marvel, 2000AD characters for Rebellion.
The editors for DC and Marvel will want to see their own characters, not
yours. Also, before you go to the event, see who's announced they will
be there and plan your pitches accordingly. Check the event's web site
if they have one.
• See what Matt Broker
has to say about this here.
That of course may not apply to smaller publishers at the event looking for
new strips and concepts to publish.
Be honest.
Be ready to answer, honestly, "How long did it take you to draw this?" That kind of question is a good sign, it means they might be thinking of trying you, unless it took you a week to do just one page (a comics professional will as a general rule draw a page of pencils in one, one and a half days if they want to get a 22 page book done every month, that is!)
Best of Luck!
You'll be competing with hundreds of determined creators. If you think those wannabe TV Pop Idol contestants have it bad, you've never presented a portfolio. But if the work you sweat over to present at the event gets you a job, it will be worth it.