I really like what Comics Experience is doing with their classes and forums. I finally caught the Comics Experience San Diego Comic Con convention video from 2010 today. I was pretty excited to see if I would learn anything new. Unfortunately, the presentation seemed just a rehash of what most comic book have been saying for the last 10 years. Although, I can’t disagree with them completely, I wish the show would have been a little more — revolutionary. This has been the norm for about the last 10 years. Since it wasn’t, I’ll have to grab my machete and start charting us a new path through the already dense, thick muck that just clouds the entryway into comics.
Before we get into this breakdown, if you have time, go see part 1 of the 4-part video then come back.
How to Break Into Comics . If you can check out the rest of the videos, leave me some feedback on what you liked there were some really good revelations in the Q and A session. Dennis Calero has some excellent advice on working with your editor.
Andy Schmidt talks about three ways to Break Into Comics. I would like to build on his ideas and take what he’s started to the next level. And hopefully be able to add something that could enhance your perspective of what he said. I cannot impart on you enough that you must think above the mindset that has been so prevalent in the industry! I am going to help you do that today.
PART ONE: TALENT. “Everybody’s got it.” Well, everybody does have a talent. I like Andy’s open heart culture that he has built into Comics Experience it is a breath of fresh air from the negativity that abounds among creatives. However, not everybody has a talent to make it in comics. What I see coming from most people who want to make comics is a DESIRE to make comics. And just like talent, if the DESIRE is high enough it will push the boundaries to open the door to comics when you thought it wasn’t possible based on your talent. Let’s not focus so much on talent, a thing that is better to remember is that your talent only has to be better than someone else’s talent. As long as a few people really like what you do, you are in. Cater to those few people. You don’t have to be talented enough for the whole world. If you have the DESIRE to please those few people, take what talents you have, please the people you can and go make comics. Your talent will grow as you create comics, it is inevitable. You will get better the more you work at it. What may not increase is your desire to keep making comics. You will learn very quickly whether you will stay in comics or not based on if your desire to make comics grows with your increase in talent. If your desire to make comics wanes, forget about it. You may not even make it to your second job. If you have DESIRE, you will break into comics.
PART TWO: PERSISTENCE. “If you are an artist, draw. If you are a writer, write.” Sounds like common sense doesn’t it? And this is true. You want to be persistent in the talents you have been given. But here’s the transformation moment. You don’t want to be persistent at using your talents in the wrong ways. This will get you NOWHERE, and you want to get to get SOMEWHERE. What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing time and time again expecting different results. I would have the second rule be: KNOWLEDGEABLE ACTION. Learn what is going to get you where you want to go and do that. Learn. Do. Don’t Stop. If you are persistent in learning and doing, you will break into comics.
PART THREE: LUCK. “Being in the right place, at the right time.” If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know I despise the term “LUCK”. I refer to it as “wonderful opportunistic availabilities”. However, I’m not going to bring that up here, because I don’t think “wonderful opportunistic availabilities” has anything to do with it. Andy Schmidt’s correction of “Being in the right mind, at the right time” does, though. Although Andy’s illustration of this statement was limiting, I thought the terminology was very insightful of him. Instead of luck, let’s refer to the third element as: QUANTIFIABLE OPPORTUNITIES. Not as simple, I know. Maybe there will be some simpler words as I think about it more. The point here is every “quantifiable opportunity” is based on a “knowledgeable action”. When you learn what to do, and do it, then you will be in position to get a job and break into comics when the time is right. One could call it luck, but it is not blind luck, which is most often associated with the term “luck”. Although, some things are out of our control and deemed “lucky”, most things are in our control. I talk more about this in my How to Break Into Comic Free Training. Do the things you can control. Don’t worry about what you can’t control.
So Andy’s are Talent, Persistence, and Luck
Disciple Deep’s are Desire, Knowledgeable Action, and Quantifiable Opportunities
Of course there are a lot more than 3. If you have been trying unsuccessfully to Break Into Comics, you may find my new training helpful. Nobody breaks into comics, you just have to Open The Door.