What should I study if I want to be a cartoonist???

RawrCar

It's odd. I've been drawing cartoons since before I could write. My first series was a bunch of doodles called The Flying Mechanical Worm... It was a story about a worm with a robot torso and wings. As I got older, I decided I wanted to be different things. But when I rediscovered myself, I realized I was still a natural born Cartoonist. So... basically, I'm sixteen years old now and out of the blue decide I want to be something totally different. I have no idea how to prepare myself for this career. I have understood that one of the more professional ways to say drawing cartoons is graphic design. That much I can grasp.

So here are my questions: What do I need to study if I want to be a cartoonist?
With the things I have gone to school for, what other kinds of jobs could I get?
How does one work their way up to things such as producing cartoons, and where would I need to start at?
What would be a good back-up job and would there be any additional things I would need to study?

I am assuming this question will probably take awhile to be answered, but help would be appreciated!!

Candy Floss

Hi there Nick,

Firstly, I think art would be a good thing to study if you're planning on being a cartoonist but I think what could be even better is if there's specific graphic design courses, I know in the UK we have these courses but I'm not too sure about the US so this is something you could perhaps look into.

For now, I'd suggest drawing a lot more and putting together a portfolio for yourself that you can use to show potential employers in the future. Also, if there are any graphic design companies in your area it may help if you showed them your work and asked if you could volunteer there for a while, it would help you to get some experience in the field and employers are usually impressed with those who have experience.

As for a back-up job, well you could choose anything really. Is there something else you enjoy? If you do end up getting a degree in graphic design then I'm sure there's lots of options out there for you such as careers in advertising, illustration etc. so there's a lot you could do if you get a degree in this.

I hope this helped, take care

BECCALICIOUS!

Obviously, as Cara said, do the whole art & graphic design thing. Which is available in the US, btw.

If I were in that situation, I would also study English and possibly history/current events/politics. You may decide to not only draw your cartoons but also come up with the whole plotline. You could also do political cartoons for a newspaper.

Hope this helped

Troubled_Heart

As well as this, ICT would be helpful because it helps your skill sall over the computer, just to help back up graphics and art. Good Luck Xxx