Noob no more?


As of next month, I will be going into my 10th year at Nickelodeon Magazine!!! I started freelancing for them (1-2 days a week) the last week of November in 1998 while I was still in my senior year of college. By the time I graduated, I was working 5 days a week as a "permalancer" and then eventually got hired "on staff" a year or two later. Years of monthly magazines and special projects later...after even having a photo of my butt (in jeans) on the cover, I still feel like the new kid!

I can honestly say though that I've really had one of the best jobs ever. And am still completly in love with it.

The best part of being at Nick Mag for the past 9 years: I've worked with an insane amount of talented artists, writers, editors, art directors, animators, producers, and cool creative people! And looking back, I definitely feel I've learned a lot and still continue to every day.

I've been asked a lot of questions and done a lot of public speaking about "your career" and how you can "make it", which feels ironic, since I'm still a few thousand dollars shy of paying off my college loans!

But at any rate, I've been compiling a lot of this advice in one place for easier correspondences, and recently a few people insisted that I share it online. So if you are interested in that kind of stuff here you go:

Advice for building a career as a freelance artist
and/or paid cartoonist

--I'm sure a lot of the details are up for debate and I plan to add and change things over time. But I guess it might be useful for people seeking some inside tips and tricks! Cheers!