Grace Generally, it is seen that comic books have a limited readership in comparison with other published books and magazines. According to Statista, about 6% of people in the US who fall under the age bracket of eighteen to thirty-four like to read comic books at least once a month.
However, because of the entertaining and amusing nature of art, an increasing number of businesses have started using comic art in their branding and marketing strategy. This is the main reason why more and more brands are looking for comic art illustrators who can help them give marketing visuals a flair and fun touch.
What Does Comic Art Mean?
The goal of comic art is to entertain the readers. Whereas, comic art is the creation of amusing and stylized drawings.
Traditionally, graphic novel illustrators or comic artmakers have worked with comic publishers only. But today, brands from various industries are also joining the bandwagon – resulting in an increased demand for comic illustrators. Due to this, comic art marketing is gaining popularity among the circles of forward-looking brands.
With the help of comic art, brands are able to convey certain messages to their target audience in a fun and captivating way. The main focus of comic art is to inject a sense of humor into a short story – a technique that works perfectly for brands that seek to send messages to their audience in an attention-catching manner.
What to Look for in a Comic Illustrator
If you want comic illustrators for hire, then you should answer what a comic artist for illustration does first. This exercise will help you know what expertise to look for in a comic illustrator. Generally, comic artists do drawings to engage readers and convey a story with more impact. They also manage the story text on the pages.
As often as not, it is the duty of the comic artist to make sure the text, dialogue, captions, and drawings rhyme well with the entire comic’s design. Also, they produce images on political, educational, historical, and marketing agendas in an impactful way. The images are more often than not satirical and slightly less informal.
In this way, these artists are able to make the readers laugh, even at serious topics like politics and religion.
The Job Description of a Comic Artist
It is essential you know the job description of a comic illustrator when you plan on hiring one – especially for the first time. It depends on your preference whether you need someone to do the drawing part only or want them to also write text. Apart from this, you should hire a comic illustrator who can perform the following job roles.
- Convert all the design briefs to the author of the graphic novel or comic
- Plot the storylines in a compelling manner
- Participate in the creation of storyboards for each plot
- Constantly team up with comic writers in terms of discussing visuals in every scenario
- Timely submit the image drafts of the drawings
- Meet all the deadlines
- Should be able to cohesively put textual details and visuals in the form of a story
The Must-Have Tools the Artist Should be able to Use
In the making of comic art, the initial attempts to make images are made on paper. The drafts are made manually so clients can have an idea of how the comic illustrator perceives the depiction of the story in terms of design. Once the preliminary drafting is done and approved, the next step for the comic artist is to use a number of tools. Here’s the list:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Corel Painter
- Microsoft Paint
- Autodesk SketchBook
- Clip Studio Paint
The above are the tools that are popularly used by most drawing artists.
The Necessary Skills for a ‘to-be-hired’ Comic Illustrator
Some of the most renowned comics in history are the Marvel comics and DC comics. The main reason for the popularity of these comics is the clarity, captivating visual graphics, humor, and lively touch. These are the elements necessary for making a comic book that can engage and entertain readers.
In terms of skills, comic artists have a unique skill set in comparison with graphic designers. And that is the ability to inject a sense of humor into their work that makes people laugh. Such a sense of humor reflects and resonates in their work when done in a witty manner. After all, the injection of wittiness in drawings is what makes comic illustrators so unique.
Keeping this in mind, you want to be looking for a writer who has skills such as:
- Graphic design experience
- Sketching
- A natural aptitude for conceptualizing and putting thoughts into a drawing
- Knowledge of comic genres
- Good at visually communicating messages
- Knowledge of writing comics
- Creative imagination and innovative approaches to design
- Should be able to sketch the human body with perfection
Reasons for Brands to Consider Comic Art Marketing
In this day and age, you can see a lot of comic art being used in the marketing campaigns of various brands. And it seems to be going well for many brands, as they are able to explore a whole new world of possibilities with comic art marketing.
It is a proven fact that when visuals and words are used together, this combination creates a powerful impact on the readers. For instance, if your business brand has an exciting tale to tell, comic art will allow you to create designs that depict the story in a light and funny way.
The designs made through comic art inspiration help your brand to stand apart from the competition as unique and worth it. Also, as comic art has a humorous touch to it, the lighthearted nature of comic art will always generate positive feelings for the readers.
The 5 Places to Hire a Comic Illustrator for Marketing Designs
With the help of the internet, it is much easier to find comic art illustrators. Here are the platforms you can use to hire the right comic art maker.
- Groups on social media sites such as Facebook groups, Instagram groups, etc.
- Comic art forums like Drawing Board, CGHub, Concept Art, and more
- Online marketplaces such as Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, Guru, IllustrationX, People Per Hour, and more
- Comic conventions in your local area of adjacent cities where you get to meet people face to face
- Comic stores are obvious places where comic lovers and artists visit at least once a month
