A walk

I’ve spent a pretty good portion of the day analyzing things.  As a cartoonist, I’m constantly seeking out “what’s hot” and the direction of the industry.  That’s why I’ve tackled certain projects and have also gotten rid of some.  I think this day and age any cartoonist (that wants to actually do this gig full time) has to pay really close attention.  After all, if your dream is to be in a bunch of newspapers (like mine was a decade ago), well – hate to tell you this, but you might want to start thinking about a different route.  That’s like wanting to become a steam train engineer.  Although I’m sure there’s someone that’s fully employed full time at Disney for that job, the market isn’t exactly catching on fire (though the boiler of the engine might be).

So anyway, I do this once awhile.  I stroll around and see what’s going on.  It’s kind of like taking a walk through a park, except without the annoying pigeons and transients asking you for change.

I’ve mentioned that one of the areas that is doing well and picking up speed is custom work.  Why?  Well, mainly because if you want a Nate Fakes cartoon,there’s only one place to buy it from.  Me!  So, my market is pretty specific.  There’s only me who sells the Nate Fakes brand.  And custom cartoons are a hit.  They are actually gaining momentum because of the social media aspect of them.  I’ve had several new clients and it’s an area I don’t see slowing down unless I do.  Plus, I’m having fun working with all these new people and it’s something new constantly.  Challenging?  Yes.  But, I like it that way.

I also wallow in graphic design and ads a bit.  There’s always a need for that kind of stuff (although I don’t promote that I do it too much).

I don’t have the figures on how sales are worldwide, but I am anxious to get more into my graphic novels as well.  I have one in the works (you may be well aware of Don Giovanni – my failed Kickstarter graphic novel that I’m making).  I see them doing well because they expand into more than just the novel and I see series of them.  I don’t think they’ll ever really go away.  Whether read digitally or on print, I could care less.  I enjoy them and I’m really getting into creating them myself.  And boy, do I have a TON of ideas.  Enough to keep me occupied for my entire life span.

Also, animation is an area that will be around for awhile.  I’ve got a little something-something that might be in the works with that. Shhh….I don’t want to jinx anything.

Anyway, I’m also doing greeting cards, the regular syndicated comic (online, mostly), MAD Magazine, Parade Magazine and other gigs.  These stay somewhat consistent, but regularly need more income added to them to keep them up.  (In other words, I need even more sources with my work to order pizza on occasion.)

It’s like I have 20 different jobs!  Whew!

Aah, thinking back to when I was a kid:  I wanted to just draw a syndicated series that ran in the papers.  That was it.  Wow, I was a bit naive!

Anyway…

I see, as I stroll around, that kids/tween/teenage books seem to be still doing well (again I don’t have sales figures, but I see a lot of them still out there and seem to be doing alright).  I’m talking about the Wimpy Kid books, Timmy Failure and several more that are still out on shelves and kids seem to enjoy despite video games.  So, I’ve thought about if this were an area I might want to look into.  Well, I might (look into it more).  I need to read a few more of these though to really grasp them.  But, they continue to be marketable, so we’ll see.

Anyhow, it’s been a good day of analyzing things.  Thinking things over is never a bad idea and I consider strolling around working because it sometimes leads to work that actually pays eventually.

That’s my walk for today.  Thanks for coming along and not feeding the pigeons (if you happened to see any).