• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

  • Contact
  • About
  • Faqs
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Comics Crash Course
  • Blog
  • Videos

MTV

ProFile: Kody Chamberlain

by Palle Schmidt 2 Comments

ProFile-Kody-Chamberlain

Kody Chamberlain spends most of his time creating comic books and graphic novels, but also works in film, animation, video games, and television. Credits include DC Comics, HarperCollins, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, LucasArts, Marvel Comics, MTV, MTV Comics, Mulholland Books, Sony Pictures, 12 Gauge Comics, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. In addition to his work in entertainment, Kody also an inspirational keynote speaker and consultant on the subject of creativity. Credits include CTN Animation Expo, HOW Design Live, INNOV8, Modbook, Macworld, iFest, Wizard World Comic Con, as well as AdFed groups and major universities throughout the United States.

You can find out more about Kody at his website: http://kodychamberlain.com.

His latest book SWEETS: A New Orleans Crime Story:

Print edition: http://tinyurl.com/amazonsweets

Digital edition: http://tinyurl.com/digitalsweets

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

As high school was wrapping up, I had no plan on what to do next. I was interested in a few different things but no real goals so I decided to go to college and figure it out along the way. I thought I might try engineering because I was doing very well in math so I signed up for an advanced math class that was part of the engineering program. I also signed up for a lot of the usual classes you have to take early in college including basic art classes. I was already doodling a bit here and there, so I thought the drawing classes would be fun.

I quickly realized that I hated the math class, and really enjoyed the drawing class. It was a dilemma because I was good at math and bad at drawing. I discovered graphic design somewhere along the way, thinking it might be a nice combination of the two and I picked it as my focus. After a few months in, I started hanging around with a few guys that were serious about comics and that’s what got me hooked.

I was also writing a bit, and thought it’d be fun to try getting into comics. I sucked for a lot of years but I was making slight improvements here and there, and slowly, things got better. I don’t recall ever having a big breakthrough where everything clicked and I made a big jump. I know that happens to artists sometimes, but for me it was a slow grind over many years. I was having a lot of fun and I knew if I kept pushing forward I’d eventually get to a professional level, so I stuck with it.

I started drawing around 1990 or 1991 and started sending out submissions around 1994. In 2002 and 2003 I started to get favorable replies from publishers and editors and I got my first paid work in 2004. Basically, it took me about 15 years of practice to get paid work.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

The toughest part for me is letting go. I have to constantly remind myself to stop and move on to the next thing. I’ve talked with enough people to know that it’s a very common problem, and I think it’s one of the main reasons many aspiring creators never actually become professionals. I know plenty of people that have been talking about a project for years and claim to have something done on it, but I have yet to actually see anything from it. They’re stuck in the “loop” of reworking material and they never get out. I’m able to work past it, but I’m always a little grumpy when I have to let something go. In reality, if I were to keep reworking it I know I would kill it. Letting go is a daily struggle, but after an issue of a comic hits the shelf, I always feel good about the work. A little distance solves most problems.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Stop sending out scripts, drawing sample pages, and mailing out submissions. Make a comic. You don’t need a team or a publisher, just make it. Write it, create some artwork, letter it, and then put it out. Then do it again. Even if you don’t end up doing every job when you get into the industry, you’ll have a detailed understanding of the process, and that’s an asset. You don’t need permission from anyone to make a comic, and you don’t need much money. The cost of making comics versus film, animation, etc is incredibly low. Once you’ve made a comic you are now a comic book creator, not an aspiring comic creator. You’ll find the industry treats you differently.

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: 12 Gauge Comics, comics, comics industry, creativity, criticism, CTN Animation Expo, DC comics, drawing, goals, HarperCollins, HOW Design Live, how to, IDW Publishing, iFest, Image Comics, improving as an artist, INNOV8, Kody Chamberlain, learning, LucasArts, Macworld, making comics, Marvel Comics, math, Modbook, MTV, MTV Comics, Mulholland Books, pro tips, Sony Pictures, Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Wizard World Comic Con, Writing

ProFile: Mike Cavallaro

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

ProFile-Mike-Cavallaro

Mike Cavallaro is from New Jersey, where he attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Art, and has been a working cartoonist for over 20 years. His clients include DC Comics, Marvel, Image, First Second Books, Archie, MTV, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, and others. Mike’s comics include Parade (with fireworks), Nico Bravo & the Celestial Supply Shop, The Life and Times of Savior 28, with J.M. DeMatteis, Foiled and Curses, Foiled Again, with Jane Yolen, Recognition for Mike’s work includes YALSA’s “Great Graphic Novels For Teens” list, a Will Eisner Comics Industry Award-nomination, a Junior Library Guild selection, and others. Mike resides in New York City and is the vice-chairman of the National Cartoonists Society, Manhattan Chapter.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

I was always interested in art, primarily illustration, and the more fantastic and unreal, the better. By the time I was graduating high school, I had already been working at my local comic shop for four years — it was my first job. My favorites were artists like Barry Windsor Smith, John Buscema, Frank Frazetta, Joe Kubert, Los Bros Hernandez, and of course many others. It was obvious that I was going to pursue some kind of art, and I guess I chose the one I was most influenced by at the time: comics. While other kids were applying to various colleges, I only applied to one place: the Joe Kubert School. After that, it was all comics, all the time, for the next couple years, and I guess it’s been that way ever since — pretty much the last 20 years.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

All parts! Seriously, I suppose there are different degrees of “frustrating”. I mean, I’m frustrated by lettering because I don’t really want to do it, so it feels like sort of a drag to me. But, on my creator-owned stuff, there’s no one else to do it, so I gotta. But that’s more about tedium than anything else. There’s the frustration you feel when you can’t draw something the way you want and you’re erasing a hole into the paper and wasting time. But that’s somehow different. It’s not tedium, it’s coming face-to-face with your limitations and learning how to either exceed them or circumvent them in some way.

All-in-all though, the thing I find most challenging with comics is the writing. There was probably a point when I was discovering comics where I’d buy something just because it looked amazing. That’s not enough for me anymore. I need a story I’m interested in or I can’t be bothered. So I believe story (not just writing, but STORY: art and words working together) is the most challenging and important part of the whole thing.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Be versatile. Don’t just do one thing, one way. Be able to shift gears, employ multiple techniques and styles, and have a command of all aspects of comics making: writing, pencilling, inking, lettering, and coloring.

Follow Mike’s work at  mikecavallaro.com

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: Archie, career, comics, creativity, DC comics, drawing, First Second Books, Foiled and Curses, how to, Image Comics, improving as an artist, J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Kubert School, learning, making comics, Marvel Comics, Mike Cavallaro, MTV, National Cartoonists Society, Nico Bravo, Parade, pro tips, The Life and Times of Savior 28, tips for making comics, Warner Brothers, Writing

Primary Sidebar

Hours of Premium Content

ComicsCrashCourse

Try the FREE 7-day Comics Course

Creator Profiles

Interviews with Creators

The CFB Podcasts

Find them here.

Comic Creators eBook

The Comic Creators eBook

Footer

Check out more resources

Bundles of quality content available, check how to write comics and how to make your comic book artwork look great or find tips and tricks on the blog.

Latest from the blog

  • Video: How to get Story Ideas
  • Video: The Benefit of Being a Nobody
  • Video: Why Creatives Hear Voices
  • Digital Tools for 2021
  • The Most Badass Tools for Inking Comics
  • Why Creative Restrictions are Good for You!
  • How to Write a Great Story – and Stick the Landing

Contact us

If you have questions or issues please contact us.

Official mail: mail(at)comicsforbeginners.com

Feel free to connect on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Copyright © 2023 · ComicsForBeginners by Palle Schmidt Log in