at what age?... (very important to me)...

[maddog2002]

hi, every one... here is my major q of all time... hope someone here has an idea....

see, i am 24 years old now.. and i have been wanting to become a comic penciler since 10 or 12... the thing is, what age are artists constracted?... i mean, will a comic company like marvel for exaple want to hire a 24 y o hwo has never worked at this businees?.. will they see the potential in a single submission?... and, plus, i am from mexico... another step down, to my eyes... because... i don´t even know if they hire people from other countries, o know wildstorm did that, but they are not recieving submissions right now...

any word of encouragement?... or whatever...

thnx :)

un saludo... :chug:

[Manta_Ray]

You shouldnt worry about your age. Your still young. Its talent they want to see. Mind you, cutting your teeth here on the forums showing some of the older professional what you can do will only help you get better...everyone here is really supportive and helpful...

Cheers

Manta

[Svanur]

Hey,

having same problems here :/ I am 23, have only worked as a graphic designer and live in a land in the middle of friggin nowhere :)

Still, I try to keep fighting, who knows the doors of opportunity might open suddenly, just be ready.

[Xysryc]

Hey hey, to cheer you guys up!

I have heard that Jason Manley has started at the age of 21 and look: He is great!

So, don't worry! Age does not matter THAT much.

[Fipse]

Hopefully age isn´t important - I´m 36 and restarting ;)

[Manta_Ray]

Jesus guys get a little perspective alright...youve got what maybe another 50-70 years of life? Do you love art/design enough that you could do it that long? If you say yes, then nuff said.

Manta

[foster]

Your age matters not one bit. No where will you be asked to state your year of birth. Age only matters to the person worrying about it. It will only get in your way when you let it. There are many artist in history that were masters in their early teens and there were many artist that did not have their artistic awakening until middle age. Life is not black and white.

Do not worry! Hey, they don?t even ask if I went to art school and what my grade point average was!

Jon

[Wetterschneider]

In the US, it's flat out illegal to ask an interviewee how old they are, if I'm not mistaken (which I very well could be).

[jrr]

heh, you're wrong. but age discrimination is a crime.

[SamusNeo]

I am pretty sure that the official age to be a comic book artist is 26 years, 3 months, 3 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes, and 8 1/2 seconds, so hang tight- you're almost there.

[MadSamoan]

Age won't matter to companies like Marvel and DC. They've worked with artists in their teens before, if their portfolio was strong enough. I've heard Madureira was a working professional at 18. Anyways, if you're samples are strong enough and your style fits into their plans, they'll work with you. Also there are several Mexican artists in the industry that work from Mexico. (I think Humberto Ramos is one of them).

[Darrell Bowman]

i would be more inclined to get my education from
a art college. and keep my mind open.

i once saw a art director for tv guide interview
a young guy with a portiflio of all tv guides covers.
once the art director saw this ...he simply said NO!

man he blew this kid whole art life down the toliet.

so putting your life in one basket is not a good idea.

but if you can draw ...it like playing the piano you
can play alot of different songs.

i think the art director was in my art college that why
i was in the interview, never did talk to him again.

poor kid.

[talos72]

I hope age-ism isn't an issue, because I do wonder with the rate at which kids fresh out of art schools get hired...you wonder "shoot, they might not even bet on me unless I am molde-able" artisticly and wet behind the ears and am proficient at half a dosen softwares....:p

[fletchgirl]

it kinda sucks being "fresh outta art school." you get caught in that catch-22 (at least, this is where I am) you can't get a job if you don't have experience, and you can't get experience without a job! sigh. but, that's not how it is at every company... talent has a lot to do with it, you just have to get the opportunity to show that you do have what it takes, regardless of your experience. I'm actually writing this to cheer myself up, too. :rolleyes:

[Darrell Bowman]

no easy answer to find work

i dont think there any short cuts either.
i think we all draw comics in our youth.

i mostly drew cars. bought hot rod magazines.
i have drawn cars now for toyota.
art director for promotial material for GM
and also drawn alot of Ford show rooms.

needs of advertisers
car, beer, food etc
all things that drive our economy.

i started with small kid publishers also.
then when we get published we go after magazines.
with the samples from kids books.
i go for small clients first.

got to hustle that means phone calls.
after two weeks you start hearing from people back.
extremely frustrating but if you dont hustle
your even futher out of the loop.

publishers want to see kids playing.
play in school yard play with monsters.
doing homework.
just think of enviroments kids are in.

do ten samples.
show a publisher.

i think we cant be too narrow focused
but then guys like maxfield parrish come along
one style and they never finish college
away they go.
Me i have to keep hustling.

hope this helps
just throwing it out there.