How to Choose a Free Online Portfolio Web Site for Comic Artists

My own comics have been online since 1995. For better or worse, throughout the years they have been more at home in alternative publications than at Hallmark, "The New Yorker", King Features Syndicate or any other traditional mainstream cartoon platform.

Thankfully, if you're a comic artist, there are many great online places to display your artwork no matter how bizarre your artwork might be. Gotta love that Internet.

But, like all Internet places, there are many factors to consider before joining a portfolio community or collaborative ezine.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Digital Comics
• Computer
• Internet Connection

How to Choose a Free Online Portfolio Web Site for Comic Artists

1. Assess your own talent. Be honest, but don't get discouraged. Are you a beginner, a seasoned amateur or a professional?
   
   Browse the web for comic artist showcase sites that might suit your style best.
   
   Start at some of the more knowledgeable comic artist/cartoonist blogs.

2. Select the portfolio site that's best for your work. Would you prefer a showcase site that will allow almost any artist inside? Or would you prefer a more selective comic artist collective or ezine with many comic artist contributors?
   
   In 1994, I scrambled together a meat-and-potatoes comics web site for my daily series, "Flashers." When my web host began charging too much money for the extra bandwidth that my images required and the growing number of visitors to the site, I decided to look for a less expensive alternative.
   
   In 1995, I found Bebe Williams' Art Comics, a comic strip hub chock full of graphic weirdness from Bebe and other artists. I sent him email and asked to be included. For five years, my Flashers comics were published six days a week. I even wound up adding a weekly Shockwave-animated cartoon called Shocktoons. That was my start.

3. After selecting the portfolio site that's right for you, upload your work and configure your page accordingly. You may discover that your work doesn't look right on this site, or that the site's image management function isn't as intuitive as you'd like it to be. This may be enough to send you searching for a new home for your comics.

Resources

• Bizarre Artists Community
• Artist Community similar to MySpace.

[mattk77]

on 6/16/2008 Spraygraphic.com is also a great place to explore the creative work and thoughts of Artists, Designers, Filmmakers, Musicians, and Activists.

When you join the community you can create a portfolio and share your art and designs images as well as videos, music, writing, thoughts, and travel adventures.

It is also a great place to post your event or find local events that are of interest to Artists, Designers, Filmmakers, Musicians, and Activists.

visit www.spraygraphic.com