Cartoonist

Job Summary:
Should have a penchant for witticism. Should conceive, create, and impart proper caption or copy to a relevant cartoon for a target audience on a selected subject. Skill in interacting with creative directors, illustrators and editorial members and be able to carry them along. In the case of a newspaper or magazine should be able to identify current hot topics and be able to caricature the topics with characters and captions, which should be lively, witty, and without rancor. Create sketches based on these characters and discuss with creative team and editors. Should be adept in both free pencil sketching as well as striking color sketching. Flexible as to changes in style, content or character. Should have good working knowledge of hues and colors and be able to relate them to patterns and shapes. If it is animation, should be able to produce a number of sketches on sequential movements of individual characters. Should be able to use computer to create, modify, finalize or reproduce cartoons. If required, be able to create editorial cartoons, witty in nature but without rancor. The concerned editor should be able to guide. For ad agencies, should be able to create meaningful cartoons with specific captions highlighting a product or brand. Should be able to think creatively and present humorously.

Qualification:
A diploma from an art school. Animators specialize in producing sequential progressions in order to create life like cartoon movements.

Should have thorough knowledge on fine arts such as sculpture, visual art, media etc.

Experienced in creating information, data or entertainment through written, spoken or visual media.

Should have thorough knowledge in understanding plans, drawings, blueprints etc. On the job training is definitely required for animators.

Salary Range:
A good cartoonist earns around $30 per hour. An exceptional one demands much more.

For an animator, a good one at that, earns around $3,000 to $4,500 per month.

Prospects:
The prospects for both cartoonists and animators are very encouraging. Children (why, even adults) all over the world admire ?Tom and Jerry? extremely well. The advent of Internet introduced websites and web pages. There are more than 3 billion pages on the net and the number is increasing at geometrical progression every blinking second! Cartoons and animations are part of some of the pages. The prospect for cartoonists and animators is truly exceptional.