Write an article based on this "Take a variety of courses. Expand your portfolio. Learn important skills. Get a valuable internship or apprenticeship."
While you may know that becoming a cartoonist is your ultimate goal, consider specializing in broad areas, like Multimedia art and animation. Multi-media artists make a median salary of $61, 370 a year and often have more stable, full time work than freelance cartoonists. Multimedia art will give you valuable skills in computer programming and how to create graphics using different design software. You will get to build your storyboarding skills as your learn to create visuals for video games, films and other media. While your coursework will add significantly to your portfolio, continue to seek out freelance opportunities with other clients while you are in college. Look to your local newspapers or magazines to see if you can do any temporary projects with them. Consider focusing on a specialization in cartoons. Do you want to write political cartoons, comic books or graphic novels? Do you want to draw animated cartoons for film and television? Try your hand at each of these categories to see which one you enjoy the most. Your college newspaper or art review will also be great sources to publish your work. Consider applying to join the editorial team on these publications. Apply for art prizes and competitions. These might be hosted by your school's art department, your local arts alliance or by a larger institution, like the National Endowment for the Arts. Gaining accolades while you are in college will help strengthen the worth of your portfolio. A cartoonist is often not just tasked with creating a drawing using pencil and paper. Often you will be required to learn other skills, especially if you want to illustrate for comic books or comic strips. Look into taking classes that specialize in some of the following skills or professional roles: Pencil work Colorist Designing letter work for comic books Ink work Although you will produce many cartoons for class projects, you should also look into getting an internship with a reputable company in your field. This experience can be a launching point for your career in that field. Some excellent companies include: DC Comics Marvel Comics Dark Horse Comics Walt Disney Imagineering Fisher-Price Research these companies to find out if they offer any internship opportunities during the summer or school year for students. You should generally plan to apply in the semester before you want to take the internship.