I'm still awaiting the idea of drawing comics for a living being a reality. I feel like I've been dodging work for 20 years, and at some point, I'll have to get a real job.
Look at related industries. Concept art for games and film. Animation. Lots of places to hone your skill as an artist and still earn a paycheck while you're waiting to kick the door down. If you're stubborn though, and you absolutely must draw comics because it's your life's dream (and I don't blame you...) you just better make sure you've got something special.
I have a very low tolerance for animation. I'm used to the perfect integrity you get from drawing your own comics. There's something about that that animation always loses.
We were always drawing comics as kids. My brother Charles made me draw comics. I was very much under his domination. He was actually a much stronger artistic visionary than I was.
"Real" drawing is about specifics. It's about describing an object as accurately as possible. In a comic strip you have to draw a picture of the idea of the object. You have to draw the word that you are picturing, then you have to mix in specifics with it for it to work as a story. But you are still working with drawn words.
I used to draw comics a lot. I was obsessed with 'The Young Ones,' and was massively into video games, although I was no good at them.
I really like the look of old '70s and '80s Japanese comics, so I think that style is something I will continue to draw.
I think the best thing I learned from drawing comics is that it's a great exercise in concision.
I'm a comic nerd. I'm a former serious collector for much of my childhood and early teen years I wanted to draw underground comics.
I like having pairs of characters to play off each other. I love drawing Batman, but he's more fun with Robin. Batman charges ahead, Robin jumps off the walls. It's fun showing that contrast.
I always start drawing any job by planning out to some degree the locales and trying to nail the characters. If they're existing characters, I'll draw them several times on rough paper just to get a feeling for them. The ideal when you're drawing a comic is to have everything in your head, not to have to refer to notes.
If I can avoid doing freelance work, I prefer to. Not just because it takes me away from drawing comics, but also because it's just annoying having to deal with art editors, and having to read people's articles or books or whatever.
