Q&A for How to Be a Cartoonist

It depends on the type of cartoons you want to draw and whether you're working for yourself or someone else. Publications may be reluctant to hire cartoonists who don't draw well. But you could also try publishing your work independently, online or in print, and see if it finds success that way. There are some successful comics out there with very simple drawing styles, even using stick figures. The ideas and content are usually more important than the look. That said, being good at drawing is largely a matter of putting in a lot of practice. You can always get better. And if you take classes in high school and/or college, that will help you as well.

Not necessarily. You do need to be hard working, persistent and patient, and practice till you are great.

Draw a lot and get some books to guide you. If you like drawing, it will not be difficult. Just continue practicing.

It depends on the specific newspaper. There are some children's newspapers or sections for children in a newspaper that feature children's cartoons. However, depending on where you live, some places have laws that prevent people younger than a certain age from working, to prevent unfair child labor. However, even if you are too young for a job, that doesn't mean you should give up or stop drawing.

You can draw animals in your comics, sure. As for working with real, live animals, there's no real reason why you would, unless you want to look at them for inspiration. You're always free to have pets or spend free time with animals.

It can be anywhere between $40-60,000, but $51,107 is the median income.

Many cartoonists publish their works on websites such as YouTube, but another one might be Newgrounds; it's pretty famous among many aspiring cartoonists.

They can make anywhere from nothing to millions. It depends on who you work for and if you create and copyright a character or story that becomes popular. The possibilities are endless.

Even though your art work should be the only communication needed, you will still need to know how verbally hold a conversation on common or far-fetched ideas. This can also allow you to be more open-minded towards new ideas and help others understand what is being presented or displayed.

It is possible, but I highly recommend that you merge the two together. This ensures the viewer has more variety instead of being a "one note" channel.

I'm 13 and studying 2D animation and cartooning, so I hope so! Even if you don't think you can right now, you can get a really big head start if you're planning to do so in the future. I'd advise keeping sketchbooks and constantly trying to improve, and/or trying out different styles. It took me three sketchbooks to become a semi-decent artist, and I'm actually relatively proud of my art! But you can do whatever you put your mind to, regardless of your age.

If you want to get a bachelor's degree, it'll be four years. A master's degree will take about 2 more years after that. A master's is not completely necessary, but it may make it easier for you to find work.

As with anything, through practice. You could also attend an art class at a school and read some books on drawing/cartooning.

Yes. Some suggestions are: Chibi Art Class: A Complete Course in Drawing Chibi Cuties and Beasties - Includes 19 step-by-step tutorials!; The Complete Guide to Figure Drawing; The Manga Fashion Bible; Draw Manga Faces for Expressive Characters; and The Manga Artist’s Workbook.