Organizing your space

Trying to keep your workspace neat and organized is important. Doing so

is particularly important when drawing cartoons and comics, because you

don’t want to waste time looking for things when you could be drawing, espe-

cially if you’re under a deadline. You’ll notice I said try, because the papers

and clutter can get out of control rather quickly and build up around you

before you know it. It was once said that a messy office is a sign of genius . . .

in that case, I’m Albert Einstein!

Keep yourself organized by following these simple-sounding but not always

easy-to-apply ideas:

 ✓ Have a place for everything. Visit a container store or the storage sec-

tion of any big box store and you’ll be amazed at the number of different

storage containers available. Pens, pencils, brushes, and ink should have

their own storage areas. These can be as simple or as elaborate as you

want to make them. Label each container so you can easily determine

the contents. You may also consider having a divider in each container

so that you can separate things like brushes and pens from each other.

 ✓ Clean. Get out your cleaning supplies and go to it. Clean your monitor,

keyboard, desk, and any other work areas.

 ✓ Clear away the clutter. Throw away any unnecessary papers or other

mess from your desk. If some paperwork is important but you don’t

need it right now, file it in well-marked folders.

 ✓ Use filing cabinets or storage drawers to keep your cartoons and other

art organized. They’re a good idea because they can help you protect

your original art.

 ✓ Use traditional, blueprint-style drafting cabinets with wide, shallow

drawers to hold large sheets of paper. Often called flat files, they’re per-

fect for storing original art because the drawers aren’t deep and you can

easily access the art you’re searching for.