Compiled by Animation World Magazine and Dark Horse Comics.

Before sending unsolicited work and ideas to a publisher, there are standards and specifications that one should know about to avoid the dreaded "unopened returned mail" response. Following are sample guidelines for submitting art, proposals and scripts to Dark Horse Comics, one of the industry's leading publishers. All guidelines herein are courtesy of Dark Horse Comics. Other companies will have different guidelines and regulations. Be sure to contact individual publishers for information.

First and foremost, any seasoned artist trying to make a way in the industry will tell you that no submission will be accepted anywhere without an accompanying disclaimer or submission agreement. We have included a sample of Dark Horse's submission agreement for reference.

Always include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (S.A.S.E.). If you send a letter-sized S.A.S.E., you will only receive a response. If you want your samples returned which we would prefer be sure to enclose a 9"x12" envelope with adequate return postage. Samples sent without an appropriate S.A.S.E. cannot be returned. It is not necessary for you to use a fancy binder or folder and is, in fact, usually a waste of postage and time. If you live outside of the United States, you must use U.S. postage or International Reply Coupons. Do not use a poster tube for packaging, as it makes artwork difficult to handle.

Please do not make telephone calls to follow up on a submission. Please do not fax submissions of any kind. Faxed submissions will be immediately discarded.

Please do not send a copy of your submission to every editor. Most individual editors do not have time to review unsolicited submissions. The position of Submissions Editor is a mutually beneficial service, aiding you in your attempt to break into the comic-book industry and aiding Dark Horse in its search for new talent. Circumventing this process will only serve to frustrate your efforts.

Consider carefully what you are sending. An editor wants to see that you can draw sequential art, not pinups. At the most, this skill is apparent in four or five pages. Any more is a waste of postage and time. Be sure to demonstrate a facility at quiet scenes as well as action, utilizing a wide variety of faces, figures (male, female, normal, and exaggerated), and well-realized settings. Ask yourself the following questions: Does the angle you've chosen take full advantage of the dramatic potential in a scene? Do the backgrounds establish where the characters are in relationship to their surroundings and to each other? Is there a well-defined foreground, middleground, and background? Is there a clear, readable story even without word balloons or captions? Did you leave adequate room for word balloons and captions? Are the characters consistently rendered and easily recognizable in each panel? Do the layouts carry the reader's eye from panel to panel without any confusion?