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They usually get national Syndicators who sell it to many newspapers and split fees.

So imagine it’s $10 per newspaper and you split a percetage with the syndicator.

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It can vary greatly. Some are payed by the amount they make (per piece) and for others. it is a contract for what they can finish. This is why when at any comic or anime con you see artists working when not talking to fans. Their time is money to them, and if they can make a few extra bucks by a con appearance that just benefits them some what. => Yet they still may have a dead line to finish stuff by.

General annual salary for the working artist can range from $20,000 to $50,000, and more, if you can get into specialty prints and other commercialization of your art…

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Depends on the comic book popularity and what the artist can negotiate.

Usually not much for beginning illustrators.

Top level artists such as Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Alex Ross et al can negotiate for a lot more.

As far as character ownership – that is a big struggle more often won by the publisher. You have to be a big artist, or go independent, to usually keep rights to any character you create.

Still, if you have talent as an artist – comics maybe the place to get that art job…

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Usually you are assigned a number of pages – to draw, ink, letter or color or a combination of all of these. You may be assigned to draw several issues of a comic – and if the readers love you – you salary can go up… (and you get more work).

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You can go to college for comic artists.

FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York City has a good comic program I believe.

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Foamboard is probably what you are looking for – found at art supply stores or arts & crafts stores.

Some Foamboard For Sale

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Contact a company called ‘Glamour Shots’; they will look after all of the details for you and the results will be amazing.

Or you can check for local photography studios that do pin-up and/or boudoir photo shoots.

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Yes, different metals are sometimes heated during production for various reasons, most commonly to harden the material. This is done by heating the metal to a high temperature (above the transformation range) and holding it. The metal is then cooled rapidly which changes the grain structure and makes the metal very hard and brittle. After this, the metal is tempered to increase its ductility (so it won’t fracture as easily).

This is a process done during production, thus many factors are monitored and checked along the way.

Simply heating a metal (such as a bobby pin) will increase the hardness making it stronger, but also make it more brittle. For the application you sited, this will actually hurt you in that the bobby pin will be more likely to break. You may need to get custom made picks…

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Check your local college art department – I am sure there is a student or perhaps an instructor that can help. Of course, your tattoo artist might be good enough for the task…

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Edward D’Ancona Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/dancona.html
Peter Driben Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/driben.html
Al Buell Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/buell.html
Enoch Bolles Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/bolles.html
Vaughan Alden Bass Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/bass.html
Joyce Ballantyne Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/ballantyne.html
Rolf Armstrong Gallery
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/armstrong.html

Keep searching at that site. as your taste may not be reflected by these artists…