BC - If you've ever come to a library or school to see me talk about how to get started as a cartoonist, you probably already know that I suggest a couple of basic steps.  One of those is to begin to work with an eye toward reproduction.  What I mean by this is that, as a beginning cartoonist, the stuff you draw is often in a wire-bound school tablet, or in crayon or pencil on a large piece of paper.  These kinds of drawings are fun, and I wouldn't say to stop drawing them (in fact, I still doodle on just about anything that looks too "blank" to me), but, being a cartoonist is all about sharing your work with a larger audience than your art teacher and family.  That means reproducing your work.  This could be little photocopied comics that you make yourself, a cartoon in a school newspaper, or whatever your particular circumstances allow.  One of the first things that you'll learn is that, when it comes to printing artwork, the cleaner the better.  That's why most artists work in black ink, since it is the most easily (and cheaply) reproducable medium.  My suggestion is to try to tackle this advance in small steps.  If you are comfortable with crayons, try using color pencils.  If you are familiar with color pencils, try a darker art pencil, like a 4B.  If this step is comfortable, work up to black pens and markers.  If you have an adeptness with those, try ink pens and brushes (the kind that you must dip into bottles of ink).  There are all sorts of other choices (like rapidographs and brush-style markers), but the main point is to somehow print what you draw so that you become familiar with the process.  The more you do this, the more you'll learn about what direction you must go to get better.  The best part is that you also can share the end product with a lot more people!