El dibujante explica la autoedición.

Dibujante is one of those Spanish nouns that often has the same form for both masculine and feminine. The article tells you the gender:

• el dibujante = the male illustrator / cartoonist / artist
• la dibujante = the female illustrator / cartoonist / artist

So dibujante itself does not change here; el shows that the person is male.

Dibujante comes from dibujar (to draw). It usually means drawer, illustrator, cartoonist, or artist who draws, depending on context.

Possible translations include:

• illustrator
• cartoonist
• artist
• draughtsperson / draftsperson in some contexts

The best English choice depends on what kind of person is being described.

Explicar is the infinitive, meaning to explain.
Explica is the third-person singular present tense form:

• yo explico = I explain
• tú explicas = you explain
• él / ella / usted explica = he / she / you explain(s)

Since the subject is El dibujante (The illustrator / cartoonist), Spanish uses explica.

Because autoedición is a noun, and in Spanish nouns often appear with a definite article where English may or may not use one.

Here:

• la autoedición = self-publishing

It is feminine, so it takes la. The article may sound more natural in Spanish than in English. Spanish often says explicar algo with a noun and article, especially when talking about a concept in general.

It is feminine because the base noun edición is feminine:

• la edición
• therefore la autoedición

The prefix auto- does not change the gender. It just adds the idea of self-.

Autoedición means self-publishing or sometimes desktop publishing, depending on context.

In modern usage, it commonly refers to publishing your own work without a traditional publisher. Because your sentence already has a meaning provided, the main thing to notice is that this is a single noun in Spanish, not a phrase like self publishing in English.

It has an accent mark because of Spanish stress rules.

Without the written accent, autoedicion would not be stressed correctly. The correct pronunciation stresses the last o before -n:

• au-to-e-di-ción

The accent shows that the stress falls on that syllable.

Usually explicar takes a direct object, so no preposition is needed before the thing:

• Explica la autoedición. = He/She explains self-publishing.
• Explico la lección. = I explain the lesson.

If you mention the person receiving the explanation, Spanish often uses a:

• El dibujante le explica la autoedición al público.
• The illustrator explains self-publishing to the audience.

So:

• thing explained = usually no preposition
• person receiving explanation = often a

Yes. Spanish word order is flexible, though subject + verb + object is very normal:

• El dibujante explica la autoedición.

You could also say:

• La autoedición la explica el dibujante.

That version gives more emphasis to la autoedición or to who is explaining it. But the original sentence is the most neutral and straightforward order.

A rough pronunciation is:

el dee-boo-HAN-te eks-PLEE-ka la ow-toh-eh-dee-THYON

In much of Spain, ci in edición is pronounced with a th sound:

• ediTHYON

A few pronunciation notes:

• j in dibujante is a throaty Spanish sound, not an English j
• x in explica sounds like ks
• ción is stressed at the end

If you are using Latin American pronunciation instead, edición would sound more like eh-dee-SYON.

Yes, depending on context. El dibujante can mean:

• the illustrator/cartoonist = one specific person already known from context
• sometimes a generic type, like the illustrator as a role

But in a simple sentence like this, most learners should read it first as a specific male illustrator/cartoonist who is explaining something. Context decides whether it is definite in the ordinary sense or more generic.