050: Why I make comics
And how it gives me what I need
ESTABLISHING SHOT
Lately I’ve felt very lucky to live in such a large city filled with so many different people and places. A couple of weeks ago I spent time with the local Auckland Urban Sketchers group and had an amazing time! Sketching and drawing on location in public is kind of anxiety inducing for me. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things just right that I forget to have fun.
If you want to join a group of people and go out sketching, check out the OFFICIAL URBAN SKETCHERS WEBSITE and find your local chapter. If there isn’t one, maybe get a small group of friends together and go out.
BEHIND THE PAGE
I don’t feel like I ever really got into it. The why of what I do. So the 50th newsletter seems like a really good place to do it haha.
So why do I make comics?
There’s so much that goes into devoting your life to a craft. Sometimes it happens and you don’t even realize that you made something so silly to some people an entire pillar of your existence.
When I was 17, I decided to make a comic with some friends. I’m no longer friends with them but the thing that comic did was create more connections than I could have ever imagined.
Making that comic and showing it to people felt like just the thing I needed as a weird 17 year old to connect with people. And not just any people, people who would also make stuff that means something to me. They made it feel like something so attainable and like I could be like them if I tried hard enough. And man, did I want to be like them.
Friends. Speaking engagements. Conversations. Communities. Travel. Scholarships.
These are just a couple of things that making comics have given me over the years.
It really all comes down to connection. Comics are a vehicle for connection.
Some stories I make will really touch someone, some might be more just for me, but I’d be silly to think that any experience I have is truly unique.
So why do I make comics? Because they help me connect with people and I crave connection.
That’s why I make comics.
It feels like a silly answer but it’s the only thing that I want to do. No matter the job, no matter what’s going on in my life. Comics will always be on my shelf and help me feel a little less alone.
Sappy and silly, I know. This is just what I find when I go beyond the “I want to see my book on a shelf” or “I like to draw and this gives the drawings some purpose”.
I mean, let’s be real, my comics are the reason you’re reading this newsletter blog thing.
SIGNING OFF
So yeah, I thought it’d be neat to share a bit about why I do what I do. It’s important to remember the why as we carry on with the how.
And you know the drill: I got a book coming out!
Del Hahn
Connection is a GREAT reason to make comics. Your work is wonderful, btw.
Love this. I literally get giddy when I've finished one of my panel cartoons. I enjoy making comics so much like you do. :)