Last year, when I made the decision to stop writing Depressing Fridge Poems and start pursuing digital illustration, I was forced to take a good hard look at my life and do a bit of reflecting. Before you make any kind of major life change, it’s crucial to look inward and ask yourself some tough questions — and you might not always like what you find!
I agonized over these questions for months — and I still think about them every day. Tough questions like:
Where do the arms go?
Has anyone figured this one out? Please shoot me an email if so.
Should I letter by hand?
I promise I will never inflict my handwriting upon any of you.
(Although, fun fact, I actually created the font I use in most of my comics from my own handwriting using Calligraphr!)
How does legs happen?
I’ve spent hours analyzing this, and my expert conclusion is that there is simply no way to draw someone walking.
How much detail is too much?
Less is more!*
*Except I could add a little shadowing here, and maybe some texture over here, a couple clouds up there, a few people in the background, redo this entire panel, adjust the wording here...
Why?
One of these days, it will finally happen :’)
Thanks for joining me on my emotional journey from fridge poet to cartoonist! I guarantee if you ask yourself these hard-hitting questions before any major life decision, you too can put in a lot of effort and achieve very little.
Until next week,
Rusty
Currently listening to: Sexotheque by La Roux
Daily obsession: Recreating the giant poking device from Friends in BOTW2
Comment of the week: “i like how tumblr style art somehow makes 2000s webcomics look good by comparison”