Bored Panda reached out to Joe Holtby, the creator of Portuguese Geese, to learn more about him and his creative process. We asked the artist if he has any rituals or routines that help him get into the right mindset for creating his comics. Joe replied, "I usually try to perform the following ritual: the sun has to be down, the vibes have to be right, and I have to have a good YouTube video playing. Then I'll scroll through my list of comic ideas until I find one that I think is good, and then I go to town on it, usually finishing in about two hours."
We asked Joe if there are any particular comic artists or creators whose work he admires or is influenced by. He responded, "The first webcomics that I remember seeing as a kid were PBF Comics, Cyanide & Happiness, and Extra Fabulous Comics. These are all inspirational in different ways to me: PBF showed me that you don't need a consistent art style to have a good and successful comic series. Cyanide & Happiness taught me that you can turn anything into a good joke, and Extra Fabulous shows that you can make the comics that you want to make, and they can still be successful."
Most artists encounter difficulties in their careers, and Joe mentioned that there are times when he feels prepared to create a comic but struggles to come up with any good ideas. "This can be frustrating, so I'll try to come up with a joke on the spot, which can be very difficult most of the time!"
"I hope that my comics can make people laugh, and maybe even inspire other artists the same way that I've been inspired. Making webcomics is fun, and the community around it is great. There's never been a better time to put your art out into the world!"
