Bored Panda reached out to Nick with even more questions regarding him and his work! First, we asked if the artist perhaps was working on some new projects we could be looking forward to.
"There’s a few! A big thing that’s happening in my personal life is that my wife and I are expecting! I have a lot of ideas of Minnie and the baby going on adventures… and driving their human dad nuts…
A larger project I’ve been working on is a collection of short stories starring Minnie and other cat adventures. I have no idea how long this will take me but it is something I’m having fun with!"
We also wanted to know if the artist had a comic he was proud of, and we thought it was only fair if he'd share his thoughts with us!
"That’s a hard one… I really like the 'Alone Together' comic where Minnie decides to be 'alone' with the human and it’s exactly what he needed. I’ve also enjoyed making all the Halloween comics like the 'Monster Under The Bed' and the Christmas comics. My favorite series has to be The Tuna Chronicles. I had a lot of fun making those."
Artists go through a few art phases trying to find the art style they could call their own, however, it seems like Filippou is pretty settled in that area, however, that doesn't mean the artist wouldn't like to try something new.
"I’d like to experiment with animation at some point! I haven’t started down that path yet but am interested. I also have some more ambitious stories and comics in my head that I don’t really know how to create yet… but like with everything, it just takes practice and some trial and error."
Starting out with comics (or art in general) isn't easy, so we asked the artist if he had any tips to share.
"There’s a great comic by The Oatmeal called 'The Eight Marvelous And Melancholy Things I’ve Learned About Creativity.' It nails the highs and lows and the overall journey of creating in general. I highly suggest reading that. That said, my biggest advice is to just go ahead and start creating. Whether it’s on a piece of paper, a sketchbook, or a digital pad. Just start. That’s half the battle. Everything else falls into place after that. Don’t wait for the right time or think your art isn’t good enough yet. There are always going to be other artists who are more talented, more liked, more established, can work faster, etc. Who cares? Create because you want to create. Don’t worry about pleasing an audience or competing against other artists."
When it comes to people having opinions on his comics, here's what the artist thinks, "I just hope that my comics can bring people joy. There’s a lot going on in this world, and if a comic about Minnie plotting to murder a house plant gives you a chuckle, that’s a win for me."
Each artist has different plans for the future, and here's what Nick's ideal future would look like.
"Id like to put together more books and collections! I’d really love to see my comics physically in a book store like Barnes and Noble someday. That’s always been a dream of mine."
Artists tend to receive various comments on their work, and sometimes one negative comment can affect one's thoughts quite significantly.
"There’s been a few over the years of similar comments of where a particular comic has helped them laugh during a tough time they were going through in their lives. The fact they took the time to let me know that meant a lot.
There have also been plenty of negative ones! And sometimes the negative ones you can take as an opportunity to improve, and some other negative comments you need to just learn to ignore. When you share things on the internet, you’re going to get plenty of both. (Mostly positive, though!)"
For some people, art is not only a hobby, but something way more, something that helps them to cope with whatever life might throw at them.
"Art is expression. Most of my comics are inspired by real events. These comics are an outlet of what I’m feeling and it’s helped me with all the highs and lows of real life."
