Bored Panda has contacted Jon Baker, an incredible artist who introduced us to his humorous comic strips he called 'Alarmingly Bad,' to get to know him and his pathway to success better.
When asked how comics came into his life, he responded, "I’ve been reading them most of my life. Back in the days when printed newspapers were a thing, as a kid, I remember stealing the comics section a lot from our newspaper - I loved Calvin and Hobbes, and Far Side in particular." When asked how he started creating comics, he added, "I had a long commute to work, and I spent several hours a day sitting bored on a train. I had to do something with that time. It eventually manifested as my webcomic Alarmingly Bad."
We wanted to know what inspires Jon to create and how often he can produce comic strips. The artist was more than happy to share that with us: "Essentially, boredom still kind of drives the comic. I’m mostly trying to entertain myself and trying to put things out into the world I want to see, and it’s kind of liberating only having to write for an audience of one (myself). It’s been amazing to see it resonate with others as well!I can usually only make about one comic a week, because I have a day job, a wife and kid. It's all the time I have for the comic at the moment. However, I’m generating ideas constantly, and at this point I have more comic scripts in my ideas folder than I think I’ll be able to get to in my lifetime."
We asked Jon if he studied in any art school to become the amazing artist he is now, and the artist humbly responded, "'Amazing artist' is a bit of a strong term here - I did name the comic 'Alarmingly Bad,' after all. I feel like I’m at the point where my art doesn’t distract from the comedy or joke, and that's good enough for me. But no, I didn’t really study. You don’t have to! All you got to do is place the pen in your hand and put it on paper. If you do it long enough, eventually, you will get better at it!"
As the sense of humor in 'Alarmingly Bad' comics is unique, to say the least, we wanted to know if the artist has the same humorous sense of self in real life. The artist responded by saying: "Sort of, yes! I’m a bit more introverted, though. So, while I’m definitely like this in person, I’m also just as likely in social settings to be quietly taking things in. This comic is just a more concentrated version of my humor."
When asked what advice he would give to those who are trying to show their art to a large audience, Jon said: "Recognize that 'standing out' takes time and requires stubbornness to stay with it long enough to get to the point of standing out. It takes time to get good at art, to get good at comedy, and to learn how to market yourself as an artist or comic. Obviously, people learn those things at different speeds, but if you’re not where you want to be, just give it more time! Keep practicing and try to improve. You’ll get where you’re going eventually. I’ve been making Alarmingly Bad for only (only!) 7 years, and I’m always wondering how much better I’m going to be at it in another 5 years."
