We reached out to the creator of ‘The Awkward Yeti’ and asked him some questions about his comic series. First, we were eager to find out how the artist comes up with ideas for his strips. Nick shared with us: “I have a few approaches depending on the type of comic, but generally I think of something I’m going through, or have gone through recently, and try to explore the emotions and the thoughts behind it. This works especially well when it comes to decisions. What feelings influenced the decision? What thoughts, like concerns about what other people might think, played a role in that decision? These ideas tend to write out very easily with my Heart and Brain characters, they just act it out!”
The cartoonist also told us how his style has evolved over time: “My original comics were mostly about the Awkward Yeti, making fun of myself and others for our inherent difficulties in communication with very different people. Over time it developed more authentic undertones with the introduction of Heart and Brain, exploring mental health more directly. I found that these topics not only resonated with my audience, but helped me think through a lot of my own issues and grow as a person.”
Asked about “the recipe” for a good comic, Seluk shared with us his thoughts: “What makes a comic good is that it comes from a genuine place, a place that’s as close to the writer/artist as possible. It’s very common for artists to try to follow what other people are doing, especially when starting out. It’s easy to think ‘if it works for them, it’ll work for me!’ And that can be true in the short term, but if you want to build an audience and keep them, you need to show YOU. Your thoughts, your humor. It can take a long time for that to catch on, which brings up another common mistake: giving up.”
The artist added: “Everyone who makes comics gets terrible feedback, especially at first. Everyone gets nasty comments. Everyone fails to get the likes and shares they want. Everyone looks up to someone else who is more successful. The only way to make it is to continue forward, and adapt when you’ve hit a wall. If you’re not making progress after a few months, shift gears. Introduce new characters, try a writing style you’ve been wanting to try… anything is better than nothing.”
Finally, we were curious what Nick considers the most rewarding aspects of being a comic artist. He said: “Connecting with people through my work has been the most rewarding thing. As my comics became more real and vulnerable, people seemed to feel seen, and so did I! No matter how difficult things get, I keep motivated by knowing my work has made a positive difference in people’s lives, and my own life. That, and I don’t want to go back to a corporate job.”
