Given the chance, we also asked Jake some more questions. First, we asked the artist if he had any life-changing influences that might have helped him with his art and art style in general when it comes to his comics.
"I don’t think I really have any art style influences, to be honest. I just kinda draw and change the way things look until I like it, without really basing it on anyone else’s style. But humor wise? I’d have to say any form of media with dark humor. If it makes you laugh and feel bad for laughing, I probably love it and have internalized it to have created something before."
Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time, not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Jake how long it takes him to fully finish his comics.
"Oh man, it can take anywhere from 5 minutes to multiple months. It depends on the medium I’m using and how I’m feeling that day. I used to post hand-drawn comics on post-it notes, and those took about 5 mins. I also draw comics on my phone sometimes, and those can take anywhere from 20 mins to 2 hours (depending on if I get distracted by something lol). I also draw comics on an iPad, and those I’ve been known to knock out in about 6 hours on some days, and waaaay longer on others. I just upgraded to a Huion, and it’s a bit overwhelming, so I haven't had a chance to create anything with it yet. TBH, my creativity is super intertwined with my emotions, so when I’m feeling good I draw fast, and when I’m feeling bad… not so fast, haha."
Being an artist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask the artist about his ideas for the comics.
"Ideas can come from anywhere. When I first started, I would just draw and see if I could turn the drawing into a four-panel comic with a punchline. But lately, I’ll listen to a podcast, or be watching a show, and I’ll hear something and a lil' light will go off above my head and I’ll jot something down, then come back to it later and flesh it out more. I’m also lucky enough to have some webcomic friends that will send me their more ‘inappropriate’ ideas to draw, haha. Honestly, sometimes I’ll just walk around and say something weird to myself I think it’s funny, and turn it into a comic."
As we mentioned before, sometimes creative work can cause quite a burnout, therefore we asked the artist how he dealt with that as well.
"I do, a lot. Sometimes I can churn out 4 comics a week, sometimes it’s one every 6 months. I’ve tried making 3 comics a week before, but after about 2 weeks I got so burned out I stopped posting and ghosted my Instagram for abouuuut 3 or 4 months, I think? The constant grind to make content can be overwhelming, and sometimes it takes a toll and you have to take a break for a bit. But after a while, the creativity comes back and you start to draw again."
People's reactions can be quite amusing at times, so we couldn't hold ourselves back and just had the ask the artist about how people reacted to his work.
"People mostly like what I create, but I’ve also seen the opposite reaction to my work haha. Some of the stuff I draw can be inappropriate, so family-friendly accounts will make sure to say something like “OMG, I read this to my kid and now he hates me and has a fetish!” I also have the classic people hating my art because it’s not aesthetically pleasing, or they don’t like my jokes and will say something discouraging. But to balance out the bad, I get a lot of nice comments and messages from people saying they love what I create. I get way more love than hate for the stuff I create, so I think that’s a good sign, haha."
The creative process is not easy, but there are many enjoyable parts to it as shared by the artist.
"I like laying out the idea the best, the brainstorming. It feels great to come up with something that I can make myself laugh with, and when it all finally clicks and the joke flows well, I feel amazing. If I had to say my second favorite part, it’d have to be when I color after the lines are all done. I can just zone out and relax at that point, a nice reprieve after stressing out about line placement."
We also asked about the inspiration behind Jake's Instagram account where he uploads his work.
"Other comic creators were of great influence. When I graduated high school, I had a bunch of time on my hands and I wanted to rediscover my love of art, so I made an Instagram account to follow a bunch of artists. After a while, I stopped paying attention to the illustrations and latched onto the comics. They made me feel good to read, and I figured I wanted to try my hand at it, and started a new account called ‘notquiteright_comics’."
Digital art and art, in general, is not easy and requires a lot of patience, time, resources, and in most cases even money, therefore we wanted to know how the talented comic artist started his own path in digital art.
"Instagram was the first place I posted my stuff publicly. I started out drawing in a sketchbook with a pencil, then after about a year I bought an iPad and started drawing digitally. Even though I mainly draw digitally now, every now and then I’ll draw something on a post-it note and post it. My favorite comic I’ve ever drawn was actually drawn on one of those mini-whiteboards you put on fridges, haha."
Lastly, we asked Jake if he had anything he wanted to share with you all, Pandas, and here's what he said, "I’ll end this by saying I’m very happy and thankful I found webcomics, they’ve helped me cope with many things, and are such a great outlet. I’ve made lifelong friends from them, and have gotten so many opportunities I never would have had if I had never started drawing. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without comics in it."
