The Mexico-based artist started drawing comics over four years ago to use his free time for improving his art. Tony esp told Bored Panda about the beginning of his career that he eventually would love to turn into a full-time job.
"I started drawing comics around Oct 2016. I wanted to create a YouTube channel back then, but I realized I didn't have the drawing skills for what I wanted to create, so I had to put it on hiatus. I remember reading a comic called Rosiana Rabbit by Alex Dempsey and thought that comics were an easy way to improve my art. So I started drawing comics."
We were interested in where Tony esp draws his inspiration from, and it appears to be as random as the ideas in the webcomics.
"I don't exactly sit down in my chair and try to write something funny. Most of the jokes came while I was in the shower, and on rare occasions, I base them on my life."
The artist doesn't think that it's his art style that makes him stand out from the crowd, but his twisted sense of humor: "I don't have a specific art style for my comics, so definitely my weird comedy."
I'd like to believe that laughing at dark jokes doesn't make you a bad person, and as a study by Willinger, U., Hergovich, A., Schmoeger, M. in Cognitive Processing suggests—it's true. If you enjoy inappropriate and darker jokes, you are not bad, just a smart one. And less aggressive. So feel proud when you chuckle at dark humor, although it's not everyone's cup of tea. Tony esp says that everything is possible in comedy.
"Dark humor is not for everyone, but I like to believe that nothing is off the table when it comes to comedy. Of course, I have my standards and preferences, so even I have my limits."
Tony esp has 34.8k followers on Instagram, so the feedback ranges from wholesome to not-so-much, but the artist keeps his mind open and tries to take criticism as an opportunity to improve his art.
"Some love, some hate them, and others are just indifferent... but I always loved hearing my readers' opinions of my comics, especially if it's criticism. It helps me improve in one way or another and if I'm in a good mood, I'll even take the occasional 'f*** you!'"
The artist said he is a strong believer in the 'death of an author' concept. His ideas are very straightforward and he only wants to make people laugh, but what the audience takes out of it is solely up for their interpretation.
We asked the artist what is the most challenging part about creating comics.
"The most challenging is having a good joke. I have a list of useless jokes on my PC that, if I were to draw 1 comic every day, it would take me about 1.5 years to draw them all. For me, jokes come and go. But only one is good enough to be drawn. Too bad they come once in a blue moon."
Tony esp said his proudest moment as an artist has nothing to do with comics, but when someone tattooed one of his drawings.
2020 was a particularly difficult period for the artist as he took a break from comics at the end of 2019 because of burnout and unsuccessfully tried to take on other projects when COVID-19 struck. And although it's mentally draining, Tony esp hasn't given up. Probably due to the words he also wanted to share with you, Bored Pandas: "If you wait for things to get better before getting started, you won't accomplish anything."
