We continued to chat with HJ, and he told us more about himself.
“I’m a New Zealand-based hobby artist. I have a full-time job in tech that I enjoy and I equally enjoy creating comics on the side to scratch that creativity itch.”
HJ also explained what initially drew him to the world of artistry.
“I’ve been creating and drawing ever since I was little, since art supplies were one of the few things we were never short on growing up (that I still have now, even though I’m mostly digital). I was too self-conscious to share my works for the longest time though. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realised how little time we have and that finally gave me the push to start this comic even when I didn’t feel fully ready.”
As for the creative process, HJ commented: “I have a huge list of ideas that I add to whenever I come across something funny in my day-to-day life. When I pick one, I draft out the layout and text of the comic and then go directly into lining and colouring. One of the main factors when I started out was to keep the process as simple as possible so that I could create more consistently.”
We were curious about what HJ hopes audiences take away from his comics. He wrote: “Sometimes real life can get stressful and overwhelming, so I hope my comics are a reminder to pause and see the humour in the little things happening right under our noses. I also want to bring more awareness to our native birds in New Zealand, who are so unique and funny to watch, but also sadly very endangered.”
Lastly, the artist added: “Be kind and keep moving forwards.”
