Bored Panda reached out to Salih with some interesting questions that the artist was more than happy to answer by sharing his insights.
When asked how his industrial design background influences his work, Gönenli noted, "While studying industrial design, I developed the habit of constantly questioning the forms when sketching. I always have in mind that these characters, objects, landscapes, etc., have to be reliable and producible in 3D forms. Perhaps it's a hindrance that blocks me from going instinctively, but I'm trying to make it work in my favor."
Explaining the inspiration behind his animal characters, he shared, "Before my current comics, I created (and experimented with) comics in a general sense, including both animal and human characters. Each comic was different from each other in terms of style and universe.
After a while, I didn't want to tell human stories with human characters anymore. To give them a different flavor, I began telling human stories with cute, wholesome animals. In my current comic series (Life of Salep), I created a single character to tell all the different stories. When designing my dog character, (named Salep) I followed Charles Schulz's approach: creating a simple character to make it easier for readers to empathize with."
Discussing the challenges of transitioning to freelance work, Gönenli revealed, "To be honest, I’m still struggling to overcome the stress of being a freelance artist. Finding commissions, getting a decent income is still the things that worries me a lot about the future. Also, living in a country that have harsh conditions increasing these worries."
On his creative process, the artist detailed to us, "I brainstorm with copy paper and a graphite pencil to take a break from digital tools. I ask myself what I want to draw at the moment. For example, if I want to draw a cozy cafe scene, I sketch my character sitting in a cafe, perhaps reading a book. After that, I think about what would happen to the character and list the things or draw thumbnail sketches about it. Once I find an idea, I start thumbnailing the panels. I'm also interested in the math of comedy. So, I always apply the things I've learned from the books I read and the comedy shows I've watched. The hardest part is arranging the pace of the panels, which takes up the most time in my process."
When asked about his influences, Gönenli said, "When I feel lost in thoughts about artistic life, I always look at Mattias Adolfsson’s drawings and think about his passion and dedication to create amazing artwork every day on a single page of a sketchbook. After filling a page with incredible drawings, he moves on to the next page to create another one. His passion always amazes and inspires me. Also, I look at sketches of urban sketchers who are living the artistic life just for the love of drawing. As for graphic novels, these days I’m obsessed with Fabien Toulmé’s books."
