Bored Panda once again reached out to the artist to learn more about him and his cartoons.
First of all, Mat shared his backstory firsthand: “I’ve had a passion for cartoons for as long as I can remember but ramped up my efforts after I was paralyzed during a mountain bike race in 2012. Drawing cartoons was very therapeutic. I write a lot of my cartoons with my best friend, Adam Cooper. When I’m not cartooning, I work as a Graphic Designer and Illustrator in Portland, Oregon. My work has been featured in The New Yorker, The American Bystander, The Times Luxury, and many other publications. I studied Animation at Cal State Fullerton.”
Mat also wrote what a typical day is like when he’s working on a new comic.
“I try to start every day by drawing in my sketchbook for an hour or so and see what pops up. Sometimes, I get some good gags. Other times, I don’t, but I love the process. If I think I have something, I call my writing partner, Adam, and talk over the gags with him, and then they evolve into something more.”
Sometimes, ideas get scrapped for one reason or another. Mat shared whether he had abandoned an idea after starting to draw it and the cause of this.
“I scrap a lot of comic ideas. I do a monthly comic strip for wheelchair users for New Mobility magazine and send them a rough idea before finishing it. Sometimes, the pitch gets rejected for being too offensive. Making jokes about the subject of disability can be tricky at times, so the editors are careful about that.”
But besides having ideas that are too offensive or other misfortunes, Mat also shared a time when readers’ responses really made him feel good about his work, which is the best part of this career.
“My favorite responses to my work come from people with disabilities who see my work and reach out to me saying how much they appreciated the joke.”
Lastly, Mat added: “The skill floor for creating a good cartoon is very low. You don’t need to be a great artist to make cartoons. Anyone can do it. It just takes practice and commitment.”
