Matheson continued: “Over the years the dynamic has shifted from master and pet to man’s best friend to housemate, who contributes nothing tangible BUT feels just as central a part of the house as their human. So if you’re out working all day, for example, your pet will feel that they’re exhausted when you return from having to watch the house the whole time.”
When asked how his art style has evolved since he started creating Barely Baked Beans, Daniel explained: “I’m not what you would call a good artist. In fact, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I started drawing at all! The progression has been like watching a puppy learn how to run—there was a lot of stumbling, and some panels looked as if they were in fact drawn by a dog. Over time, though, I found a balance between simplicity and expressiveness that I was comfortable enough with, though I’d argue it still feels sometimes like it’s barely baked (pun intended).”
Next, we were curious about which specific elements Matheson finds most effective in creating humor in his work. Here’s what we learned: “I’ve found that the best humour (for me) often comes from observing the mundane and reinterpreting it in a way that’s on brand. So for example, if your dog finds a tablet in their food, what’s their immediate thought going to be? For me it was betrayal. So what, therefore, is the obvious course of action? Put drugs in their human’s food and ‘See how much they like it!’”
In our previous post, the artist mentioned his experience with animation. We were curious how this experience influences the way he constructs his static comics, particularly in terms of pacing and visual storytelling. Daniel said: “Learning to animate has made me more aware of how shows like The Simpsons and American Dad use angles to make scenes visually dynamic. Now, when I draw comics, I play with perspective to keep the setup visually engaging before the punchline hits. It’s a subtle way to build energy and keep things interesting from start to finish."
Lastly, the cartoonist shared some of his favorite strips that he’s created so far: “My favourite Beans brand comic is of a situation where Beans and his human are sitting on a park bench. The human explains how when he smells bacon on the wind that’s being fried in the distance, it creates strong emotions in him. He goes into depth over it and then asks Beans if he smells anything that evokes strong feelings in him. Beans responds simply with ‘Yeah, turds mainly.’ I like it because a man is having a heartfelt, philosophical type conversation with his dog. Which is an example of this balanced, modern-day pet and human friend dynamic. And while the dog’s answer is simple and funny, it isn’t wrong, it’s true and factual. Dogs DO pick up information when they smell other dogs’ business.
I also enjoy how just beneath the surface, the energy of the simple interaction is that of a best-friend, bonding type nature.”
