Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to Drew with some questions!
When asked about how he generates ideas for his one-panel comics, Drew explained, “There isn’t a trick other than sitting down with a blank piece of paper and trying. I’ll write down an idea, see if I can push it into a strange or absurd situation—often times, finding a dead end and moving on. I devote an hour or two on weekdays to generating ideas and just scan through anything that might give me a start—for example, social situations in the recent past or near future, weird phrases that are in popular culture, a particular setting, animal, occupation... anything. If you write a hundred ideas, ten of them might be good—don’t be precious about one particular idea, you’re going to go through a lot of bad ones.”
Drew's comics often resonate with audiences due to their relatable and humorous twists on everyday situations. He shared, “I find some of my most popular cartoons are ones that people can relate to, situations that happen to all of us but with a funny or strange twist—sometimes they express what we all think. My favorite types are more silly and absurd—they are often harder to explain why they are funny, I just try and entertain myself.”
Despite being influenced by legendary artists like R. Crumb and Dan Clowes, Drew pointed out that their impact on him was more about sparking his interest in comics rather than shaping his style directly. “These two examples don’t particularly influence my cartoons visually or for ideas, but they were the doorways that introduced me to comics. I had stopped drawing when I became a teenager, as a lot of people do, but sometime in my early twenties someone showed me this very interesting and creative art form and I began trying to make my own comics. Over many years I experimented, finding single panel comics to be something that felt natural to me (I did grow up in the 90’s loving Gary Larsen’s The Far Side).”
Like many artists, Drew has faced his share of challenges along the way. He reflected on the difficulties of honing his craft: “There are many challenges to being a cartoonist. First, you have to do enough drawing to reach a level that is consistent and pleasing to your own eye so you can execute what you want to draw. There is also a long process of discovery, where you figure out what type of cartooning you want to do—whether it’s humorous, serious, fiction, non-fiction; single panel vs. longer stories. I encourage anyone trying to become a cartoonist to follow their interests, you may start out wanting to do graphic novels only to find out you’re better at short humor, the only real way to know is to try and experiment.”
For aspiring cartoonists aiming to break into well-known publications, Drew offers practical advice: “You have to first get decent, that is the hardest part. Seeing what people respond to as well as what excites you will help you figure that out. Once you’re at a good point you can start submitting to publications. A lot of websites, small press, and even larger magazines have a submission process—be on the lookout for like-minded work and don’t be discouraged if you don’t immediately get in, it can take months or even years to find some success.”
