Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to John to find out a little bit more about him and his work.
"Well, I've always enjoyed drawing, so much so that I studied fine arts at University. Cartooning came much later. When my children were very young I would doodle with them and they got a really big kick out of it. I guess the cartooning grew out of that.
I figured if they thought it was funny, maybe other people would too. Over the years I've slowly been honing and refining the work to develop a particular style."
Just like last time John gave Bored Panda an exclusive interview. First, we asked the cartoonist if he had any major influences in his life that might've helped him to develop and refine his style.
"When I was young it was most definitely Charles Schultz (Peanuts) and Gary Larson (The Far Side), but there are so many great and talented cartoonists currently working (Roz Chast, Kate Beaton, Tom Gauld) that my list could go on forever. I've always loved British humor (Blackadder, PG Wodehouse, Monty Python) which I think helped shape (warp) my sense of what I find funny."
Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Atkinson how long it takes him to fully finish his comics.
"It varies from cartoon to cartoon. Some take only a few hours while others can take weeks and still never get completed. There are some ideas I've been sitting on for years that I still haven't been able to realize properly."
Being a cartoonist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask John about his ideas for the comics.
"Usually I get ideas when sitting and staring off into space. Sometimes (actually too often) in the shower. I have on occasion woken in the middle of the night to jot something down only to read it in the light of day and discover I'd written the lyrics to 'Yesterday.'"
We also asked the artist about how people usually react to his work.
"Mostly the response is positive. I have a small but very loyal following."
We also asked about the inspiration behind the cartoonist's Instagram account.
"I started out by showing my cartoons to my cat but he seemed utterly indifferent so I thought I should try sharing them with others. Instagram is purely visual so it seemed like a natural fit."
Digital art and art, in general, is not easy and requires a lot of patience, time, resources, and in most cases, even money. Therefore, we wanted to know how the talented cartoonist started his own career in digital art.
"I studied Fine Art at university and got my BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts). I spent many years as a painter and sculptor and after spectacularly failing at that, I moved to graphic design and then eventually to cartooning. But I still paint when I get the urge."
