Bored Panda reached out to Rhiannon Kagoe to find out more about her comic series. First, we wanted Kagoe to tell us about her background and how she got started as a comic artist. She shared with us: “I grew up in a working-class British family. I started drawing as a kid using any paper I could get my hands on - empty envelopes, printer cuttings, magazine pages.”
Rhiannon continued: “I loved drawing comics as a way to amuse myself when I was bored and alone. I used to keep myself to myself for most of my childhood. If I wasn't locked away in my room, I'd explore local forests alone. My only other passion was playing video games.
As I grew older, I realized I could combine the two.”
Next, we were curious what Kagoe’s creative process looks like, from idea generation to the final product. The artist told us: “I get a lot of my ideas when I am alone and immersed in nature. I currently live somewhere extremely rural where there isn't much access to the outside world.
When I plan a comic, I ask myself if I would enjoy this idea if someone else presented it. How do you make still images funny? I often trim back the final product from the initial sketch. I think less is more when it comes to comedy. You can easily overdo an idea and walk a thin line between funny and cringe.”
Asked about some favorite tools or software that Rhiannon uses for creating her comics, the artist answered: “All my art is traditionally drawn with minimal digital alteration. My favorite paintbrushes to use are pure Kolinsky sable mop brushes. They hold a lot of water while keeping a good point. I often use jumbo 3B pencils for the line art because they fit better in my dyspraxic hands.”
Lastly, we wanted to know Kagoe’s opinion about what makes a good comic, and what mistakes artists should avoid in order to create quality work. Rhiannon told us: “A good comic is one that the artist is doing through passion and not to simply produce. We must remember to first draw for ourselves, everything else is a bonus.
A common mistake, I believe, is keeping your content easily digestible in order to avoid contention.”
