Bored Panda reached out to Chuck Ingwersen, the author of “Captain Scratchy”. We wanted to ask him a couple of follow-up questions to find out more about his work. First, we were wondering how his art style evolved over time, and what factors influenced these changes. Ingwersen shared with us: “I use a stylus and a drawing tablet to create my artwork in Photoshop, and over the years I’ve adapted to this process and I've improved my skills through repetition and trial and error. What was a struggle in my early years of drawing digitally is now second nature. When I look back at the art I created when I was first learning to use a tablet and stylus, it seems crude and clunky. I wouldn’t say 'practice makes perfect,' but practice sure does make for big improvements over the years. I’ve also learned a lot from other artists I admire, in terms of how to get the joke across most effectively.”
Next, we asked Chuck what are some of the most rewarding aspects of being a comic artist, and what keeps him motivated to continue creating. The artist told us: “I’ve always felt like I have a lot of humor and creativity bubbling inside me, so it's gratifying to have the outlet of cartooning every day and an audience that appreciates my humor. I’ve created humorous art my entire life — even when it wasn’t my career. I can’t imagine not doing it. And, of course, the feedback I get from my audience means so much to me. Knowing I gave someone a laugh or a smile is a bit of a rush.”
We were interested in the artist’s opinion about what makes a comic truly successful in terms of making people both laugh and think. We wanted to know how he strives to achieve that balance in his own work. The author of “Captain Scratchy” comics said: “For me, I go for the laugh first. I think that’s a worthy goal on its own. If I can also make someone find deeper meaning, that’s a bonus. I’m not sure I’m ‘deep’ enough to do that very often! I do admire comic artists who consistently make their audience both laugh and think. It’s a really difficult thing to master. I do try to make cartoons and comics that are relatable, so I guess that’s similar to making the audience ‘think.’”
Lastly, we asked how Chuck stays up to date with current trends and developments in the comic industry, and how he sees the industry evolving in the future. We found out that: “As a huge fan of cartoons and comics myself, I follow many great cartoonists and comic artists on social media. I see so much content that leaves me thinking, ‘Why can’t I do THAT?’ What saddens me is that there aren’t enough ways for a lot of these creators to make a living from their art, since there’s so much content available for free on social media. On the one hand, it’s great that everyone can put their creations out there for many people to see. But on the other hand, it’s over-saturation. And now with the rise of AI-generated art, there’s an even more uncertain future for a lot of artists who aspire to make a career from their art. But for those of us who live for that creative outlet, we will persist!”
