My 30 New Comics About The Brighter Side Of The Grim Reaper

The animated series Adventure Time is one of my most significant influences. I love the bright visual style and the fact that it's laugh-out-loud funny while still having clean humour. I also admire how the world is constructed, which lends itself to more thought-provoking episodes—something I've tried to emulate with Pink Reaper. Sometimes it's nice to break up the laughs with something that is less funny, but interesting to reflect on. In terms of other webcomics, I see myself most influenced by Mr. Lovenstein, Nathan W. Pyle, and Swords. Whether it's visual style, comedic sensibilities, or creating a compelling world through short comics, all these creators absolutely nail it!

When it comes to ideas I don't typically sit down to come up with ideas. I daydream more than I probably should, and most days I get several ideas that just pop into my head. At that point, I either write it on my phone or scribble it on a post-it note. However, by this point, the ideas are more of a writing prompt than anything else—they need fleshing out before I can make a comic, so I flesh out my ideas as part of my 'warm-up' process. I draft them out at the same time, working out poses and framing as I refine the text. If I think an idea has potential, I might invest some more time turning it into a series! I really enjoy creating these mini-arcs that often last around 10 posts. I feel like it's the webcomic equivalent of an episode of an animated show.

When it comes to doing art and feeling burned out... I wouldn't say I feel burned out, no. I can often feel exhausted, though! I feel like there's a difference as for me, exhaustion is just physical, whereas burnout implies mental fatigue too. Telling stories and entertaining others is my passion, so I am always compelled to do it when I have free time (which I have to find outside of my day job!). That's why it can feel exhausting, because sometimes it feels like two jobs! But I don't ever resent doing it. I love being able to share what I make with the world.

When it comes to the creative process my favorite part is drafting! My process goes: Have an idea > Write it down > Draft it out > Ink it > Colour it. That drafting section in the very middle is so much fun because I'm excited by the idea I've just had, and now I get to play and experiment with poses, framing, dialogue etc. It's the part of the process where the comic becomes most like the comic my readers see. The part where I can be most creative and uninhibited.

I actually wanted to be a novelist for many years. However, creative writing can take ages and after all that time, if you receive some peer feedback citing areas for improvement, it takes another long stretch of time to address those notes and reflect to see if you've improved. For me, the slow rate I was seeing myself improve was frustrating and the process became increasingly laborious. I started posting comics (on a different account before I started Pink Reaper) because it was a way to have fun by telling jokes, but they also were quick to make (back then, anyway!).

I was making 2-3 comics a week and it was very easy to see myself improving little by little by scrolling back through my posts. I had no issue if people liked them or not, because I wasn't pouring as much time and energy into them like I was with my writing. I grew to really love making comics and eventually realised that it's where I wanted to put my focus moving forwards. Now, the comics take longer to make, and I do put a lot of myself into them, but it's all totally worth it.

When I started, I was drawing with pen on paper. I'd take a photo on my phone, upload it to Instagram and I was done! That's pretty much a world away from where I am today, but it's certainly the right place for anyone thinking about making comics to start. It's cheap and a really straightforward way to learn. Nowadays I'm on an iPad Air 3. It's not the latest and greatest model, but is more than up to the job!

I will be also attending my first convention this year! I will have a table at MCM London Comic Con this October. I'm excited to meet any U.K.-based readers that are attending.