bedgrammar

Hey! Some of you may have already seen me share this project over on Twitter, but the past few months I have been working on illustrating a graphic novel written by Andy Weir called “Cheshire Crossing.” It’s currently being released on Tapastic and right now it’s meant for mobile viewing, so check out the first few episodes on your phone here

She broke his heart, his dreams, and his memes

I get a lot of messages like these and I generally ignore them, but I figured I’d address this, since a lot of younger artists follow me and feel frustrated about trying to make a career out of art, and maybe this will help.

I graduated from college in 2008 and spent the next 5 years unemployed, unable to find steady work—and I mean any work, not just in the art field. It got bad enough that I had to sell my car so I could afford to buy groceries and pay rent. Around 2010 my illustrations got noticed on Reddit, and from there I was able to get by with minor freelance work and doing small commissions for people, but it was never very lucrative. I was living in Portland at the time, which was thankfully a really cheap city (that has since changed).

In 2011 I decided to move to New York, figuring that it was my last chance to make a genuine career out of art. There were no real jobs in Portland, so I took a chance and bought a one way ticket to NYC. It took another 3 years before I was hired at my current job, and even then I barely made the cut. I originally applied for a staff position and was flatly rejected. A month later I applied again as an intern, and was hired for a 3 month fellowship, with no guarantee that I’d be hired full time. I was a 27 year old intern. I was older than most of the upper management. 

When I was hired full time, I spent the next year making listicles. In 2015 I took a chance and drew a couple comics, which performed well on Facebook, and over the next year I was able to transition into drawing comics full time. 

The point is, it took almost ten years for me to make a career out of comics. I’m not even writing this as a defense of my work—I have no desire to change the minds of people who hate my comics. But to the kids who like to draw and ask me how they can make a career out of art, it takes a lot of time and dedication, but it can happen. You just have to stick with it.

It’s only forever Not long at all … ——