Awoo! comics, by Andy Stuart, are anything but very sweet. The themes that the artist explores are usually silly and uplifting. To get a better understanding, Andy has described the essence of his artwork himself: “The Awoo! comics came after years of making more cynical things. Setting aside time each day to put my brain in a positive space and think about guileless, wholesome comics ideas is therapeutic in a way I could not have imagined. I’ve become a more mindful and gentler person from years of making these comics. And I guess that’s the essence of them, to me. Now and then I’ll slip up with a cynical joke (that jaded humorist is still within me) but for the most part, the jokes aren’t about cruelty or cynicism. Just silliness and the best feelings in life.” More info: Instagram | fenrispublishing.com First of all, Andy told us more about himself and his background. “I began my career as a professional cartoonist as a staff illustrator at CollegeHumor in NYC, alongside many of the most talented people I’ve ever met. If you know of Drawfee, those were my co-workers! It was great. While I was there, I primarily worked on a series called Ben & Steph, though I did a good mix of other things as well. After that, I primarily worked on my two series for WEBTOON, Behind the GIFs and Elf & Warrior. Along the way, I’ve made a lot of random little projects (Your D&D Stories, Taterpig, etc.), but these days I’m mostly working on Awoo!” “I wish I could better convey my creative process, because that might mean I understand it. Sometimes the ideas just come to me. More often, I meditate on jokes and ideas while doing something that doesn’t require active attention—driving a long way on the highway or taking a long walk—and get a lot of my writing done that way. Sometimes I just have to sit down with my laptop and spend a few hours coming up with things. It’s a lot easier when the project is new, and every idea you have is valid and tenable. Once the identity of a project is more firmly established, you have constraints to work within, and it’s very easy to lean on jokes that are just about the characters. But that gets old fast.” “I hope the audience takes away some modicum of the peace that making the comics brings to me. A little respite in the madness of social media is nice, anyway. But I put myself in a very intentional mindset to make these, and doing that as a habit has been healing. I hope some of that gets through to the readers.” “First, a big ’thank you’ for reading, obviously! If they like the comics and want to support them, Volume 1 of the printed collection of Awoo! is available at Fenris Publishing. I have the second volume coming out later this year. They can also keep an eye out for a re-run of the Makeship plushie campaign by following me on social media. And of course, if you want to chip in, Patreon. Thanks again!” Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
