Bored Panda reached out to Nick Filippou once more with some new questions.
Nick cherishes receiving photos from fans showing their cats mimicking Minnie's antics. He finds joy in every message and feels bonded with his audience over their shared love for cats. "My favorite is seeing a fan send me a picture of their cat doing the exact same thing Minnie does in the comics. That never gets old!"
Transitioning to Procreate has changed the artist's routines, especially as he balances being a father and having demanding work schedules. His creative times are now early mornings or after his daughter's bedtime, emphasizing the importance of dedicating time to create. "I still use Procreate exclusively to draw my comics. My routines have changed a bit as my life changes being a dad and more demanding work schedules. My go-to creative time is usually after my daughter goes to bed or early morning before she wakes up.
I’ve learned that I do need to make and dedicate time to create and draw. And sometimes I’ll doodle for hours and “nothing” comes from it. I don’t always have a comic or idea finished during each session, but it's not wasted. It's good just to play and have fun with things."
Nick faces the challenge of being colorblind by drawing inspiration from other artists and experimenting with colors that catch his eye. He relies on his wife to ensure the colors he uses are appropriate. "I like to see other artists’ work and if there is a particular comic, drawing, painting, etc., that I like, I’ll try to experiment with those colors that caught my eye even though I have trouble identifying what exactly they are. I then ask my wife to “check over” my work to make sure what I’m using isn’t totally crazy because I’m seeing something different. She’ll let me know if the colors work or if I need to try again."
Inspiration for the artist comes from everyday life and moments with Minnie. "The art of observation and being in the moment. Inspiration mostly comes from everyday life. Minnie, of course, is my muse, and seeing her interact with our crazy lives inspires most of my comics.
My latest comic was inspired by one of my daughter’s favorite bedtime books called “Goodnight, Moon.” I took that concept and mixed it with some cat spices and out came that. There’s also plenty of ideas that I shelve because they are not fully baked, then I’ll come back to it days, weeks, months later when the idea finally finishes in my head.
Also, like I mentioned above, sometimes all you need to do to get inspired/get over that creative block is to sit down and play. Not every session needs to be a finished product. Sometimes I’ll just draw Minnie and silly expressions or random thoughts. Sometimes a comic comes out, many times it's just a bunch of scribbles."
With the changing landscape of social media, Nick experiments with different platforms to see what resonates best with his audience. While the response to his posts can be unpredictable, he focuses on the content he creates. "Trial and error and seeing what sticks! At the end of the day, the content itself is the most important thing, but I’ll try things here and there on each platform. I use YouTube, which is mostly videos of Minnie, but I’ll post my comics there as well in community posts. Same thing with TikTok. I always post my comics on Facebook, Instagram, Imgur, and Reddit but have tried other sites too. It is difficult with the ever-shifting landscape of social media.
I would be lying if I told you I’ve found what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes it seems pretty random. I’ve had some posts go viral and other very similar posts barely move the needle. Or I’ll share a comic and it doesn’t get much traction, but then I’ll share that same comic a few months later and it goes nuts. The one thing I know that I can control is the content I create so that’s where most of my energy goes."
