Bored Panda has reached out to Dave Contra again to ask more questions about his recent works. First, we wanted the artist to remind our readers what inspired him to pursue a career in comics and how he got started in the industry. Contra told us: “Career? Ha! I would call it a hobby at this stage, but for sure I would love to make a living from this one day. I actually wanted to be a cartoonist when I was a kid. I was addicted to Calvin and Hobbes and I worshipped Gary Larson. My Dad bought me books on how to make it in the cartoon industry, but for some reason, I gave up on it. Then many years later as an adult, Covid hit and I had lockdown time and needed something to keep me busy - a creative project. So I finally picked up the old dream, and after the lockdown finished I just kept going.”
Next, we wanted to know his art style evolved over time, and what factors influenced these changes. Dave said: “The problem with my art style is I don’t feel like it's evolving enough. Considering how many hours I spend drawing, I’m amazed that I’m still not a 'good' drawer. I am constantly looking at other comic artists on Instagram and trying to mimic their styles, but I can’t! I think my favorite drawing style at the moment is @beetlemoses. His stuff is just ‘a chef’s kiss’.”
Asked about how he balances the creative aspects of his work with the business side of things, such as marketing and promotion, Contra explained: “For the near future, I plan to launch a few products like inappropriate greeting cards, mugs, and t-shirts. Also, I have recently launched my Patreon and so far I’ve only done a small push to advertise it on Instagram. I definitely need to get creative with the marketing. I’ve been trying to come up with ideas to promote it like sticking up mysterious stickers all over the city - on escalators, in lifts, on bus and train seats (illegal, obviously). If you like my stuff, please check out my Patreon page.”
Then, we wanted to know more about the characters in Dave's comics. We were interested in how he approaches creating characters and developing their personalities and backstories. The artist told us: “A lot of my characters are based on people I see in the street, or on public transport. I will notice them because of how they look, and then in my head, I give them a story, a personality, etc. As weird as it sounds, I can get ideas from things as simple as watching a middle-aged guy licking the froth off his coffee cup lid on the ferry. Most characters are generic one-offs, but some are repeats, like homeless Gary, or the old man in bed. I dunno - they just kind of get into my head, and then I feel like I know them.”
We also asked what are some of the most rewarding aspects of being a comic artist and what keeps Dave motivated to continue creating. Contra said: “Definitely the most rewarding thing is getting emails or DMs from people telling me one of my comics affected them. A lot of the time I try to be funny, but other times I'm trying to express things that are very philosophical. If I am able to communicate something effectively and make someone feel something meaningful - then that is extremely rewarding for me.
Lastly, asked about how the artist stays up to date with current trends and developments in the comic industry, and how he sees the industry evolving in the future, Dave Contra answered: “I honestly am just an ‘Insta junky’. Most of the accounts I follow are comic-related and I just consume them daily. As for the future of comics… that's a tough one. People will always love comics, but I’m not sure it will always be humans creating them. I admit I’ve tried using chat GPT for ideas for 4-panel comics, but everything felt very dad-jokey. But I imagine in the near future we’ll be ingesting comics by AI - and for some reason, I imagine AI having an extremely dark sense of humor. I guess I'm screwed…”
