With the background of working in Silicon Valley for a dream-company for many, Apple, Hines quit her job in 2017 to pursue creating her own humorous content. And rightfully so. This has not only been a perfect creative outlet, but a form of self-reflection and self-therapy, as well as a way to connect with 125k like-minded people on Instagram to brighten up their day and make them feel less alone.
"I felt starved for a creative outlet," the artist told Bored Panda. "I dreamt up my illustrated alter ego, Kayden Hines, who reflected the tension between everything I was 'supposed' to do and everything I actually wanted to do. I started drawing Kayden as a way to express myself at a time I felt very stuck. Once I quit my job and started my creative career, my life feels much more aligned with who I am. Now, my alter ego feels less like an alter ego… Kayden just feels like me now!"
While illustrating relatable aspects of life and daily frustrations, Hines has a never-ending source of inspiration, because "life admin and chores never end."
"A lot of my inspiration comes from observations or funny things that happen in my own life. My illustrations are my way of finding humor in all types of situations, from the mundane (not wanting to talk on the phone) to the existential (feeling dead inside at my job), and making them universal and relatable."
"Honestly, I’m still surprised when I post something and people relate to it! I often feel very alone in my own head, so getting my thoughts out into the world and seeing people say they feel the same way is always a surprise (and a delight)! When people tell me that my comics make them feel less alone, I want to tell them that creating and posting them makes ME feel less alone, too!"
The artist said that there is always room for experimenting, improving, and changing things up when it comes to the style of her comics.
"I’ve experimented with different styles over the years. I’ll go down a wormhole where I’ll take tons of online drawing classes and will start changing things around, and then I’ll see what sticks. Some of the changes I love, some I end up hating, but I’ll never know until I try. I love learning new skills (otherwise I’ll get bored), but it probably means my style is not as consistent as it could be because I keep experimenting."
Hines said that it was especially hard to find humor in light of the global pandemic, but finding something to laugh about became a way of dealing with fear and anxieties.
"At first, I couldn’t create anything. I felt paralyzed and overwhelmed. But then I realized how much seeing other people’s creativity helped me get through the day. It added some normalcy during a chaotic and scary time. It inspired me to want to keep creating and sharing my experiences, in case it helped other people get through the day in some small way too."
