Bored Panda contacted Hans Arne Haldorsen (Hans A.), the artist behind the series, to ask him some questions about his work. First, he shared a few facts about himself: “I am a Norwegian cartoonist, graphic designer, photographer, pyrotechnician, and crossword constructor—a somewhat rare combo I hear people say. Over the years, I've tried different media: pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, acrylic paint, and ink/markers. I found that the latter—visually stronger with its clear, black lines—was what appealed to me the most.”
The cartoonist added: “Today, I draw digitally and have put away ink, pens, and brushes... although I still sketch the old-fashioned way with pencil and paper.”
The creator of ‘Kryo Comics’ told us that lately, he has been focusing solely on the series featuring a duo of goldfish, which you can explore in this post. He added, “On my website www.kryo.no, you will find hundreds of ‘Two in a Bowl’ cartoons presented randomly.”
We wanted to learn more about the behind-the-scenes process of creating the cartoon and Hans A. kindly explained the theme of his series: “‘Two in a Bowl’ is a single-panel comic that takes place between two small fish, one green and one orange, who live in a rather limited universe - a goldfish bowl (hence the name of the series.) Despite the limited space, anything can happen to these two who swim around and happily(?) go about their business.”
The artist continued and provided us with a more detailed description of the characters appearing in the ‘Two in a Bowl’ cartoon: “The green one—the optimist, but possibly not the sharpest knife in the drawer—has a perception that they are placed in a ‘prison,’ the goldfish bowl, and is now and then concerned that they should get free and escape, and various methods to free themselves are implemented now and then. Simply jumping out of the bowl does not seem like a viable option.”
The cartoonist elaborated further on the other fish playing a main role in his strips: “The more pessimistic orange fish, on the other hand, are more laid-back and indifferent to it all and seem to take life in stride. It’s usually this guy who makes the most sarcastic comments.”
Haldorsen explained that, despite his characters occasionally finding themselves in situations that throw them off their game, they always return to their familiar surroundings, where “life goes on with philosophical reflections, the occasional squabble, and the creation of new escape plans.”
Finally, the creator of ‘Two in a Bowl’ shared: “Part of the concept of the series comes from the idea of putting two opposites together, a bit like Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello. In such combinations, there is often one who is a bit silly, and his or her antics can sometimes (or often?) have an impact on the other.”
