Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to Steve again with some new questions!
Discussing how he introduces new characters into his comics, Steve shared, "Sometimes a character sort of emerges from doodles, but more often an idea will pop into my head while I'm away from the drawing board. If a character idea is persistent, and I find myself continuing to doodle or think on them, I'll try to develop that concept. I figure it's nagging at me for a reason!"
Steve also opened up about how ADHD influences his creative process, stating, "ADHD usually influences my process by making my mind wander when I should be paying attention to other things! A surefire way for me to come up with ideas is to do something boring, like the dishes. My brain can't wait to think about something else. Sometimes I think I have so many comics about holidays because they're firm deadlines that I can't procrastinate."
Horror films, particularly from the '80s and '90s, have significantly shaped the tone and style of his comics. "With all of the Jason comics, I'm obviously influenced by the Friday the 13th films. Most of my favorites are from the '80s or '90s, so I'll shoehorn in a lot of those just to be self-indulgent. And then I'll make comics about more recent ones because they're topical. The sweet spots seem to be alternating between new releases and movies from 30-40 years ago!"
Reflecting on how his art style and humor have evolved since he first started "Murdercake/Skull Pizza," the artist noted to Bored Panda, "When I first started Murdercake, I had another strip going that was more like a traditional newspaper strip, with a cast and storylines. So I wanted to have a place for random, one-off jokes that might not be as family friendly, and had simpler, black-and-white drawings. As Murdercake became my main focus, the art started to get more detailed and featured recurring characters and gags. I think that's partly why I've been transitioning it to Skull Pizza, because it's changed so much from its original form."
Oh, and to top it off, here's an image of Kermit that the artist shared with us!
Steve also recalled a memorable moment from his Drink & Doodle livestreams: "Oh man, there are so many! Every week we get the funniest suggestions from the chat or by using prompts we've put into randomizer apps. One of my favorites was the time we drew Muppets as kaiju, and I got to draw a squiggly-armed Kermit with atomic breath."
Lastly, Lewis is excited about the upcoming #Comictober 2024 challenge: "One last thing I want to mention is that with October over the horizon, we'll soon be releasing the prompt list for #Comictober 2024! I'm co-sponsoring with four other webcomic artists @weflapscomics @artbymoga @alarminglybad and @libeartycomics. The challenge will be to draw 13 comics in the month of October based on the prompts. Anyone can join in, from beginners to pros. Keep an eye out on our Instagram feeds for updates in the next week or two!"
