Bored Panda got back in touch with Zena to dive deeper into her creative world and get to know the person behind the comics. As her illustrations breathe life into her personal experiences, we were curious about how it feels for her to open up fragments of her journey to the world. "Honestly, it helps me look for the humor in my life, which is always a good thing as it helps keep my mood up," the artist shared. "When you look at your experiences from an external point of view (trying to mimic how the reader might see them), it’s often easier to see that most of the daily annoyances aren’t that serious. Laughing is a good cure for a lot of the BS you have to push through.
I recommend this for everyone, even if it’s just drawing post-it note comics for yourself or keeping a journal written for an imaginary audience. It really helps you see the story of your own life in a way that can give you a healthy perspective, as well as an outlet to work through some of the harder stuff that you might not want to share. Making art of any kind is good for you."
Being a comic artist has its share of hurdles, and we were eager to learn about the difficulties Zena encounters in her creative journey. The artist revealed to us that her biggest challenge is simply time. "I wish I had more of it. Trying to balance creativity with my day job, friends, family, and responsibilities is a constant challenge - and it all comes down to a factor of time. Some months are just busier than others, and I try to be compassionate with myself as to why I’m not making as many comics as I’d like during those times.
I’m currently experiencing one of those busy life periods, and this is why I’ve needed to take a hiatus on my comics while I finish working through a lot of significant and very personal events. But I know I’m much happier when I’m writing and drawing, so there’s also a need to make the time for art, make it a priority. I wish I could figure all of this out, but it will probably be a challenge for the rest of my life. Accepting that and just doing my best is all I can do."
Zena told us that she likes not being too hemmed in by genre or theme. "The pull towards relatable comics is of course strong because those are by definition appealing to a broad audience. But I get a little bored when I focus too much on producing work that would be considered relatable. So I try to create a mix of comics about different topics. My Patreon work (which will be available on Ko-Fi soon) is particularly different from my Instagram posts, much sillier and less appropriate."
"Comics are to me the perfect marriage of words and images - two mediums I love and could never completely choose one over the other. Sometimes the precision of words is lacking, but by adding drawings I can show you almost exactly what I mean, or give you a better sense of tone. And often images alone aren’t sufficient and words can help bridge the communication gap. Combining the two so my message is quickly absorbed by the reader is so satisfying. Being understood on a broader scale is a pleasure and a privilege that I’ve only been able to reach through comics."
