Eric grew up reading and collecting "Calvin & Hobbes" books as a kid. "I made my own comic strips in middle school and high school, but it wasn't until university that I started to have my comics published in student publications and my hometown newspaper," the artist shared with Bored Panda. "My college senior year I started working on 'Something about Celeste' in the hopes that I could have it syndicated and printed in newspapers. I worked on SaC from 2001-2007. Eventually, I got tired of receiving standardized rejection letters from all the major syndicates and I decided to quit trying to be a cartoonist.
In 2015, I decided to return to my passion of making comic strips and focus on making SaC a webcomic instead of trying to be published in the newspapers. Social media has really opened up various avenues of getting your art out to the public. So from 2015 to the present, I have been drawing SaC and posting them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Imgur, Tapas, Webtoons, Smackjeeves... anywhere on the internet just trying to build an audience."
When Eric was striving to get syndicated, the artist often self-censored his work. Due to the general audience nature of newspaper comics, some topics were considered off-limits. He steered clear of creating comics about subjects like s*x, drugs, alcohol, or religion. However, post-2015, he no longer felt the need to restrict himself to specific topics and stopped self-censoring. This shift has broadened his creative process, allowing him to explore any subject he finds amusing or intriguing.
The artist said that he wouldn't say his comic is R-rated; it is more like PG-13. It's okay for most people, but not recommended for really little kids. "I like to find the boundaries of certain topics that could be said in polite societies, and then dip my toe on the line without actually crossing it. I rarely use profanity. My comics usually have euphemisms and cryptic sexual innuendos that usually fly over the heads of most people. But the people who do get my joke would say 'OMG! Did he just go there?!'"
When asked where he gets inspiration for his comics, the artist shared that his main inspiration when he started was "Calvin & Hobbes". "Like Calvin, my main character, Celeste, also has a vivid imagination and I often draw her in strange situations. Celeste interacts with her reflection in her bedroom mirror, talks with the monster under her bed, she is a Star Wars fan and has daydreams of Boba Fett or Darth Vader, etc. So with Celeste, I shift between the real world and the world in her imagination.
Also, when I started my comic strip two decades ago, another big inspiration was the TV sitcom 'Friends', in which my comic strip is an ensemble of characters with all their quirks and interesting personalities. Each of my main 6 characters has their own flaws and peculiarities from which I draw the humor from. If I was going to make another 'Friends' analogy, Celeste would be like Phoebe Buffay, the oddball of the bunch."
"How I come up with comics is usually I allow my mind to wander. I drive for hours at a time for my day job, and while I do, I usually listen to podcasts hosted by stand-up comedians. So after I hear an interesting bit of dialogue, I ask myself, what would Celeste say in this situation? After I imagine Celeste, with her quirky, weirdo personality, in any given situation, the dialogue usually writes itself. Next, I try to think which of my five other characters should I pair Celeste with for this comic. I think the pairing of certain characters is important. My characters aren't there just to deliver their given lines. Each has a unique personality and their relationship with Celeste is different from character to character. So certain dialogues only work with certain pairings.
Another inspiration is the random internet memes I see on Facebook or Instagram. After I see a funny meme, I sometimes wonder if I could be able to top it; try to visualize the joke in a 4-panel or 8-panel story. I try to retell the joke but with my own unique twist to it and add my own flair to it."
Eric mentioned that he doesn't consider himself a naturally gifted artist. For him, it would be simpler to draw characters standing next to each other and delivering lines. "It would be easy to draw the same position for four panels, only changing the angle of the eyebrows, opening or closing mouths, and perhaps moving an arm here or there. These comics are called 'talking heads' comics. Unless the dialogue is phenomenal, these types of comic strips tend to be boring to read. I could easily make a 'talking heads' comic within 30 minutes to an hour, and then post a comic online daily. Instead, it takes me 8-10 hours to make a single comic, which I have to spread over several days because I also have a day job. So, therefore, I am only able to post a comic once a week."
The most challenging part for Eric is how he goes about visualizing each of the four or more panels. "I try to think like a movie director. Since I don't make 'talking heads' comics with a fixed vantage point, I try to move the 'camera' around per se. 'What is my opening shot?' 'From what direction is my first character approaching from?' 'Are the two characters standing on the same plane or is one slightly behind?' 'Do I need to draw a background to give a sense of perspective?' 'Should I use a wide shot to give a sense of atmosphere or should I use a close-up shot to capture the facial expressions?' These are questions I deal with even before I start drawing.
I, like pretty much every other cartoonist, hate drawing hands. But I refuse to just draw my characters with their hands behind their back or their hands stuffed in their pockets. Hands are, after the facial eyebrows, the best way to convey and emote feelings. So I always draw fluid (at the best of my limited ability) body postures as well as interesting facial expressions. My dialogue, which would only be 'meh' if my characters just stood there, becomes more interesting to read when paired with funny faces.
So long story short, the most challenging and rewarding aspect of the creative process is trying the right blend of written text and visual art to tell a joke in the best way possible."
Lastly, the artist candidly shared what fuels his passion for being a comic artist." I suppose it is the blend of joke writer and visual artist as well as art director (thinking of vantage points and perspectives) that I find rewarding," he told us. "It also helps when I get feedback online, so I know that I am not just whispering into the void. Receiving compliments is a 'high' which makes spending so many hours on a single comic so rewarding. Trying to build my audience, bit by bit, no matter how unforgiving the dreaded algorithm can often be. This is what I like the most, trying to find like-minded people who share my unique sense of humor and would also appreciate Celeste.
In real life, I am not a funny person. I am not the life of the party nor could I ever do stand-up comedy. But through Celeste and my other characters, I can have my creative juices flowing and I can express myself humorously. Through my comics, I can show the public a side of my personality that I don't usually show." So, if you've enjoyed these comics, make sure to follow Eric on Instagram for more amusing adventures featuring Celeste.
