Brian shares the main goal of his illustrations: "I have always wanted to make cartoons/comics since I was 9. Finally, when I was 38, I got serious about it. For me, the goal is to make use of my creative spark and hopefully make people feel something. I plan on doing some long-form stories soon, mostly comedy/adventure kind of fun."
The artist shares how he got into art: "Always loved to doodle, and always doodled in sketchbooks to get better and someday be "ready" to make something.... but I was already ready, just did not believe in myself enough. Like most of us with the things we are passionate about."
Brian opens up about what the most difficult part of creating these illustrations is: "In the last 3 years, I have always sat down to make comics for 1 hour every weekday (usually my lunch break). Strangely, I always could find an idea, but the hardest part was being open about things in my life that I could not talk about in person. That has also been one of the best rewards of doing this. I have heard from lots of people how the comic has helped them with not feeling alone, with regard to their mental health, and even just laughing on a hard day."
The artist tells us more about the topics he chooses to cover in his comics: "Being a dad, there is always me and my daughter but I range from everything from wholesome feelings/mental health to computer problems (I work in IT) to dirty comics. I joke with my audience that if I have had a wholesome week, the dirty jokes are right around the corner."
"Adult cutesy. I love bright colors, rainbows, unicorns, I have a 7-year-old daughter, this is my life. I like making dark characters cute, like the devil and death," Brian describes his art style. As for his humor, Brian says it's: "Awkward situations mostly, weird ideas but relatable stuff about toilets clogging and dealing with the person you live with, of course, parenthood. It's all over the place."
"I started being serious about Mayoking 3 years ago, and I plan to keep doing this stuff till I die. It is one of the best parts of my life. Chasing a dream is hard, but once you can feel it becoming reality, it feels amazing and I am not living full time as a cartoonist, but someday... I might and that would be everything to me."
Here is some advice from Brian for aspiring artists: "Don't get intimidated by all the awesome art out there, be unique and be yourself. We all bring a weird mix of things in art, be you as long as you can and you will stand out. My art is not professional looking compared to other comics, but people can see the style and say, "I have seen these before". We are our worst critics but once you get going and fill a sketchbook and move to the next look at the first page of each, you will see that you are growing. Just keep drawing, keep growing, and keep being proud of yourself for putting in the time."
Brian tells us more about himself and his journey: "Oh gosh. I will skip the most recent journey where I was just down as deep as I have ever been, I was suicidal and just ready to quit. I got into therapy and got help, and talked to friends. That to me is when I started to live my life the way I wanted and that meant doing this comic. I am a father as well, I got divorced a little over 2 years ago, we are all doing great and still a very close 'broken' family. Life feels weirdly good, and I don't think I am used to that. I always felt so out of place as a kid, and now I feel like I am just being myself and enjoying life. A complete turnaround from probably 8 years ago, but it took a lot of work and lots of small changes. It is doable to get to a better life."
"Chase your dreams, I don't care how old you are. If there is a spark in you, set it on fire and chase it. I am 41 now, I draw like a 10-year-old... I am happier than I have ever been! Go do it!"
