Bored Panda reached out to Thompson to learn more about his creative process and himself. Naturally, we were curious to know how he first got interested in comics. The artist shared, "I have been drawing and painting since I was very young. As an adult, while trying to make it in the fine art world, I found my work gradually getting smaller and goofier. I then realized I should try to be a gag cartoonist rather than endlessly struggle to get art gallery exhibits. So, I started submitting to the New Yorker and eventually began selling cartoons to the magazine."
Thompson told us that he has various little rituals for trying to generate ideas. "Sometimes I sort of meditate while staring out the window, just letting words and images float through my mind until something snags my interest. Sometimes I scan through random images or words on the computer, just fishing for subject matter. I keep a note on my phone of thousands of fragments of ideas, and another note where I polish those fragments into fully-fledged ideas. I find that you really can't force ideas - you have to just spend a lot of time in a deliberately receptive state of mind, and allow them to come."
Being a comic artist comes with its own set of struggles, but facing them head-on is part of the artistic journey. Thompson shared with us that a challenge many face is when ideas don't come easily, and it's common to feel down about it. "You have to just realize that it's not your fault - there just weren't any fish in the river today."
Another challenge is income. "There are very few ways to make money from the sort of visual gag cartoons that I do - The New Yorker is one of the few places that buys them these days. I also teach and do other art and design work to support my cartooning habit."
Putting challenges aside, we're curious to know what Thompson finds most enjoyable about being a cartoonist. "Nothing beats the 'aha' moment when an idea clicks, and you know you have something that works," he shared. "I also just love the process of drawing. A lot of my jokes are pretty visually driven and sometimes involve drawing something strange or complex, like a fractal or a complex machine or something. I love getting lost in a rich drawing, and find it very fun and sort of profound to put in a whole bunch of hard work just for the sake of a silly punchline."
