The time has arrived if you’ve been waiting for new comic material and would like to meet a new artist that will be making their website debut! We are thrilled to present to you Vermont-based artist Andrea Hickey. Illustrator, copywriter, and graphic designer Andrea is well-known for her humorous comic series with relatable panels, surprise turns, and unexpected resolutions.
The cartoonist revealed a few of the reoccurring themes in her works: “I liked to touch on relationships, style, awkward social situations, and beauty and wellness content.” Additionally, the more general relatability of being a worn-out, nervous 20-something on a daily basis.
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Inquiring more into Andrea’s comic work, Bored Panda got in touch with her. “I drew little comics for friends in high school, exaggerating situations that happened in class that I thought were funny,” she said in her opening statement, explaining what motivated her to begin the series. In class, I would constantly sketch while my lecturers were speaking, and during study hall, my best friend and I would trade intricate drawings back and forth. I even wrote a post about it on BuzzFeed. Even so, I created a few intricate works of art using M.S. Paint (RIP). I was able to work as an illustrator for a living at BuzzFeed creating comics.
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Hickey went on to provide even more detail about the early phases of her artistic career, saying, “At BuzzFeed LA, where I worked, there was a big push to create original IP in other ways, but video was still getting huge.” BuzzFeed urged its illustrators to begin producing comics in the form of “relatable content,” which catered to both a broad readership and niche markets such as food, books, beauty, entertainment, and style. We were always trying, much like with our postings, to determine what subjects and humor evoked the appropriate feelings in comics.
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Andrea gave a succinct response when asked where she gets the ideas for her comic strips. “Ideas came from everyday life and lots of in-office brainstorming.”
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We were interested to find out which other comic book and comedy artists had the most influence on Hickey’s aesthetic and were her main sources of inspiration. She told us, “I was always drawn to Nickelodeon cartoons like Doug, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Rocko’s Modern Life because of their humorous timing and exaggerated scenes of stress and anxiety.” Regarding comic book artists, I adore the works of Rebecca Mock, Jillian Tamaki, Emily Carroll, and Sammy Harkham. I also have to mention “Over the Garden Wall” because it’s fall.
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Finally, drawing on her own experiences, Andrea talked about the most fulfilling parts of being a comic book artist: “At this point in my career, I wouldn’t classify myself as a comic artist, although I’d like to create more comics!” However, using my own perspective to connect with so many individuals online was incredibly fulfilling. If not, I could make adjustments until I discovered what worked for the audience. It was exciting to occasionally draw something very strange and discover that other people found it as entertaining as I did. It can be difficult to stay motivated, but I try to do so because I follow so many amazing artists online.
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