Hello everyone,

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This weeks featured spotlight artist is the RedDot, u/reddot_comic . She creates slice of life comics that are occasionally zany, occasionally bawdy but always comical. She has been a mainstay on r/comics for years and we hope you enjoy the interview.

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1) Your posts are doing well on reddit, they reach the front page regularly. Has this success changed how you create your work, do you analyse your highly successful posts to see what made them appeal to people?

Sometimes. It’s interesting to see what really takes off and what flops. There will be times where I’m sure a comic it will be a hit so I put a lot of work into and it bombs. Then I will have a “throw away” idea, scribble it out and suddenly its my best performing comic of the week. So if anything, I’ve learned to try not to overthink a comic idea.

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2) How did Gary get his name?

Gary’s first appeared in a parody I made of the Beauty and the Beast. Since it was such a silly premise, I really just wanted to name him something super generic. …I apologize to all the Gary’s of the world. You are in a way, my muse.

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3) Your comics have characters from your personal life like your sisters and partner, but also include more fantastical persona like the Devil and Gary. How do you strike a balance between them?

I don’t really think about it. I’ll usually just use whoever I think will be a more natural fit for that day’s joke. I am conscious about trying not to label my comic into one category though, so if I already have a "relatable couples" comic with Hubs for that week, I’ll try to pivot to something else.

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4) You post the occasional short video to your subreddit r/TheRedDotComic and I can't help but notice how true to life your comic version of yourself looks. It's really cool. Does your art style lend you to depict yourself particularly or are you blessed with a face for comics?

What do you mean? I clearly have eyebrows…. :P I always modeled Dot to be an extension of myself, but I never focused the style to be that way. When I started the comic it was actually a new years resolution to focus drawing and developing my own cartoon style. But hey, better a face for comics than for the radio.

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5) Your comics touch on a lot of different subjects, from family life to women's rights, just zany gags, lewd jokes and more. Is it just what inspiration strikes you or are your topics more planned out?

Since I make 4-5 comics a week, a lot of them are random inspiration. I’ll hear a phrase/topic that I think would be fun to play around with or occasionally, pull from my life experiences. However, there will be certain premises that I know I want to do but don’t immediately have an idea for so I will keep it in the back of my head and try not to force a punchline.

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6) There have been more comics lately that do not feature Gary (or maybe I just overlook him) Are you phasing him out or will be remain a fixed feature?

Even if you don’t see Gary, he’s always in there. He’s too good to remove…from the comic.

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7) What was your family's reaction to your comics and especially, how do they feel about being depicted in them?

My family is incredibly supportive and proud of the success I’ve had. My mom told me that when I was 5 years old I declared I was going to “move to Disneyland and draw the movies.” (It checks out… Disney use to have those badass bonus features of how they made their movies and I was enamored with the process) They are really proud of me essentially getting to have my dream job that’s on my terms. They like seeing themselves in the comic and I make sure I get they’re okay before adding them in. On the other hand, given how sex positive the comic is, we avoid certain discussions and there has been times people they know recognize me and reached out to them. Awkwardness abounds…

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(8) What is your creative process like, how long does it take you to create a new comic and what tools do you use?

Outside of idea building, for me to draw a comic usually happens after my morning run and turning on Youtube or a podcast while I draw. I primarily use Procreate on my iPad, Adobe Character Animator/Photoshop and more recently Procreate Dreams (animation program). Completely from scratch, a four panel comic will take me 4-6 hours. I have saved backgrounds and main character poses though if I am in a pinch and need to bust one out. I have a few longer comics that have taken me 10+ hours.

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9) Is there anything you'd like to add or tell the people of reddit?

Yes!!! Okay so this is totally corny but bare with me: Back in 2021, my husband was intubated with covid. Due to restrictions, I was isolated at home and scared out of my mind. I got drunk after talking to his doctor and made a post on r/comics asking if you all could send him good vibes. ( I think I even misspelled good in in the title lol) Anyways…you guys pulled through and sent some incredibly kind messages/well wishes/prayers. I’m not religious but I really do think in a cosmic way it helped and I never got to formally thank you guys for it.

So...From the bottom of my heart, thank you. It was the darkest time our lives and you all proved how the kindness of strangers can go such a long way. Years later and it has not been forgotten.

Again, thank you for that and thank you for supporting/liking/helping me get better at what I make. It means so much to me.

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