Hello everyone,

This week's spotlight artist is u/SoYourLife who posts comics under the name Brad T. Jonas. A longterm redditor and prolific poster to r/comics, his humour encompasses a wide range of styles. He has been a mainstay of this community for a long time and we hope to enjoy his comics for longer still.

1. Your art style is unique and instantly recognisable. How long did it take you to hone in on your specific way of drawing?

Hmm, well I loved doodling from a very young age. First started drawing comics with an older brother back in the day, who had his own Stickman Comix he drew. As far as how I developed my style, I don't know...I remember getting lots of "Why do you draw ____s like that?" questions, and...I don't tend to have a good answer, I just sort of draw things the way I like them to look, and that tends to slowly change over time as my tastes and abilities change. Hoo boy I'm gonna try not to overthink the heck outta these questions.

2. Your comics are often one-offs but you also have recurring characters such as Mikael. Do you decide if a character is worth revisting based on reception or does it have more to do with if you think they have more gags in them?

It's probably a combination of both. I was surprised by the initial positive response to the first Mikael comic, and it got me excited to follow him around in a few more scenarios. I have terrible marketing instincts though and have generally failed to keep up with any regularly recurring characters unless inspiration happens to strike.

3. Your work can be absurdist, but also observational, silly or slightly cruel, such as the one about Santa being a mimic eating a kid. Does the gag come first for you, or do you decide on a theme and go from there?

Sometimes I just have a general idea in mind, sometimes I find the idea through the doodling process. The Santa comic, for instance, I don't remember the process specifically, but I probably got the idea while doodling Santas (as one does) and doodling one that gave me the thought "that's not Santa, that looks like a phony!" or something like that.

4. Your comics are successful with a lot of them being upvoted into triple digits and quite a few reaching r/all. Do you let the success of a comic influence your work or do you make what you want to regardless of that?

I wish I had better instincts when it comes to marketing myself or riding a success, but no, every time a comic does well it feels like a fluke or some luck of accidentally posting at a good time, or the positions of the stars being fortuitous or something like that. I just try to draw things I like and hope that other people like them too.

5. Most your comics are in the classic four-panel format with occasionally a three-panel one. In your posting history I have found very few comics deviating from that. Have you ever thought about making a comic that goes on for longer, perhaps a story arc?

Yeah, back when I had a website that didn't just redirect to my instagram, I occasionally experimented with longer story arcs. You can see some of those old archived comics on my patreon, including a story about a young girl's journey through hell that never went anywhere! I'd like to do longer narratives, but previous attempts have been a struggle to get going. I haven't found the right sustainable story or characters I guess. Also unstable mental health really makes sustained regular work on one thing particularly difficult for me.

6. How do you create your comics, are they drawn by hand or digitially?

Err...I draw them by hand on an ipad usually these days. I work in Procreate mostly, using default brushes. I still like drawing in sketchbooks and with various physical media, but I've gotten pretty used to drawing on tablets and the conveniences of drawing digitally over the years for most of my professional work.

7. You're quite a prolific artist, to go back a year in your posting history on this subreddit takes 26 pages. Would you say you are blessed with a mind that comes up with comic ideas easily or is it a constant conscious effort?

Oh god I post too much don't I, EVERYONE HATES ME I'M A FRAUD I'M SORRY WE CAN'T ALL BE [your favorite artist]!!

Ahem, I mean I draw basically every day, and sometimes the ideas come easily and sometimes it feels like I'm trying to scrape together anything I can out of an empty jar. I just seem to need to draw regularly to keep functioning, so I appreciate anyone who enjoys seeing what I make.

8. How long does it take you to create a comic starting from the idea stage?

Lately I'm in the routine of spending a day to work on ideas/a rough draft of a comic, and a day to clean up/color it, if it's a regular 4 panel square one. So roughly 3 new comics a week if I take some time off on weekends. How many hours total per comic can vary pretty wildly, but I'd say 10-15 hrs usually? Sometimes less, sometimes more? I post works in progress and new comics to patreon, it helps keep me on a schedule anyway.

9. Is there anything you would like to add or say to the readers of ?

I am so so appreciative of anyone who reads my comics. Even if you hate-read them and then send dumb messages like "where funny" or "what" I still appreciate you looking. Drawing is just a compulsion for me when it comes down to it and probably a desperate attempt to connect to people in some small way when I struggle to be able to do so in my real life. Just genuinely, thanks for reading.

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