AMA — “Do You Have A Day Job?” (Patreon)

Q: “Have you reached a level of success that you can support yourself? Or do you have a side gig, like home inspector or Olive Garden host to get you by?”

I’ve been drawing comics online for almost twenty years now. I have technically never had a side gig during that time…but only technically.

Being an online artist is a job that wears many hats. In the beginning I drew comics and sold t-shirts. Later I drew comics and drew commissions. Later I drew comics and was a micro publisher selling books. Then I drew comics and drew commissions again. And all the while I was also a web developer and marketer and retailer and social media handler and writer and layout artist and graphic designer and accountant and any other number of jobs necessary to make being a freelance artist entrepreneur work.

There’s also the matter of “getting by.” When I started out I was a college student, and then I lived with my parents for many years. My expenses were few. I could get by on relatively little.

It’s only recently that I have reached the point that I don’t need a “side job.” At this point I am making a true living from just drawing comics, and it blows my mind when I think about it too hard. I still have some commissioned work—like Glory Bowl—that I need to finish, and I’ll probably still take some commissions from time to time. But it’s no long something I have to do to support my comic-making habit. I can just draw comics—good comics—and I make a living doing just that.

And I couldn’t do it without you.

Not to sound too much like a PBS special, I am able at long last to make a living drawing comics because of the investment of my Patrons. You all make it possible. And for that you have my endless gratitude and the best damn comics and art I can make!

If you have a question for me, put it in the comments and I’ll do my best to give it a thorough answer!