Answers to the 'Ask Me Anything' questions! (Patreon)

Jason Hopkins: “What inspired you to become a cartoonist?”

When I was in elementary school, starting around 2nd grade, I started reading Peanuts, by Charles Schulz. Schulz was a huge inspiration and influence for me. I loved reading his comic strips and drawing the characters. I also liked reading Garfield. Drawing came naturally to me, I’ve always loved it, and would often draw Snoopy and Garfield for my classmates.

As I got older, I started getting into Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, The Far Side, and many others. I loved newspaper comics and really wanted to be a syndicated cartoonist, like Charles Schulz and Jim Davis.

Paul Saunders: “Which family member or members is your biggest inspiration for your work?”

My wife, daughter, and son all provide inspiration at various times. Right now my dog (Dobby) and kitten (Piper) are great fodder for jokes. Piper is getting into everything. She’s adorable but she’s a pain in the ass sometimes.

Kimberly Beckham: “What kind of software do you use for your cartooning? I know you sketch free hand first, what comes after that?”

After I sketch the idea in pencil, I scan it into the computer and color it with Adobe Illustrator. I started using Illustrator in the late ‘90s and it took me almost 10 years to feel like I was proficient at it. Illustrator is a hard app to learn but now that I’ve got it down, I love using it.

Sarah Glesmann: “What did you do before you started creating cartoons? Do you like cats or dogs more?”

I spent years trying to get a comic strip syndicated in newspapers. Right after graduating from college, I made it my goal to be a syndicated cartoonist. I submitted about eight comic strip pitches to syndicates over a 15-year period (while working full-time day jobs). Each submission had to contain at least 30-40 comic strips, so it took a while to put a package together. Newspaper syndication never panned out for me, which is for the best, given what’s happened to the newspaper industry. I did come pretty close with one syndicate—the editor loved my strip but thought it wasn’t mainstream enough to be a success in various markets. I’ve posted samples of that strip here.

As for cats vs. dogs, it’s a close call. Both are great in their own way. But if pressed, I’d I choose cats because they’re not as high maintenance.  

Laurie Stoker: "Riddle me this, Scott: Why is it that my cat, Hattie, likes to lie on my desk between the screen and the keyboard and rest her head on the keyboard, but only when I'm using the computer?"

Don’t we all want to know the answer to that question? I think Hattie does that because she loves you and she wants to make typing challenging.

Nancy DeStadio: “The drawing is one amazing part of your cartoons; but how do you come up with the tag lines that are so on point?”

I wish I had a simple answer for that, then I’d do the same thing all the time. Ideas come after a cup of coffee, during a walk, while I’m driving, while in the shower, or when I’ve had a couple beers. You never know when an idea will come. There are days when I have absolutely nothing and other days when an idea comes easily.

Susan Bardack: “What do you love most about your career?”

What I love most about cartooning is making people laugh or smile. I know how cheesy that sounds, but that’s my favorite thing about it. I do enjoy the writing and drawing process (most of the time), but it’s putting out something that connects with people that makes it worthwhile. Over the past couple months, I received emails from a few people saying that they’ve been feeling down or they’re going through a rough time and my cartoons lift their spirits. It’s nice to get messages like that.

Joe Davis: “Is there a method to the madness? When you are creating your content do you bounce ideas off of a test community of friends and family or other creators prior to posting to Patreon, etc or is there something that you do to decide ‘Hey this is going to be great’  or ‘Gah what was that?’”

There are times when I come with an idea and I know it works, I know it’s funny, and I just draw it. When I’m not sure about an idea, I run it by either my wife, 15-year-old daughter, or 10-year-old son. Often all three. They’re my focus group. I text my wife and daughter sketches pretty regularly.

My son is also a good judge of humor and has even given me writing suggestions. In this cartoon, I initially had the white cat saying, “I feel the same about being an ivory evening gown cat.” My son saw the sketch and said, “You should change that to ‘white gown cat.’ It’s quicker and punchier.” I gave him a high five for that suggestion.  

And there are times when I think a joke is hilarious and it totally falls flat. Usually I can catch these lame ideas during the sketch phase. But sometimes, I draw and post it and it goes over like a lead balloon. That’s the worst.

And there are other times when I think a joke isn’t that good, and it turns out to be a big hit. This Dave Grohl cartoon was one of those. I posted the sketch here for fun, but wasn’t planning on drawing it. Then people here really liked it so I decided to do it. It was my most popular cartoon on social media last year. Sometimes you never know what will work.

Debbie Jarrett: "What species do you enjoy drawing more? Cats, Dogs, Elephants, Humans, etc.? Which do you think you draw better? Also, when is your next collection of cat cartoons going to be available in a book?"

I like drawing cats and dogs equally. They’re both so much fun to draw. I like drawing elephants, but I’ve only done a handful of elephant cartoons. As for the next book of cat cartoons, I’m trying to get a publisher for it. Stay tuned!

Elizabeth Tobey: "Do you get inspired by your own animals or do you get suggestions from fans?"

I get inspired by my pets and by other people’s pets. One woman I know has a Chihuahua named Spencer and one day she said to me, “Spencer is feeling a little embarrassed, because the harness he’s wearing was made for a cat.” That cracked me up so I turned it into this comic. 

My dog Dobby inspired this comic and this one, among several others. My cats always provide inspiration.

I don't take suggestions from fans. I get suggestions from people pretty often and even if the idea is funny, I won't use it. I like coming up with ideas - it's what makes cartooning fun.

Corliss Harmer: "Could you do some shih tzu toons? I have seven of them. Hard to work on laptop with 5 shih tzus in tools but i manage. Also when will you restock your clothing toons?"

Wow, seven! That’s a lot of Shih Tzus. I drew this Shih Tzu cartoon, back in the '90s when I first started cartooning. You can tell by the drawing style that it's an old cartoon. It was one of the first comics I drew using Illustrator.

Catmomof4: "What is your favorite comic that you ever created?"

It’s hard to choose a single favorite. One of my all-time favorite cat cartoons is Extreme Energy because it was the first Clyde and Clarence cat cartoon. One of my favorite dog cartoons is Crime Scene, and one of my favorite non-animal cartoons is Avocado Affirmation. 

Karen Jagielo: "When did you get started cartooning, and what inspires you to come up with new ideas?"

Coffee is a huge part of creative process. It gets my brain going and helps me make connections and generate jokes. Exercise does this too (as does alcohol, to some degree), but coffee is essential.

When I’m brainstorming, I think about what my pets have been doing lately (their weird behaviors) and try to turn it into a cartoon. Or I think about what I’ve been doing (or my family’s doing) over the past few days and see if there’s a way to exaggerate something to make it funny. That’s the general starting point for me.

Thanks for all the great questions!