I was lucky enough to create cartoons for my high school newspaper, as well as my college newspapers, but after graduation my cartoons were sidelined for a bit. Life took over and all my cartoons stayed in a suitcase under a bed for 20 years. Then, in 2016, I got myself an iPad and an Apple Pencil and sparks started to fly. I grabbed the old suitcase from under the bed and digitized my cartoons. I went from paper and Pigma pens to iPad and Pixelmator and I haven’t stopped creating cartoons ever since. I find myself constantly amazed by the options the digital format provides. There are endless creative possibilities, all in the hopes of sending some giggles out into the universe. I hope you enjoy Zanyee.

Part of the fun in creating a single-panel cartoon is watching an idea go from a random thought to a finished product. I have never been very good at forcing an idea, I just let them happen. Most of my ideas for cartoons happen right before I fall asleep or when I let my mind wander a bit. That’s not to say the idea is fully formed, it tends to get refined as the cartoon does. Once I start drawing my ‘toons they go through multiple rough drafts and sometimes I feel like I’m sculpting rather than drawing. Trying to reshape and move objects around to fit in the panel, and after all that I never really feel a cartoon is done. I don’t know if I have ever felt any of my cartoons are truly finished, but with each one I reach a point where I feel it’s complete enough and it’s time to move on to creating the next one.

My cartoons tend to have a word play or a twist on a very mundane daily activity, but thrown into a completely different context. They highlight what we as humans do every day without even thinking about it. I enjoy the moment when a character has an epiphany in a situation, for better or for worse. That shock of realizing something has always made me chuckle, in any form of entertainment. Watching a character come to the realization of events unfolding around them is my favorite.

With Zanyee my hope is to always add a few giggles to the world. I feel laughter has become a bit underrated and it is easy to get overwhelmed with the negativity around us. To me, laughter has an energy that it puts off and affects us and those around us in such a positive way. I find it so satisfying when I see one of my ‘toons being shared among people. I used to cut out cartoons from newspapers that reminded me of a friend and send it to them, using humor and laughter as a way to connect with others. When I create, that is what I’m hoping to send out into the world.

Creating cartoons is a boundless medium. There are no rules to your style or voice, my cartoons are a mash up of things that I grew up with. My art style is a combination of Jim Henson’s Muppets and 1980s after-school animated shows, but my style has definitely evolved throughout the years. When starting with cartooning, I think it’s important to give yourself grace, try things out, feel what works, and don’t push your creativity into a place that feels like it does not fit. Make yourself happy with your work before you worry about others’ opinions, and once you are there, it is time to start showing off your creation. It also helps to follow and interact with other artists that you like so you can build relationships and communities.