Guy Kopsombut, who is a writer/illustrator/webcomic artist living in Nashville, TN, has been drawing comics since high school and drew for his college newspaper. For a while he wanted to create a tech company and got a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a master’s in Leadership and Organizational Performance, but life took him in a different direction. Around seven years ago, he was watching the news and everything just felt very depressing and hopeless. “I wanted to do something to remind people that there was still good in the world and to help them smile. I asked myself what I could do on a daily basis to bring joy to the world and I remember drawing comics in school and how it helped them smile. I made a goal then to try to draw a comic each day and just help one person, any one person in the world, smile. I ended up drawing a comic each day for six and half years."

More recently, he has slowed his posting schedule down to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to focus more on publishing. Last year he published his first book, “Everyday Smiles: Finding Joy In Every Moment.” “The book is super unique in that it provides readers with a way to find joy in their lives while also helping them smile with my comics. It’s part 4amShower comic collection and part self reflection journal. It’s been one of my proudest moments having my comics published,” shared Guy. “When I’m not working on my comics or book ideas, I am helping my parents at our Thai restaurant, The Smiling Elephant, in Nashville. In my free time, I love playing computer games with my friends, practicing my tennis swing, and eating yummy things like pie!”

The ideas for the comics come from multiple sources and Guy revealed that “One way is that my readers suggest animals and themes to me. I then brainstorm a comic from their suggestions. The second way is by empathizing. I try to think what others might be feeling and what encouragement they might need to hear. Finally, I try to observe my daily life as much as possible and look within myself. You never know when a comic idea might pop into your mind just by watching what’s happening around you or listening to your own thoughts."

Guy’s creative universe is all about empathy as he tries to help people see the good in themselves and others as much as possible. “A lot of other comics end with a cynical joke, but mine always end in an upbeat note. There’s already so much negativity in the world and I don’t want to add to that. This doesn’t mean that I don’t touch on harder topics. In fact, I do my best to address major events in the world, but provide comfort in some way or another. My comics are always positive and guaranteed to help you smile.”

Guy’s characters are fairly unique as they don’t have names or genders and are all animals. “I wanted to remove any barriers for people to relate with them. What is important to me is the message of the comic and the encouragement it provides. My hope is that by using animals, people can see themselves in any of the characters in the comic.” He admitted that his favorite characters to draw are actually the blue bunny and the snake. The blue bunny has been with him since the start of the comic and has become sort of the main character and the snake has the perfect body shape to go as creative as the artist can go.

I think I would like to help even more people smile with my comics and characters. I would love to partner with charities to create art and raise funds for them with my artwork. I think it would also be amazing to publish even more 4amShower books and make 4amShower into a brand that focuses on positivity and joy. In addition to 4amShower, I’m working towards publishing children’s books and graphic novels.

For new webcomic artists, Guy highlighted that “It can be quite difficult making a living as an artist, so you have to be creative in generating your salary. For me, it’s a balance of publishing, Patreon, merch sales, and helping my parents with our restaurant. Having an intrinsic goal is also important when you’re in the creative field. Knowing that my work can make a difference in someone’s day pushes me to create more.” He notes that surrounding yourself with a support network is very important: “My family has always been supportive with my artistic career and have pushed me to try to reach the stars. My agent, Kathleen Ortiz, is always there to answer my questions and guide me. I would suggest finding friends who are doing what you’re doing and reaching similar dreams. They’ll be able to comfort you during the hard times and cheer you on during the good ones. For me, that’s Susie from 'Cat and Cat Comics' and Beanie from 'What’s Up, Beanie.'”