Commanding the helm of one of the most popular comic sites on the Internet today, Barry Smith has made a lasting name for himself over the last four years by creating Angst Technology, a daily web comic about a slightly off-the-wall computer gaming company.
Barry now resides in Northern California with his wife Cathy, patiently saving his pennies with the dream of eventually opening his very own Celebrity Organ Ear Wax Museum.
That's right - you heard us...
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Barry's latest comics and artwork can be found exclusively at his website:
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And for more about the cartooning community...
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Just about anyone can dream, but it takes a truly dedicated and enthusiastic individual to actually seek out and strive to live his or her dreams. Like many artists, Barry Smith has loved drawing and doodling for as long as he can remember and after years upon years of schooling, various jobs in and out of the industry, and enough to make even the meekest art fanatic run screaming from his drawing board, he now finds exactly what he's always dreamed about online. Having produced his signature comic strips Angst Technology & Weak-End Warriors for the past four and three years (respectively) without any signs of slowing down in the near future, it's pretty much a given that even during such successful times for someone who still considers himself a part-time cartoonist, this is only the beginning of what we have to expect from the think-tank of Barry Smith...
Scott Sevener, Just Laugh's Editor-in-Chief, managed to slip the elusive cartoonist a few questions, which he was kind enough to answer in his "free time". Enjoy!
How did you first get interested in cartooning?
I’ve been into drawing and doodling since I was but a wee lad. I used to have a shrine to Peanuts (the comic strip) on my bedroom door. Oddly enough I never really considered "stripping" (doing a strip cartoon) until around the time I started Angst Technology in 2000. I was heading towards a career in art, but was more animation focused.
Which comic artists, print or online, do you admire the most?
Currently I am enjoying the style of the Rose is Rose strips. A bit too saccharine for my tastes, but some great four panel work there. And Keith Knight’s K Chronicles for his slashing wit and funny true stories. Online I am always seeking out new strips and Wapsi Square continually blows me away with it’s simple, but VERY expressive style. I also enjoy the biting wit of Penny Arcade and enjoy seeing Gabe flex his artistic muscle every now and then. I love to see what Checkerboard Nightmare is up to since Kris can always be counted on to just go off in some wild direction and somehow make it work consistently.
What do you enjoy the most about both drawing Angst Technology and Weak-End Warriors, and running InkTank.com in general?
I would have to say the readers. It’s a great way for me to flex my creative muscle, but knowing that there are people out there who stop by daily to see what the characters are up to really puts the icing on the cake. To know that people identify with the characters, and that they email and interact with me is a real thrill.
If you had to choose a favorite, which of your creations would it be?
That would be Angst Technology. It’s my first born and is constantly a source of fun. Sometimes it gets slow and the ideas don’t flow as easily, but that’s part of the challenge. It’s almost a constant exercise in improvisation where I just take the characters and say "Let’s go camping" or "What if one of you was evil." Then I just go with that and let the characters tell me what to say.
What advice would you give to anyone interested in starting a web comic?
Be consistent and stick to a schedule. The biggest hurdle facing most new web comics is that initial burst of enthusiasm. They want to do a daily strip in full color and get merchandise up there right off the bat, but after a while they get behind and it gets harder and harder to get caught up. Too many sites have "sorry for the delay" postings and not enough of the funny.
Figure out a schedule you can keep, whether it be five times a week or once a month, and stick with it. Even better, aim a bit lower and see how the work load is. Readers are much happier to have an artist go from three times a week to five times a week. They tend to be more put off by going from daily to just once a week.
And be consistent in the quality of your work and always strive for improvement. Don’t fall back on "templates" and stale punchlines. An audience is much more forgiving of poor artwork than they are of poor wrting.
Tell us a little about Rocketbox...
Rocketbox is just an idea that a few of us online comic artists had. We are always looking to learn more about how people do what they do and as the web comic medium matures (slowly), we realized that there was a growing wealth of information that could be shared amongst the community. Instead of taking a "Let us tell you how it’s done..." approach, we opted for a "Here’s what we’ve done so far. What do you do?" slant. It’s more of a community where, while hosted by some web comic guys, everyone has a say. Lots of good ideas and solutions and feedback is tossed back and forth in the message boards. We post some news bits, post folks to some good resources, and try to write articles about the right and wrong things we’ve done so far in the creation of our strips. Teaching my example as it were. But the nice thing is, no one is there to say "No, no, no! Do it THIS way!" but to share and learn from each other.
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