Tyson Cole is the humorous cartoonist of “The Deep End”. Tyson has been
cartooning all of his life but in 2011 he became serious about his craft. In college he switched from being a biology major to graphic design. Soon he was contacted by Bill Kellogg and is now featured in “Funnies Extra”. And I just summed that up in a whirlwind…but you get the idea, Tyson is a cartooning machine. This week it is with great pleasure to feature Tyson Cole and his fantastic comic “The Deep End” at “Don’t Pick the Flowers”.
David: Hey Tyson, thank you so much for featuring your comic “The Deep End”. When did you become interested in becoming a cartoonist?
Tyson: Thanks for having me Dave! I love reading the interviews on your blog. I’ve been a fan of cartooning for my whole life. I remember reading the comics page in the newspaper just about every day and being in awe of the variety of art styles and the way these guys could consistently come up with funny ideas. It always seemed to be an impossibly difficult task that could only be accomplished by a few rare geniuses. That turned out to be absolutely true, but with the internet, I figured out that I could give it a shot anyway and not even worry about syndication or deadlines or anything. I could do it just for the love of the art and improve at my own pace. How I actually started though was in January 2011, I had just gotten married and I showed my wife some doodles I had done at work, and she convinced me to take them to the editor of the school newspaper. He liked them, so they started running my cartoon three times a week. I’ve loved it so much that I decided to change my major from biology (which I had already taken three years of) to graphic design. The cartooning world is extremely addictive, and I’ve been sucked in and loved every minute of it.
David: How do you go about coming up with the ideas for your comic, do you have a routine?
Tyson: Like most cartoonists, I don’t really know where my ideas come from. You just
have to train your brain into noticing funny things about everything and get into the habit of letting your mind wander and look for funny possibilities in various situations. Finding connections between things is key. I like to read and watch documentaries and tv, etc. I used to just do cartoons as the ideas would naturally come, which turned out to be about three or four times a week. Recently I’ve been trying to keep a more consistent schedule of four a week (M-W-F-Sat) and it’s been good. I like to keep myself challenged, but not frantic. I also like to participate in a weekly competition held by the Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain (even though I’m not British) where everyone comes up with their own cartoon for a set caption. It’s great practice and a lot of fun.
David: What are the tools you use to create your comic?
Tyson: I like to sketch them out on normal computer paper, then ink them with Pigma Micron pens and scan them in to Photoshop. Then I darken the lines and color them, etc. Pretty simple process.
David: What are the cartoonists you consider to be your greatest influence and where do most of your ideas come from?
Tyson: I grew up reading a lot of Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes (of course). In High School I loved Brevity and F Minus. I’ve always preferred the beauty and simplicity of single panel comics. Now, my list of heroes is a lot longer. To name a few, I’d say Dave Blazek, Mark Parisi, Sergio Aragones, Dave Coverly, Mark Tatulli, the McCoy bros, Brian Crane, Jim Unger, Chad Carpenter, etc etc etc. I think some of the guys out there that consistently give me the biggest laughs are Dave Blazek, Tony Carrillo, and Tom Gammill. Also, I’m a big fan of Jim Hunt who’s been one of my biggest supporters.
David: What is the ultimate goal with your comic?
Tyson: The goal has always been to have an enjoyable hobby where I get to be creative and make people happy. Now that that’s going well, I’d like to be able to make a living from it someday, or at least get a good supplemental income as a freelancer or something. I’m lucky enough to be a part of the humor publication Funnies Extra, which I think is a fabulous idea that’s going to take off and make millions. And of course, if I ever got an offer from a syndicate, I don’t think I’d turn it down.
David: Thank you Tyson for sharing a little about your life and your wonderful comic “The Deep End”. I wish you continued success and look forward to all you have in store for the rest of us.
Check out more of Tyson and his fantastic comic at the links below, you won’t regret it!
The Deep End: thedeepend-comic.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/deependcomic
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/thedeependcomic
