The Xcentrikz - Interactive Comic

Interview with the uniquely talented Simon Harchun, of The Artiste Manquee!

October 27, 2009

(Click on images in this interview to visit the site...)

Here's a wonderful interview on a wonderful comic, the Artiste Manquee. It's about a young gal, Janet and her adventures in art and science. If you haven't heard of it already, check it out and read the interview! Simon's been doing the comic since 2008 but there's already 80+ amazing pages to check out. Have fun reading it, all you non-conformists out there!!

The Xcentrikz Team: Well hello Simon! Thank you for talking with me today, about your wonderful work. First off, please share a little insight, on what (does french accent) ZEE The Artiste Manquée ees all about, oui?

Simon: Hi Anna, you’re very welcome! The Artiste Manquée is all about the misadventures of a young lady named Janet, who by a fluke ends up in art school when she’s clearly better suited to the sciences. I can tell you’re intrigued by the title, as most people are, so I’ll explain it: There’s an expression that comes from French, "artist manqué" (or anything “manqué” actually), which means somebody who has potential, but is unable to realize their ambitions for whatever reason. So the title of my comic suggests somebody who could be an artist, but who can never quite succeed. That should give you a pretty good idea of who Janet is.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Great explanation there. So how did your comic FIRST come about… What inspired you?

Simon: Actually, it was kind of out of the blue. Even though I myself am an art student, I wasn’t a big comic fan in the past, so I never planned to be seriously publishing cartoons on the Web. Then I was doodling one day and just happened to draw a dorky female cartoon character, and I had a thought that it would be pretty funny if someone like her tried be an art student like me. I realized that not only was that idea hilarious in itself, but making it into a story could be a great way for me to poke fun at some of the ridiculous aspects of art school. Amusingly, I remember that the other drawing I made that day was of an evil toilet coming to life and attacking somebody. Just think about how close that came to being my inspiration for a comic strip!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Whoahhh close call there. *laughs* What was your career and educational background, before the comic? How do you think this influences The Artiste Manquée?

Simon: Well as I said, I was a fine arts student when I started the comic, and that’s obviously a huge part of how I came up with the story and most of my jokes. Anyone who’s studied in a university fine arts faculty knows that jokes about artists literally write themselves. It’s a lot more about pretention than substance in that scene, and when you hang around with art students the truth really does get stranger than fiction... So while The Artiste Manquée might seem like a cute little fish-out-of-water story on one hand, it also has a very strong satirical edge, and that’s undoubtedly inspired by my own experience.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Fun... What was it like getting the word out to people about your comic, when you were just starting out? What's it like now? Any difference?

Simon: Well I started out on a free webcomic host, which was great at the time because it gave me easy exposure within that site’s user community. So I gained my first few fans just from people stumbling on my comic, and from a handful of friends and family whose inboxes I spammed with mail telling them to read it. A few months later I started advertising, and quickly found out that it really is useful, even necessary to really get noticed. Now I have people with whom I’ve done link exchanges, my comic has been mentioned in more places, and I’m part of the very awesome Spiderforest.com comic collective, so it’s definitely easier to get people to come visit.

THE XCENTRIKZ: That's nice! What is your creative brainstorming process usually like?

Simon: I can tell you that it’s not very well organized. I tend to come up with ideas for future comics and story arcs when I need to, and if I’m little behind I occasionally have to think up and draw something a day or two before the update! There’s a lot of improvisation in this comic, in that I usually tell the story as I go rather than having it planned out in advance. I didn’t know how a lot of my story arcs were going to end when I started them, for example. I’m hope I don’t sound like I’m lazy or I don’t take this stuff seriously, because my intentions are good, but life gets in the way and that’s just the way it is. The main thing I aim for is for sloppiness not to show in my writing.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What’s your favorite part about updating The Artiste Manquée? What do you do to motivate and inspire yourself?

Simon: I’m someone who’s addicted to feedback, and the best part about updating my comic is seeing what kind of comments people leave, so after a strip goes up I wait excitedly to see if people say anything. Sometimes they don’t, and I feel a bit sad. It’s interesting for me to observe how different strips affect people’s responsiveness. Since the latest comic is always the main thing on my front page, I also like to see how it affects first-time visitors (i.e. if a lot of them don’t stick around, I think maybe I wasn’t funny enough this week). I’m also inspired by the thought that a lot more people read and enjoy my work than it often seems... but most of them are pretty quiet.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Do you usually have a schedule for maintaining all parts of the comic? Like doing updates, brainstorming, answering emails, looking at fan art, promotional work …. How do you prioritize everything?

Simon: I probably should have a schedule, shouldn’t I? But I can’t say that I do... I more or less just deal with each task as it comes up, whenever I have a bit of free time. If I get an email, I answer it ASAP, and as for drawing and brainstorming, as long as I can fit it in once a week, it’s all good.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Wonderful! So how did you come up with the main cast? Are any of the characters inspired by real people? Are any of the characters somewhat like you?

Simon: Characters are always the fun part for me, and there’s definitely inspiration from real life in the cast of The Artiste Manquée. Janet wasn’t meant to resemble anyone in particular in the beginning, but after a short time I realized that she really is a lot like me, in more ways than I ever intended. Her school situation is an exaggerated parody of my own, and her attitude towards the annoyances and absurdities around her is exactly what mine would be. The other characters all compliment Janet in some way; Tabby, an artsy hippie, serves as her character foil, and Evan is the closest thing to an antagonist in the story.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Do any of the characters have annoying traits to you, like you “love to hate” them? Also, do you have a favorite character you’ve created?

Simon: I think everyone loves to hate Evan, Janet’s little brother. He’s incredibly annoying, but not in the way most kids are… He’s really smart for his age and always knows exactly what to say to really get under Janet’s skin or make a bad situation worse for his own amusement. He’s also very blunt and always speaks the truth, even if it hurts. Even though he’s probably the worst character, you still have to admire the kid, maybe even love him. As for my favorite character, I can only give the obvious answer and say it’s Janet, because everything that happens in the story is really all about her, and it’s through her that my own experiences are conveyed.

THE XCENTRIKZ: You have a nice following of viewers! How do you think The Artiste Manquée became as popular as it is today?

Simon: I think it’s just the usual stuff, like patience and commitment. If you put something out and keep it going for a couple of years, and do even a minimal amount of promotion, you’ll get a following. Personally I like to think that I have a “cult following,” meaning that while I can’t say I have a huge fan base, I know that those who like what I do like it a lot, and that’s pretty satisfying.

THE XCENTRIKZ: It's really unique and fun, so that's no surprise. Good for you! What strips or story arcs have gotten the most fan response?

Simon: That would probably have to be the story arc in which Janet gets a makeover. Or maybe it’s a tie between that and the one where she goes on a date with a guy who’s an even bigger dork than she is. People seem to get excited when I have her do things that seem a little contrary to her usual personality (usually by coercion from a well-meaning friend), so I like to pull little surprises like that once in a while.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Doing comics can be really fulfilling. Although especially since many web-comics are for free or non-profit, it can be challenging for some creators to reach all their goals. Like paying the bills? What are the pros and cons for you in this regard?

Simon: Speaking just for myself, I think my biggest restriction is time. I’ve done a good job at keeping my comic very low-budget while looking exactly how I want it to, so the only thing I really wish I could do differently is to have more output, and the only obstacle to that is a busy schedule. I’m pretty happy with how the system works though, because even though I’m not making any money, many people are still enjoying what I do, and that makes it worthwhile.

THE XCENTRIKZ: How about opinions on the “webcomic industry!” What future do you think it has?

Simon: I certainly hope it has a future, because I’d really like to keep making webcomics! Like most things on the Internet, I’m sure it will keep growing, even though it’s kind of a niche at the moment. I find it a little amusing when people call webcomics an “industry,” since as you said most of them don’t make any money… Or maybe it just seems weird to think of myself as part of an industry, since I don’t really feel like I am. But I guess really we all are.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Yeah... What other entertainers and web-comic creators do you admire? Do they influence your work?

Simon: I know this will sound strange, but while I know my work must be influenced by somebody, I’m not totally sure myself who it is... I think I may be inspired by other people at a more subconscious level. Even though I never intended to make my comic similar or reminiscent of anything else, I’ve had many people draw comparisons to things I never would have expected. Some have said that my art reminds them of Charles Shultz, or Nickelodeon cartoons, or other comics, etc. I find it really interesting when people tell me that, because maybe those things really are an influence and I just don’t know it. My fans might actually know better than I do what influences me!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Makes sense. How do you feel about the art style and writing of your comic? Anything you’d ideally improve?
Simon: Ideally I would improve a few things… I often think that planning out the comic’s entire over-arching story a little more instead of just winging it might have been a good thing to do at the beginning (but I think I was just too excited to get started once I had the basic idea!). When it comes to art, I’m the kind of person who’s never totally satisfied, so I’ll always say that I can improve a lot. But at least I can say with confidence that the art in my comic improves the longer I draw it, which is logical I suppose.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Any other intriguing topics, to share with everybody today?

Simon: I think the questions you’ve already asked touch on pretty much every subject I could possibly want to address related to The Artiste Manquée, so I’m fairly sure that every intriguing topic has been covered. So my answer is no, but thank you, and great questions by the way!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Thank you, you're welcome. How about the new developments in The Artiste Manquée? What is happening next?
Simon: Well as of this writing, Janet has recently moved into Tabby’s apartment, and the two of them haven’t quite gotten accustomed to being roommates. This is actually another plot point that’s based on my own life, because I also moved in with some classmates in my second year. It’s not entirely the same, mind you; my experience was actually pretty cool, whereas Janet... well, if you’ve read my comic you can probably guess that it won’t be smooth for her, but it will be funny.

THE XCENTRIKZ: I bet it WILL be funny! This was a lot of fun to interview you, and I hope your fans enjoy it too. Keep up the wonderful job, and thank you again, Simon. Please visit this great comic, gang!

Simon: The pleasure’s all mine. Thanks for having me here today!

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