Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (00:14):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Oz Comic Show. Um, I’m here with Shaden, as usual.

Sheydin Dew (00:21):
Hello. And

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (00:21):
We are here to talk to Ethan Harris about his new book, what They Leave Behind, part One, it says On the bottom. Um, but before we go into that, I’m just gonna do a bit of a shout out for a show that we’ve got going on this Friday. It’s the premiere, it’s the first episode of us ever doing it, and I, I can actually put the logo up because I brought it with me. Woohoo. Comics recent reads. So, um, that’ll be, uh, just a small group of people talking about what they’ve recently read. Um, I won’t go into it more than that. You’ll get some, just come and watch it and find out. Um, the other thing that we could probably talk about is Chinwag is back next week. He’s been on a two week holiday, and, uh, they are talking, well, they, Lee is talking to Rie, a gang of EE people. I don’t know exactly who, ’cause there was a lot of people in Rie. So, um, they might fill up the screen, I’m not sure yet. And for those who love to drink and draw, we’ve got Looney Tunes next Friday. So start drawing your drawings and send those, uh, pictures through. Now. Uh, without any further ado, let’s go talk to Ethan.

Sheydin Dew (01:53):
Hello. Hello everyone. Thanks for tuning in. Um, this evening we have got Ethan Harris, the, uh, illustrator and writer of what they leave behind, part one. Um, I was lucky enough to actually grab this on the weekend here in Adelaide, uh, for the Adelaide Comic and Toy Fair that we both attended. Um, and I was super stoked to get my hands on this and have you on the show. Ethan, thank you so much for coming on.

Ethan Harris (02:19):
Thanks for having me on. Thanks for the invite. And you’re one of the first customers and people to have your hands on the copy, so that’s really cool. So

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (02:26):
Jealous.

Sheydin Dew (02:27):
Um, I’m so honoured. Um, I’m super keen to dive into, um, everything, all your thought process behind and how you made what they leave behind. Um, but first, um, for those who probably don’t know you, can you give us a little bit of an introduction about yourself?

Ethan Harris (02:43):
Yeah, sure. Um, so I am an illustrator and comic creator. Um, I’ve made a few short comics in the past and, but this is the, the kind of the, the bigger release, um, for me. I’ve done degrees at university in illustration and, um, a few other creative things here and there. Um, started with film and ended up missing drawing too much, so I had to kind of get back into it. Um, and as you can see behind me, if I can point right, I’m surrounded by art everywhere in my house. <laugh> lots of paintings for my grandfather. So it’s kind of been a, a family thing growing up, so,

Sheydin Dew (03:22):
Okay. Yeah, that’s so interesting. I just wanna point out one thing. So, um, you touched on university and it seems like we’ve got quite similar, uh, university paths, um, one being that I am attending the university that you attended, correct. Uni se, is

Ethan Harris (03:37):
That right? That’s right, yeah. Yep.

Sheydin Dew (03:38):
Yeah. So I’m actually doing a very similar course to you. Um, and, uh, if I may also add, I’m kind of following in your footsteps in, um, the fact that you, uh, um, you have got lots of artwork printed in the student magazine verse, which I was super stoked to find out. Um, and I actually, oh, no, no, no. <laugh>. Um, and, uh, that was super, super awesome to see, uh, and, uh, that if anything influenced me to post my own art. So, um, that was really cool to find out that we had some like common ground, um, about that. And the fact that you also said that you started in film I did too, so I didn’t know that about you though, which is really interesting. Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, so I guess we are talking everything about what they leave behind. Can you give us a bit of an elevator pitch about this little comic creation?

Ethan Harris (04:33):
Yeah. Um, so this is always the hard part, right? <laugh>, I’ve got a nice copy here in front of me as well. Um, so just

Sheydin Dew (04:39):
Do what you did on the end. <laugh>.

Ethan Harris (04:41):
Yeah, <laugh>. Um, so what they leave behind, part one is a sci-fi story, um, which is what I love writing. It’s about young Space Marine called Aila. Um, she’s the main character of the story. She grew up on earth and, uh, escaped the planet when, um, the earth kind of started decaying and, um, you know, started to lose itself. Um, so they escaped, uh, with a small fleet of humans, um, out into space to one of the stars and look for a new home. Um, this is many years later now, a story is set and it’s her as, um, a part of a scout crew finding a planet that they might call home. Um, but they also find some hidden mysteries in the shadows on the planet, which is on the cover. You can see one of those shadows, uh, <laugh>. And I’ll leave it at that ’cause I don’t wanna spoil too much <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (05:39):
Fair enough. Fair, fair enough. And, um, looking at your, your comment here in my hot little hands, um, I am absolutely in love with the colour. Um, you picked some phenomenal colours, uh, that I just Yeah, I were absolutely drawn to as soon as you started announcing it on your Instagram. Um, with that said, could you describe your art slash writing style perhaps in a few words?

Ethan Harris (06:05):
Yeah, I, my art style is certainly more on the cartoony side. Um, I also try and keep it quite loose and not as, as refined as some artists in terms of, I like a bit more expression and so that the readers can see that, you know, it’s my hand doing the work and, and that kind of thing. Um, yeah, so cartoony, but cartoony set in more of a grim written story I would say. So I, I don’t know if that kind of clashes, but,

Sheydin Dew (06:39):
Um, no, well, eventually at all it makes it way more intriguing. Like I feel like, um, uh, contrasting in art styles or writing styles alike. I think that’s always, um, really interesting to see how people, um, fuse them together. So if anything, that’s a credit. Yeah, absolutely. Cool. <laugh>. Yeah. Um, you also pointed to some of the art around you in your room, so I didn’t catch who it was by the one next to you.

Ethan Harris (07:07):
Uh, so that’s my grandfather. It is. He was, uh, a painter. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (07:10):
Fantastic. Um, I also wanted to touch on a little bit, um, what inspires you to create, um, and whether or not that might have been an inspiration for you.

Ethan Harris (07:21):
I think definitely subconsciously it has been kind of forever an inspiration. He passed away when I was quite a young kid, but it’s always kind of, his work has always been around me Yeah. In the house and all of the family’s houses. Um, so it would be definitely be a big inspiration. And I seem to take a bit in his footsteps as well, like you were saying before. I, um, he also used to teach at junior sale, what was then at the Underdale College. And so now I’m, I’m doing a couple casual classes teaching at uni, so it’s at the same uni. It’s pretty cool. Um, I find that really cool. <laugh> awesome.

Sheydin Dew (07:58):
Congratulations. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that’s so amazing. Um, I guess to lead on from that question, um, what initially inspired you to create the, the comic then?

Ethan Harris (08:11):
Uh, it’s a mix of things. I would say. I, I grew up watching Star Wars and Transformers and, you know, heavy sci-fi, um, action stories. And so that’s always kind of been present. And I have written the few short stories, uh, comics that I’ve made before were, um, a few for a uni project and, um, a couple personal, but they’re all very different in writing style. And so I wanted really focus on what I wanted to write, and so I took a lot of time to actually write it and kind of keeping in that same kind of world of sci-fi with some action, um, but also to keep it a bit more in depth, I suppose. So more to the writing than, than just action.

Sheydin Dew (09:00):
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think you’ve done a phenomenal job at, um, creating just that as well. Um, it was just a really fast paced first part of your story. Um, and I just, yeah, I really, really wanna see what happens next in part two. So I’m very keen, I’ll probably be the next, first person at your stool to collect the next

Ethan Harris (09:22):
<laugh> Great <laugh>

Sheydin Dew (09:23):
<laugh>. Um, so having settled that, uh, how, how long have you been drawing for

Ethan Harris (09:30):
Drawing in general? Like

Sheydin Dew (09:31):
Yeah, tell us all, go, go way back. Let’s go way back. <laugh> <laugh>.

Ethan Harris (09:36):
Um, well, as a kid I drew a lot. I drew a lot of sci-fi battles. I drew a lot of monsters fighting spaceships, all kind of like 2D landscape things, really crude. Um, and, you know, they kid drawings, but I kind of fell out of it late into high school and that’s when I started getting interested in more design and film. Um, so that’s leads me into doing the film course. Um, but then I started to miss drawing and, and that kind of creativity. Um, so then I went back and just decided to change degrees, picked back up into drawing, um, was quite bad at it again to begin with, uh, because I hadn’t done it for years and years and it felt, it felt good, but also unnatural at the same time. I did like picking back up an old skill. Um, and then that was, oh, about five or six years ago now. So been drawing more often and seriously since then.

Sheydin Dew (10:39):
Absolutely. And I hope I can ask this, but do you think had you not changed your degree, um, you wouldn’t have created any comics or would you have made comics regardless, do you think?

Ethan Harris (10:51):
Well, I, I read comics as a kid, but I never created them until I was forced to with a uni project for the, um, illustration degree. So I don’t think that I would’ve ever kind of picked it up or read them. I might have read them eventually being just a fan of superheroes and stuff like that, but definitely wouldn’t have have made them. I would, I don’t think. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (11:16):
Oh, well thank God you, you changed degrees because Yeah. Yeah. We wouldn’t have gotten comic creations like this, so thank God I’m definitely thankful. Um, yeah. Good on you. Good on you. Um, I guess having talked about, um, your drawing, um, and coming back to it, I guess, so to speak, um, what would you say are some of your strengths when drawing, creating whatever it may be?

Ethan Harris (11:41):
I actually quite enjoy drawing on location. Okay. So I try and keep a sketchbook with me all the time. It doesn’t always work and you can’t draw everywhere <laugh>, but especially on holidays and things like that, I like to kind of just take a step back and, and draw what I see and, and not what I imagine. So when I’m drawing comics and it’s, it’s a lot of imagining and that can be really hard sometimes. So you need to kind of, I find taking a step away from it and then going and drawing something from reference or drawing something outside, it helps to, to make you feel good again as well about drawing. ’cause it can be a bit of a slump sometimes to get over that. Um, yeah. But I think my, my strength of drawing is definitely more stuff like spaceships over people. People are really hard. <laugh>. Okay.

Sheydin Dew (12:34):
No, no, no. Yeah, that definitely. Yeah. I, I feel like, um, your designs in your spaceships in this comic, they’re really, really interesting. I really like how aerodynamic they look. They’re awesome. Um,

Ethan Harris (12:47):
Yeah, I, I tried to keep it simple, but same with my style, cartoony and simple, but there’s some real elements to it, I suppose.

Sheydin Dew (12:57):
Yeah, definitely. Absolutely. Just like on screen now, that’s shape. I like it. Um, location wise, do you have a favourite location you like to draw on?

Ethan Harris (13:06):
Uh, like in person where I like to draw.

Sheydin Dew (13:09):
Yeah. Like you said that you like going to locations and drawing. Is there ever a location that you revisit?

Ethan Harris (13:16):
Um, I don’t think so. Not regularly? No. No. I, okay. I, I’m working a lot of places all the time between part-time jobs and things like that, so I try and fit an hour drawing here and there. So, you know, I go to the coffee shop in the morning and draw for an hour, that kind of thing. Um, yeah. Keeps me engaged with, with illustration and drawing and, and mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, I, I feel like I have to do that every day almost at this point. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (13:45):
No, it’s kind of like working a muscle. Yeah. Good on you. Some Yeah. Myself, I need to do more of that, so Yeah. I commend you on doing that. It’s not always easy fitting in something.

Ethan Harris (13:54):
It’s very hard.

Sheydin Dew (13:55):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So good on you for doing it. Um, so aside from spaceships, what else is, uh, one of your favourite things to draw?

Ethan Harris (14:05):
Favourite things to draw? That’s a hard question. I, I, I tend to draw, I, I pick really random things to draw when I dunno what to draw. So I often just would scroll through Pinterest or pixels or something like that and just find the really most random thing. My sketchbook is full of tigers to vehicles, to a tree, all sorts of different things. So there’s, there’s not, I don’t think there’s one thing that I’m really drawn to, um, to draw <laugh>. Um, yeah,

Sheydin Dew (14:39):
You kind of like a, um, you like to draw all kinds of things. And I think that’s really, really special to have as well because, um, it’s a really good tool to have the fact that you are, um, somewhat not afraid to draw or, um, throw yourself into unknown territory, so to speak. Um, but speaking of, uh, spaceships, I do believe that we had a comment come in Shane from Ricko, I believe.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (15:04):
Yeah, we did. It just, it totally covers his face, so I didn’t wanna put it up too early. <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (15:09):
Um, Rico says, I know that Ethan is a big sci-fi fan. What area of sci-fi do you get the most enjoyment from? Spaceships, robots, time, travel, to name a few.

Ethan Harris (15:19):
I think that, to answer the question, I can just say all three. ’cause my favourite film is actually in Ella, so that’s all three <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (15:29):
Um, nice. Nice.

Ethan Harris (15:30):
Yeah, I, I don’t think I have a certain one thing that I, I enjoy, but I, I think time travel is very interesting and, and, and especially in New Cellar, when they get into the time travel and different planets work quickly and compared to others and, and it’s actually based on real science. I find that quite interesting. So

Sheydin Dew (15:49):
Yeah, absolutely. Amazing question. Thanks Rico. Um, you also mentioned that, um, you found, uh, people challenging to draw. Um, is there any specific reason as to why? Or is it just something that you’re constantly, um, improving in?

Ethan Harris (16:05):
I think every artist has a battle with how to draw people, uh, <laugh> <laugh>. Um,

Ethan Harris (16:10):
Yeah,

Ethan Harris (16:11):
It’s an ongoing challenge and I, I kind of not necessarily cut a few corners in the comic, but I try to focus on more of the outfits than the people inside the outfits, especially in part one. Um, it was more so just having that presence of people rather than the actual people behind. But in terms of drawing them, I also like my style, try and keep it simple and, and try not to go overboard with anatomy and, and all of that. Um, keeping, you know, on the spectrum of, of really refined to a stick figure, I try and lean more towards the stick figure to, to show a bit more of the representation rather than the real, the real thing.

Sheydin Dew (16:58):
Yeah. And I think also the fact that you touched on, um, like the actual clothing or costume that they’re making, oh, they’re wearing, sorry. Um, is quite ior important because I mean, essentially that shows showcases what kind of character they are, um, in the most important form, which is like a visual sense. So, um, I think that’s really important that you, you touched on that, so, yeah. Um, I guess we also touched on like, some of your inspiration. I thought

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (17:25):
I throw that in there before you started another one.

Sheydin Dew (17:28):
Hi, Ethan

Sheydin Dew (17:29):
Border Alliance.

Ethan Harris (17:33):
Great question. He knows it very well.

Sheydin Dew (17:38):
<laugh>,

Sheydin Dew (17:39):
Uh, we touched on a little bit of your inspirations, um, and you did mention, uh, that you started to read comics during your uni degree. Um, what are some of your favourite reads?

Ethan Harris (17:51):
Uh, I have one specifically that I actually tell everyone, and it’s a bit biassed because of how I found it, but for one of my uni projects, I had to do a story based on sleeping beauty, and I wanted to set it in mediaeval times, um, have that kind of feeling and, and clothing design and, um, all that sort of stuff. So I, I went to some comic shops not having really bought a comic, ever asked around and just flicked through comics looking for things that I thought might be a good style to maybe represent or get some inspiration from. So this is the one that I’ve picked up. Ooh, it is, oh, sorry. Lake of Fire. See it? Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (18:38):
Amazing. That looks, looks really

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (18:39):
Cool.

Ethan Harris (18:42):
It, um, a lot of the clothing and character designs and stuff inside. Oh, my camera’s going mental ’cause of my face <laugh>. Um, sorry about that. <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (18:54):
You’re fine.

Ethan Harris (18:56):
I definitely recommend it. It’s a really fun read and I think it, the actual story itself is quite similar to how I like to write. It’s a mediaeval setting and then aliens invade and the knights have to fight the aliens, so

Ethan Harris (19:10):
That’s

Ethan Harris (19:10):
Pretty cool. It’s a very fun story. That’s

Sheydin Dew (19:12):
A very interesting story. Yeah. So Mediaeval and aliens, how interesting. Yeah, <laugh>. Okay. We’ll have to, I’ll have to give that a su for sure. Um, I guess moving on to some questions, uh, more relating to what they leave behind. Um, how, how long did this project take you

Ethan Harris (19:32):
Long time?

Sheydin Dew (19:33):
<laugh> <laugh>? No,

Ethan Harris (19:37):
I’ve, unfortunately, I’ve kept coming back and forwards to it and, and didn’t really stick with it for, you know, working on it consistently. So a good part of last year I was working on it, um, from writing to sketching and the whole process. Um, and that’s, originally it was going to be just a one shot story as I started writing it and actually getting to draw and about halfway through finalising all the drawings, I was like, this is not working just by itself. It needs to be actually split up a little bit. Um, so that’s kind of the process I went through and there was constant revision and constant times where I would just not touch it for a few weeks and here and there just due to life and working and, and all that sort of stuff. Um, and I think that’s, that’s pretty common with, with comics. It’s, it’s good to kind of step a, uh, take a step away from it as well. I think especially when you’re writing, I find taking a step away is, is very helpful. Yeah. And so, so I would say yeah, around a year for, for this one

Sheydin Dew (20:48):
Around a year. And so what, when, how long ago was it? Um, you said halfway through, you had to kind of change it all up. How far through the year was that?

Ethan Harris (20:59):
Uh, pretty close to the end <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (21:01):
Oh no,

Ethan Harris (21:03):
I set, I set a deadline for myself eventually, um, to be the comic and toy fair on last weekend. So I wanted to get it finished for that. Um, and so when I started getting closer to the end, I realised it needs to be changed slightly, um, for time reasons, but also, like I said, the story is gonna work, I think much better. Um, so I’m glad I made the decision as well.

Sheydin Dew (21:27):
Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like it’s gonna be, um, there’s gonna be a lot more, I, I hope I can say this, um, a lot more room for, um, a lot of the meat of the story in these little parts. I feel like, um, is that perhaps the, the way you want it to be presented, there’d be more detail into these little parts?

Ethan Harris (21:46):
Yeah, a lot of this first part is it’s very quick, like you said, it was, it is a quick read, but it’s,

Sheydin Dew (21:52):
It just grabs you Yeah.

Ethan Harris (21:54):
That grounding for the world and the characters and that, like, what’s to come as well. And I like to leave it on a, a catch for the readers so that they do wanna come back. You did

Sheydin Dew (22:08):
<laugh>?

Ethan Harris (22:08):
Yeah. <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (22:10):
That’s now

Ethan Harris (22:11):
Interesting. Yeah. <laugh>,

Sheydin Dew (22:14):
No, um, no, like I said, yeah, super, super keen for part two. Um, so yeah, no, I think, I think that was a really, uh, responsible decision to make as well. Like, uh, the fact that you are like, right, I need to maybe, um, lengthen it a little bit. Um, and I feel like yeah, if anything that’s just gonna make your, your whole series, uh, even better, I guess, um, if yeah. Just more to look forward to, I guess.

Ethan Harris (22:41):
Yeah. And I find, I think it’s quite common that you have this grand idea in your head of the whole whole, you know, 200 page graphic novel that is in your head, and then you go to write it and do a and you realise that’s not feasible potentially right now, or it’s feasible, but over this period of time or, you know, there’s also those kind of decisions when coming into to making comics.

Sheydin Dew (23:07):
Yeah. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> did, did making that, um, decision also leave up a lot more opportunity for you to fill in the story at all with other things that perhaps might have been left out if

Ethan Harris (23:17):
Not Yeah, the <laugh> the story would’ve been very different. Okay. Um, if I had left it in terms of the ending of not just this part, but the whole thing. Yeah. So it’s, it’s, it’s opened the door for me to be able to, um, put more emphasis on the things that I wanted to from the beginning. Um, oh, so, so more freedom for myself, I suppose.

Sheydin Dew (23:41):
Oh, fantastic. Oh, I love that for you. I love that. That’s awesome. That’s super exciting. Well, um, moving quick question here. Oh, yes. What do we have, have a question? Ah, Christopher Lennon, uh, what are your biggest frustrations when making comic? Oh, with making comics? Christopher, you stole my question, but let’s, let’s launch into it. <laugh>.

Ethan Harris (24:01):
Um, frustrations is an interesting one. ’cause I like, I mean, I love making comics, but there is always something that’s frustrating, right? Um, sometimes it’s the repetitiveness of maybe having to do the same character hundreds of times. Um, or I find sometimes I will create a page, get through the sketches and thumbnails and go, okay, I actually have to split this into two pages, which then adds extra pages or, or vice versa. And, and that can be tricky. So I, I find it’s fun and enjoyable a lot of the time, but there’s little sticking points that that can get you. Um, but you work through it and, and you relish the rest of it.

Sheydin Dew (24:49):
Yeah. As common creators. Yeah. We’ve all been <laugh> when you’ve

Ethan Harris (24:52):
Like, and, and it takes a long time.

Sheydin Dew (24:53):
Yeah. Yeah. And you flush out an idea for a page and then halfway through you’re like, I have to make this two pages. Yep. Been there, done that. Got <inaudible>. Um, that fantastic question. Thanks for, for stealing my question. Um, <laugh> I’ll do another question. And this one’s a bit of a fun question. Sometimes if I throw it, sometimes people don’t really have an answer for this, but I’m gonna put you on the spot, hopefully. Um, do you have any funny quirks or rituals when creating, for example, I always, always listen to music. Um, and we had Sarah Firth on many moons ago, and she likes walking and sketching, dancing. Do you have anything similar?

Ethan Harris (25:34):
Uh, I would say when I’m drawing, I’m quite focused and I might listen to a podcast or music as well, or just nothing at all. Yeah. Um, when I’m writing though, it’s probably a bit of a different story. I, I tend to get up a lot and move. Okay. But in my room, I would just stand up kind of pace around. I probably look angry when I’m doing it. <laugh>, <laugh>, very,

Sheydin Dew (25:56):
Very similar to Sarah’s. Yeah. Sarah does this.

Ethan Harris (25:58):
Yeah. Kind of moving my body helps move my mind a bit at the same time. And Cool. Doing that, I can then get up, get a fresh pair of eyes and like, get a glass of water, walk around the house, come back, sit down, yeah. Still find it hard to write, but kind of I’ll have, oh, okay, I can do this now. Or, yeah. Yeah. So not really a quirk, but more of a, a habit I would suppose, I suppose.

Sheydin Dew (26:19):
Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Sweating. I like that habit. I’m gonna add that it’s a habit. <laugh> <laugh>. Um, and like the podcast, uh, is there any specific podcast that you’d like to listen to whilst great of

Ethan Harris (26:29):
Illustration in comic ones? Um, so there’s Comic Lab, which is, um, oh, I like that one. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, it’s a good one. Um, I wanna see them live one day. It’d be really awesome. Um, yeah, it would be. And then, yeah, three point perspective as well is another one, um, that I listen to that’s more illustration focus. Um, yeah.

Sheydin Dew (26:51):
Fantastic. Oh, okay. Well, I’ll have to get around those ones. That’s definitely, um, especially if you’ve heard them, them too, Shane. And I’m <laugh>, I’m falling behind the eight ball here. Um, I’ll definitely get more onto podcasts. I don’t listen to enough of them, but that one sounds interesting for sure. Um, now, uh, cue the music. Shane, we are moving on to, um, one of the, my favourite questions actually. Um, are you able to put in, um, like a step by step guide of your process of how you created this little uhhuh <affirmative> finding chance?

Ethan Harris (27:23):
Yeah, I can, I can outline how I go about it. So I am really heavy on writing to begin with. I think that’s just how I get my ideas out. I tend not to sketch them out first. Um, I get a bit frustrated trying to sketch something out at first because it’s not coming out how I want it, so I, then I refer to write it first. Yeah. So I just write it. I would write, you know, three pages of nonstop writing just to get it out, leave it, and then come back to it, and then start to break that down into more of like a treatment or an outline. So it’s, you know, the main points that are really important in the backbone of the story. And then I just work my way through it. So transitioning that into like a proper comic script with the panels and, and the descriptions pages.

(28:18)
Um, and then I move on to the thumbnails. Yes. Um, as you see on the screen, I’ve got, they’re from my sketchbook. Um, so they’re not very big, uh, very loose. Um, you know, you look closely, some of the drawings are really, really bad, but that’s the idea, right? You have to get it out there to, to get the point across. And some of the, if you’ve got a copy of my comic already, you’ll see some of the pages are the same and some are very, very different. And so it takes a few steps to get to the final. So I, I’ll, I’ll do that in my sketchbook, uh, the pencil. I’ll go through all of the pages, get it out, and then I’ll scan that in and go onto my iPad. And that’s where the real fun begins is because I take that and start working out the pencils.

(29:11)
And that’s where a lot of changes happen. Um, mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And then it goes through pretty much a traditional workflow of ink in colouring lettering. Um, I try not to work from page one to final page consecutively. I feel like I would, because I, I feel myself getting more comfortable with the drawing as I go through. I try and break it up so to maybe half of one page and then skip and do another panel here or, and that kind of helps with how I’m able to work time-wise as well. I can draw one panel while I’m sitting down having a coffee and then come back to it later and draw another panel on a different page after doing something else. So it’s all very separate and then unified in the end. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (29:59):
Yeah. Nice. Um, and then obviously you go on to printing it and then getting it out to Marcus, um, posting it on social media and getting the word out. Um, out of those processes, is there a favourite step that you have fell in love with?

Ethan Harris (30:17):
Uh, the whole process from, from nothing to to final? You mean? I think everyone kind of loves the opening of the box and you see your print done in your hands. Nice. You know, you, you get the copy. Um, I think that’s probably the most satisfying moment. Um, but I personally, I, like, once I’ve finished the writing and I’ve got a script in front of me, um, that’s as fleshed out as I think it needs to be to start drawing. I think that’s, that’s pretty cool. Yeah. Because that’s kind of come from nothing and you’ve, then you’ve got this whole document that’s ready to go

Sheydin Dew (30:55):
<laugh>. Yeah. Um, and on the flip side of that, is there, um, what’s the most challenging step out of that process that you find?

Ethan Harris (31:05):
I, I find getting through all of the pencils quite challenging because that’s where you have to really think about what you read is gonna see. Yeah. And how they’re gonna see it, how they’re gonna interpret it. I might have written a really cool line in the script, and then I try and draw it and it’s like, that is really bad. <laugh> <laugh>. Like, that’s, that’s really bad. Or, you know, you try and be funny and it doesn’t land, or you try and be scary and it’s like, that’s not scary. It’s a cartoon, you know, <laugh> <laugh>. Um, so find that point quite hard. But then once you kind of get that pose going and you start inking it and colouring and it, it comes to life, well, yeah. Okay. I’ve, I’ve done something cool here or cool enough that I can pass it on and move it to the next panel, you know? Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (31:50):
Yeah. And so you said that your thumbnails are, oh, sorry. Oh, we’ve got a question.

Ethan Harris (31:54):
I interrupted. Whoops.

Sheydin Dew (31:56):
<laugh>, uh, no, you’re fine, you’re fine. Um, keep them coming in as well, if you’ve got any more questions, um, yeah, for sure. Throw them into the comic, uh, comment session. Um, what do you do to help yourself develop and fine tune your skills as an artist? Ethan?

Ethan Harris (32:10):
Uh, lots of artists, books and comics. I have a lot of comics, but I think always reading and kind of digesting other art forms, not just comics and, you know, keeping yourself open to things that you see when you’re going around the place just in life as well, I find is helpful. ’cause you can only put so much out as you kind of take in, I feel. So seeing a lot of movies, TV shows, you know, video games, reading a lot of things helped kind of refine my creativity skills in terms of more like artistic skills. YouTube is your best friend, <laugh>. Yeah. Um, study is great too for meeting people and getting those kind of connections and, and really industry standard kind of practises, but YouTube is, is such a big thing these days that anyone can

Sheydin Dew (33:02):
Yeah,

Ethan Harris (33:03):
Absolutely. Make a comic. Anyone can do whatever they like, which is really cool.

Sheydin Dew (33:07):
Yeah. Yeah. Um, and kind of touching on that, um, uh, was there like anyone other than your books and your TV shows and YouTube that helped you along the way?

Ethan Harris (33:18):
Yeah, uh, definitely family. Um, especially my partner, she’s kept me on track to actually finish this comic, um, which has been really helpful and I appreciate her for that. But also having my family around to kind of bounce ideas off and, and say, what do you think of this? And you know, most of the time it’s, that’s great or, you know, that kind of thing. ’cause their family, but sometimes, you know, they’ll give me a good piece of feedback here or there or, or they might say, oh, that’s actually, you know, I don’t know what you’re trying to say there. It doesn’t make sense. I’m like, okay, after rewrite that, but, you know, <laugh>

Sheydin Dew (33:52):
Yeah. Yeah.

Ethan Harris (33:53):
But bouncing off other people is, is really helpful and, and having those people around you is important.

Sheydin Dew (33:59):
Absolutely. Absolutely. I always found that, um, like you said, um, making sure that everything makes sense as well. Um, it may make sense in your head because you’re looking at it 24 7, but to readers, um, it’s always important to actually get, um, yeah, the reader’s opinion on things just as they, as they come pretty much. Um, another question that goes hand in hand with that, are there any like communities that you’ve found have helped or perhaps might actually help, um, artists emerging at all?

Ethan Harris (34:28):
Yeah, there’s, I mean, COMEX is a good example of one. <laugh>, um, online communities is really quite amazing. There’s, um, there’s squish squash in Adelaide, which is actually, I co-run it as well, but, oh, not just myself, but other people post their work in there all the time and it’s quite a nice space to get feedback from other creators and, um, other people just getting your eyes on it really helps. Yeah. Um, and there’s another, there’s another comic specific one in Adelaide, um, as well. Um, a few Discord communities that are, are the same kind of, um, places you can go to, to share your work and, and be comfortable sharing your work as well and, and sharing those thumbnail sketches and going, here’s my thumbnail sketches and here’s my script. Um, what do you think? And getting some sometimes quite honest feedback and, and I find that quite good though. Um, sometimes you need that feedback, so Absolutely. Yeah. Places like, like squish squash are really helpful for every creator. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (35:35):
And it’s, it’s definitely, I’m actually, um, part of Squish Wash, which I’m super stoked about. Um, and it was, it’s always been really, really accessible, um, being able to get your hands on or be part of those online communities. Um, especially now that, um, the comic community is expanding, um, interstate, um, I mean obviously we’re one of them and we try to connect to as many people, um, as possible. So I think that’s always been something really, really nice. Um, and something recently that’s like expanded or exploded, so yeah. Um, ah, next fair. We are reminded, we are at, to remind me to buy your comic. FYI you buy your wow stuff on me

Ethan Harris (36:19):
At the I know who you’re Christopher.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (36:23):
I thought you let you know

Ethan Harris (36:23):
That one ongoing relationship with with Christopher at these comic and toy fairs is great. <laugh>

Sheydin Dew (36:29):
Amazing. Chris Christopher <laugh>

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (36:32):
Just got a question, I don’t quite understand this, but I’m not an artist, so,

Sheydin Dew (36:37):
Ooh, you can never feel awful drawing too many thumbnails unless you have a deadline. <laugh>. Good

Ethan Harris (36:43):
One.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (36:44):
I was reading that wrong, that’s why I didn’t understand it. <laugh>,

Sheydin Dew (36:48):
Sometimes it just takes someone to like read it out loud. I totally get it. <laugh>. I I do that so many times as well. Um, but yes, very true Ricko. Um, yeah, you can never have too many thumbnails. And thank you, because that’s a fantastic segue to my next question. Um, uh, what, so obviously you’ve done your thumbnails in your sketchbook, correct?

Ethan Harris (37:07):
Yeah. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (37:08):
Um, what other mediums have you used to create your comic creation?

Ethan Harris (37:13):
Uh, so for this one specifically sketchbook with the thumbnails, um, and then just it’s straight onto the iPad in procreate, I just do everything on there. Um, inking, um, colouring lettering, all of it is on procreate. And then once I’ve got those pages drawn up and done lettered stuff like, um, the front cover and kind of the inside more graphic design areas, I’ll, I’ll go and do on my computer, um, in, I use Affinity software, um, and so like a publishing, publishing suite just to get those formatting and the bleeds and all that sort of stuff done for printing, um, the specifics that you have to account for. And that could be a bit gruesome sometimes, um, <laugh>. Um, but yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s, and that’s a good thing as well as well about the iPad is I can take it with me wherever I go. Yeah. Yeah. That’s pretty cool. Which I find very valuable.

Sheydin Dew (38:10):
Absolutely. I’m definitely in the same boat as you. Um, I created my own comic on the iPad and I just found it it’ss just so good to take around with you. There’s a, there’s a no excuses. Nick May, do you use procreate?

Ethan Harris (38:23):
I exclusively use Pro <laugh>. Not exclusively, but you all my work is on there. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (38:30):
Thanks for that question. <inaudible>, um, uh, I guess kind of going, I think we also had, sorry, just before I go on,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (38:37):
We got another question if you wanna throw that up

Sheydin Dew (38:39):
From

Ethan Harris (38:39):
Christopher. That’s great.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (38:41):
Um, it’s his last question. So <laugh>

Sheydin Dew (38:43):
Last question before I have to go. How important is social media promoting your work and yourself as an artist? Christopher, I’m so glad you asked this question because that was going to be part of my next one. So <laugh> <laugh>

Ethan Harris (38:55):
Social media is tricky because you can get caught up in all of the likes and shares and that kind of thing, but I think the important thing that it does for artists is connecting you to people. And that will then you make a relationship with those people, you get to know them, they become fans, they don’t, they become friends. Um, you then meet them in person at things like Comic and Toy Fair, and then that just kind of amps up that connection. So it’s, it’s kind of, and it’s, it’s a nice place to share what you’re doing as an artist and it is helpful to get your work out there, but I don’t think that it’s essential. I, I really like things like the comic and Toy Fair and those events because you get to meet people in person, um, you get to chat with them and chat with your work or just chat, you know, they might have bought some cool figure and you go, that’s really cool, where’d you get that from? <laugh> <laugh>. And then you go and spend lots of money. But that’s, that’s another thing <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (39:59):
Um, and I, yeah, I definitely agree with you there. Um, if anything, uh, I get a lot more out of the face-to-face interactions I get with people rather than just online. Um, it’s definitely nice to have a, a portfolio online that you can show people when you’re not at those kinds of events. But yeah, I completely agree with you that those face-to-face interactions mean the world to us as artists. So

Ethan Harris (40:22):
Yeah, I think yeah, really having, yeah, having some sort of presence is, is valuable, but also I think having a website is just as valuable, um, for things like portfolio and, and the more professional side of, of, um, creating because mm-Hmm, <affirmative> you Yeah. Social media has all algorithms and, and things like that. And, and some people may look at that as more of a, of a social place rather than a professional place. True, very true. Yeah. It can be both. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (40:50):
Yeah, absolutely. Um, was, was launching it on social media kind of part of, um, uh, like the, obviously I I first saw it on, on your Instagram, I believe, um, when you started saying this will be at, um, comic Toy Fair, was that like one of your main, um, reasons, or not reasons, but like ways of how you launched your book using

Ethan Harris (41:16):
Social? Yeah, it, it’s, it’s probably the top percentage of, of how people see it apart from word of mouth talking to people I know. Um, it’s, it’s an easy way to, to give sneak peeks and get people excited about the potential of, of what they might be able to get their hands on and, and hopefully enjoy. Um, so, you know, showing those sneak peeks of, of my process and, and the sketches, um, some cool panels that are interesting but don’t give way too much of the story. Um, and yeah, getting people engaged with it so they can kind of follow along with the processes is quite fun. And, and then getting people to come and, and engage with it in person and say, you know, I’ll be here and this is where you can get it and you can chat to me, and that kind of thing. Um, I find quite valuable. Um, and, and fun. It, it should be fun as well. It shouldn’t be a, a thing that you, you dread or that you feel like, oh, I have to make a post about this, or I have to market it this way, or, yeah.

Sheydin Dew (42:19):
Um,

Ethan Harris (42:19):
Yeah. Yeah. But I, I don’t know how to market just yet. <laugh> just, just getting it out there. It is my goal

Sheydin Dew (42:26):
And that’s all that counts. That’s, that’s absolutely all that counts. And I mean, it honestly works because, um, yeah, it just made me super hyped to get my hands on it, uh, last weekend, so it definitely worked. So cool. Yeah. Um, having said all of this, um, and talking, um, about what they leave behind, are there any, obviously there’s going to be more to be continued from this series. Is there any other projects on the horizon?

Ethan Harris (42:50):
So yes, there’s, I’ve already started writing the second part. Um, it’s in the works and it will be more fleshed out than the first part in terms of, um, the pacing and you’ll probably get a bit more, bit more time with the characters. Um, oh, cool. In terms of other projects, I am doing lots of original works at the moment, illustration works, um, just to refine my skills and, and, and yeah, I’m very illustration focused and that’s what I love doing in my, in my part-time as well. So just sketching and, and watercolour stuff in my sketchbook, um, is, is the cool way to pass the time. Um, I’m doing a few other design jobs here and there, but yeah, the, the focus is, is part two, um, and maybe even the part three <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (43:47):
Interesting. Yeah. Okay. So look, lots to look forward to. Yeah. Um, I didn’t realise that you dabbled in watercolour. How long have you been doing that for?

Ethan Harris (43:55):
Uh, not overly long. I, um, yeah, play around with it every now and then. I’ve got these really basic ones that you can buy at, like Kmart. They’re nice. Oh, everyone’s seen these from primary school, <laugh>. Um, and then I went to Japan recently and got some watercolour brushes, um, with like traditional Japanese colours in them, so that was really fun to get and Oh, cool. Start experimenting with, um, and, and changing the medium can help if you’re drawing on your tablet all the time. I find drawing with a, a pen and paper is, is just a different experience and, and trains different muscles. And that’s then translated back into, into your comic making, which is Yes. Which is always good.

Sheydin Dew (44:40):
Absolutely. Yeah. Mm-Hmm. And I was following, uh, your trip overseas as well, and some of the artwork that you were doing along the way that was phenomenal. Um, thanks. Yeah, I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, so very, very jealous. Um, yeah, that would’ve been

Ethan Harris (44:55):
Awesome. And that, that’s, yeah, that’s part of that kind of intaking of inspiration is, is going places and yeah, I just,

Sheydin Dew (45:00):
Yeah, I, yeah,

Ethan Harris (45:02):
So taking a moment to, to see where you are and to draw where you are is quite profound, I think when you then come back and sit at your desk and start to write or start to draw, it’s yeah, really helpful.

Sheydin Dew (45:15):
Yeah. And different cultures as well. Obviously I’m very inspired by, um, Asian cultures as well, so that would’ve been phenomenal to see and experience and just be in so very jealous. Very jealous. Um, I know that you have got, um, a lot of other works outside of what they leave behind now. This, this question’s always a bit, um, controversial, but, um, could you pick a favourite

Ethan Harris (45:41):
Or Of my own works?

Sheydin Dew (45:43):
Yeah, of your own works.

Ethan Harris (45:45):
Uh, one of them that will always be close to me is one of my first comics that I made. Um, it was actually the second comic I made, um, called cfo. It’s a personal story that’s about an operation that I went through as a teenager. Um, and that’s just a story that I’ve, it was for, it was a part of a competition, but I kind of made this comic with those guidelines, but it became something a bit more to me personally after I’d finished it. Um, and yeah, I think, I think the fact that it’s a personal story, but also something that can be enjoyed by others is I think, quite special. So that’s, that will always be my favourite, I think. Yeah. Um, it’s not the best visually, you know, it’s very, I had to do it very quickly for the timeline, so it’s nothing spectacular, but I think the personality is what makes it, um, interesting. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (46:44):
And something very sentimental, obviously. And I think that just, yeah. Yeah, if anything, it always translates into, um, an artist’s writing when they’re really passionate about a particular story, so. Yeah. Interesting. Um, I know we’ve, we’ve also touched on, um, some of your habits when drawing. Um, and I’m wondering whether or not they could even lead into this question. Um, do you ever struggle with creative block? And if so, how do you overcome it?

Ethan Harris (47:10):
Yeah, I definitely, it’s, it’s quite common more than people would think looking inwards. Um, it, it’s really amazing that we can make something from scratch, but the process to get there is quite daunting, and you hit those certain blocks that do stop you and, and make you take time off or, or things like that. So I think taking that time off when you really hit a roadblock is important. Sometimes you do have to listen to yourself. Um, sometimes you have to push through it if there’s a deadline, unfortunately, and I, a lot of students will hate me for saying that, but you gotta <laugh>. Um, yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s a balance, right? Yeah. Um, more, you know, physically standing up and moving around, I find help, you know, you, if you get stuck on something, I, I, like I said before, I get up and walk around and get my body walking.

(48:10)
If that’s not working, I’ll go for a longer walk. Um, and then even swapping between projects can be helpful, especially if they’re quite different. So if I’m working on this comic and then I go and do a watercolour painting, it’s very different medium, it’s very different content. It kind of gives you a break from that. Um, makes sense. And, you know, don’t be afraid to go and watch a Netflix show, just don’t watch the whole series <laugh> <laugh>, but No, no. It’s very wise. Yes. Everyone has their own way of, of, of dealing with it as well. Um,

Sheydin Dew (48:45):
Absolutely. So

Ethan Harris (48:46):
It’s, yeah.

Sheydin Dew (48:47):
Yeah, and I, I always like asking this question as well because, um, I think it always boasts different ways that people can try, um, if they ever do encounter creative block, um, I think it just expands the options that you have to perhaps overcome it. Um, so yeah, it’s always an interesting one for me, I find,

Ethan Harris (49:08):
Um, yeah, and, and everyone would have their own little unique way of, of getting through it as well.

Sheydin Dew (49:13):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So it’s always interesting to hear everybody’s different opinions and, uh, what works best for them. Uh, I believe we’ve also got another question. Yes, we do. Um, have you written the complete story yet, Ethan?

Ethan Harris (49:28):
I assume that might be for part two. I, I have it all in my head. Um, as a lot of creators would say, um, I have where it will be going, it’s just getting that down and that process started. Um, so yeah, the, the outline of it is in the works at the moment, um, but you have to, to wait and see, and you have to pick up the first coffee to see how it starts as well. <laugh> <laugh>

Sheydin Dew (49:59):
A man of mystery.

Ethan Harris (50:01):
Yes. Yeah,

Sheydin Dew (50:02):
<laugh>. Love it. Love it, love it. Um, shifting gear now, um, obviously we’ve just attended, um, the Adelaide Comic Toy Fair, uh, last weekend. I’m wondering whether or not, uh, are you attending the one later in the year or are you attending any others, um, to come? Uh,

Ethan Harris (50:17):
I’ve, I’ve been attending them regularly since a few years now. So, um, it’s, it’s, yeah, it’s always a, a thing on my mind. It’s definitely a, a great event to, uh, to meet people and get your stuff out there, and it’s always fun, those kinds of events. Um, I don’t have anything else planned in the upcoming months for the moment, um, but I know there is a lot of, especially in Adelaide, there’s a lot of events happening all the time, you know, as ComicCon and all sorts of different, um, yeah, absolutely. Local events. Yeah. Hmm.

Sheydin Dew (50:49):
Fantastic. Yeah, I always, I have seen you, um, yeah, constantly at the Adelaide Comic Toy Fair, so it’s always been nice to see a familiar face there. Um, and again, if anybody is an emerging, uh, comic creator here in Adelaide, I definitely advise that you go along to it. Um, it’s always a really good thing to see new faces, fresh faces out there, um, and just see the event grow. Um, yeah.

Ethan Harris (51:12):
And I, I, I started by going to an event as an attendee and Oh, really talking to people and seeing their work and, and getting an idea of how that kind of thing works from the buyer’s point of view and the viewer’s point of view. It’s, it’s good to see. And then you meet those people and, and then you end up tabling next to them and you become exactly friends and you see them every time. It’s, it’s, it’s really fun. Yeah,

Sheydin Dew (51:36):
Absolutely. And that’s, that’s how they all start. That’s, uh, that’s a, wow. They, a lot of people start actually. Um, and it’s, yeah, if anything, it’s really great character development to see <laugh> when you see them pass by school and then the next year they have their own stool, and I just think that’s <inaudible>. So yeah, I wanna see more of that, that’s for sure. Uh, I guess another question that I really like asking, um, towards the end of this show as we wrap up, um, is what do you wish someone had told you before you started your comic journey?

Ethan Harris (52:09):
I, I think that you have to be a bit patient with yourself when learning comics, particularly it’s, you can get caught up quite easy, I think, in trying to get it perfect. Uh, this can be sent for a lot of different things, but I think you see the stuff like, um, you know, what I showed before, super refined, professional, lots of pages, and you think, oh, I can do that. That’s, and then you get into it and, and you realise what it takes, but also you can use it as that goal in your head. Um, but yeah, start small. Definitely start small. Make a one page comic, a two page comic. Learn how to, to write for those small, short stories. Um, and then just, just keep going. You know, you don’t stop making and, um, enjoying the process of, of learning how to go from that one page comic that is probably gonna be pretty bad, but then you can look back on it in, in six months, in two weeks, in a year’s time and go, wow, that’s cool that I’ve made that and that I’ve made this four page, six page, eight page, you know, and so on.

(53:22)
Um, and you see that? Yeah. Yeah. All process and, and developing. Yeah. And yeah, don’t forget to have fun with it.

Sheydin Dew (53:29):
Yeah. And having that documented as well, to see how far you’ve come as well, I think is really important. Um, I think a lot of people get caught up in what they’re doing now, and they’re like, no, you know, I think a lot of artists, us artists can be really, um, harsh on ourselves and we’re like, oh, you know, we could always do better, but I feel like we don’t always cast an eye back in the rear vision mirror and see how far we’ve come. So I like that you pointed that out. Mm-Hmm. Um, I think that’s really important. Um, I also believe we’ve got Yes. Another question in the comments. Thanks so much for, um, sending them in guys. Uh, I think Tony Barber,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (54:00):
Yes. Put you on the spot here. <laugh>. Who? A

Sheydin Dew (54:05):
Illustrators <laugh>.

Ethan Harris (54:08):
Oh, that’s a, that’s a tricky question. I can’t point anyone out. Um, <laugh> actually, I’ll say that, um, detective Budgie here in Adelaide has been pretty, pretty cool to Nick.

Sheydin Dew (54:22):
He’s

Ethan Harris (54:22):
A man to get to know as a person, but also he is one of the first people I saw at the event when I first went and go, oh, that’s pretty cool. He’s got some massive bird behind him. What’s that about? <laugh> <laugh>. Um, but yeah, getting to know his work and that’s kind of been an inspiration to, to join those local things and get to know the people and, um,

Sheydin Dew (54:45):
Absolutely.

Ethan Harris (54:45):
Yeah. So yeah, detective Ji,

Sheydin Dew (54:47):
I completely understand <laugh> Yeah. Because I was tabled next to him. Um, and obviously I’ve known Nick for a while now. Um, but yeah, his setup’s always, always phenomenal and his comics are just amazing. Yeah. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Um, yeah, sorry to put you on the spot there, but I just had <laugh>. Um, I guess jumping back to the previous question, um, having said all that, what is something that you’ve learned recently, um, that you can share with us

Ethan Harris (55:15):
Recently? Um, I would say

Sheydin Dew (55:19):
Related,

Ethan Harris (55:20):
Sorry, what was that?

Sheydin Dew (55:22):
Oh, comic related or drawing related.

Ethan Harris (55:26):
Uh, mine’s actually printing related <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (55:29):
Oh, okay. Yes. Yeah, yeah,

Ethan Harris (55:31):
Yeah. Yeah. Printing is, is something that’s not really talked about a lot, I think, um, when making comics. And so I, I, I got this printed locally. It was done, um, by a local guy and who really knows what they’re doing, but I started just with pieces of paper going through my own printer, that kind of thing. Always remember your bleeds margins. Super important <laugh>. Yeah. Can’t emphasise that enough. Um, you know, I, I sent this off to the printer and they gave me a call and like, you didn’t put your margins and bleeds on it. And I’m like, oh, <laugh>, even at this stage when I’ve done all this work, I always forget it. So, um, learn to always remember the bleeds. Um, but yeah, I definitely can’t highlight the printer enough. I went and saw MSPS in Adelaide. I think it’s a one man show was really fast turnaround. He upgraded the stock for me was really great customer service. So yeah, it was really good. And you get to meet those local people, which is awesome. Yeah.

Sheydin Dew (56:37):
And it, and it feels f phenomenal. It, it just feels, um, really premium to hold as well. So a real credit to you. So, yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Shout out too. Um, yeah, yeah. Moving, moving right along. Um, obviously there is more to come from this story. What is your ultimate goal for this project?

Ethan Harris (57:03):
Oh, well, I can’t say too much ’cause I don’t wanna give the story away, but <laugh>,

(57:07)
To get the story finalised in however many copies or how many parts it takes to wrap that up is really cool. Um, at the same time, I like to work on different things at the same time, so I will probably start writing a different comic as well. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> <laugh>. Just, that’s just how I work. Like I said, I flick between things a lot. And that might be part why it takes so long to get these out. But, um, the next one will be more fleshed out. But yeah. Other projects at the same time keeps me invested in comics as a whole, so.

Sheydin Dew (57:46):
Absolutely. Well, I’m very keen to hear more about that as it comes to fruition. Yeah. Um, speaking of, uh, I know we touched a little bit on communities, um, you know, on Discord and whatnot. Um, kind of moving on from that, uh, what do you think the Aussie indie comics scene needs more of? What would you like to see more of?

Ethan Harris (58:09):
That’s a hard question. ’cause I think they do a lot of things really well. <laugh>. Yeah. Um, yeah, I,

(58:19)
I think it’s, it’s hard to get people who are outside of comics involved in comics. Yeah. Some people might see it as more of a potentially closed off or a medium that is, is old or, or for kids as well. And a lot of it is for kids, but a lot of the people I know who create are for older audiences and, and things like that. So I, and I think that’s starting to become a bit more present in the form of graphic novels where they have these one-shot stories that are purely focused for adults. And, um, I think capturing the audiences that might not typically pick up a comic is, is, will be quite important for Yeah, yeah. For Australia. Yeah,

Sheydin Dew (59:13):
Absolutely. And I think it’s just something that we’re always constantly improving of getting more people, um, involved in the community. Um, I think that will always be something that can be improved and is continually, um, expanding upon. Um, but on the flip side of that, I know you mentioned that, um, there’s a lot that it’s already doing well. What are those things in your, your opinion?

Ethan Harris (59:36):
I think as a creator, being involved in the community has been very welcoming. You know, I’ve done a few of these live streams now with, um, withs and the comics people, and it’s, I never expected to be invited on. I hadn’t even really made many comics. I’ve made a few in until now and, and I still invited on. Um, so it’s, it’s, yeah, there’s no, no, no barrier really or gatekeeping for, for the community in terms of you could literally have started yesterday and we’d still like to chat to you and, and still like to see what your ideas are. And, um, I think that’s part of, of what the community does really great. Um, not just in Adelaide, but yeah. Like all across Australia.

Sheydin Dew (01:00:26):
Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Absolutely. Um, yeah, I co completely agree with you there. Um, I think obviously we celebrated our third birthday for the comics. Um, <laugh> exciting. And I think that was also a huge common, um, theme throughout, uh, the guests answers that we had on the show is that, um, how welcoming it’s been. Um, and I think that’s just goes to show, um, like it’s expanded so much, and I think that’s why. So yeah, I definitely agree with you. Um,

Ethan Harris (01:00:59):
The welcome and it gives inspiration to, yeah, to those people who have made their two page comic and go, oh, Ethan’s made this this 24 page comic, that’s pretty cool. And then they come up and talk to me. I’m like, yeah, you can make this too. It’s not, I’m not special, you know, it’s, it’s, anyone can kind of come and they can join and, and all of us I say, are pretty open to having those conversations.

Sheydin Dew (01:01:23):
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, yeah, that’s what it boils down to is just being, um, open to talk to and just to encourage others. Um, and I feel like that’s, that’s what’s gonna grow the community essentially. Um, Ethan, thank you so much for all your time on the show. Um, uh, I think that wraps me up for all my questions. Uh, but before we do go, um, and we, uh, spiel some more of, uh, shows that are coming up this week and, uh, some Kickstarters, uh, where can we see more of your artwork in your books? Hmm.

Ethan Harris (01:01:55):
Yeah, so, um, underneath my name here on the live stream is my Instagram, uh, handle. You can follow me there. Um, that’s where I’ll post more of those sneak peek things to, to get people’s interest into the comics. Um, I’ve got my website, which is ethan harris.com au. You can pick yourself up a copy of my comic on there, um, as well as some other,

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:02:21):
I’m going already

Ethan Harris (01:02:22):
<laugh> <laugh> as well as some other prints and, and different things. Um, and if you’re in Adelaide, um, you can also go to the Adelaide Comics Centre in, uh, GA arcade. I have a few copies, um, in there as well.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:02:35):
Um, you have a few copies, do you mean like these

Sheydin Dew (01:02:41):
<laugh> <laugh>?

Ethan Harris (01:02:43):
Yeah, that one right there.

Sheydin Dew (01:02:45):
Very exciting. Very, very exciting. Good on you. Congratulations.

Ethan Harris (01:02:48):
That was a very cool moment to have that, you know, have a comic in a comic shop. Let’s

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:02:52):
Show that cool moment. Cool.

Sheydin Dew (01:02:55):
<laugh>.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:02:56):
Look at that. <laugh>.

Ethan Harris (01:02:59):
Super proud.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:03:00):
That’s awesome. That was a huge,

Sheydin Dew (01:03:02):
Huge moment for you. How exciting. Yeah,

Ethan Harris (01:03:04):
And big thanks to the, the guys who run that, Peter and Michael that saw, they’re, they’re really great. Like again, community, very open to talk to love having new faces in. So that’s just, just part of the community.

Sheydin Dew (01:03:16):
That’s it. And isn’t your slogan si Unity in community. Community in Unity. Unity in

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:03:21):
Community. Community in Unity. Community is unity. That’s it. There’s all sorts of versions. All sorts of versions. Okay. Depends who you ask. Fantastic. Well, I just wanna say, um, if it’s been thrown to me at all, is it been thrown to me please? It is. Okay, cool. I just wanna say G Day to Will today. You’re a bit late Will but <laugh>, um, I wanted to show, uh, Richardo’s, uh, thank you pretty much to, um,

Sheydin Dew (01:03:46):
Amazing, amazing,

Ethan Harris (01:03:48):
Oh that’s that’s great. Yeah. That’s awesome.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:03:53):
And he ended it with a cheers, <laugh>.

Ethan Harris (01:03:55):
Thanks <inaudible>. That’s very cool. I’m glad you were. Yeah.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:03:59):
Um, that’s actually Travis, if you know Travis at all, he goes by with on here. Yeah. Cool. Um,

Sheydin Dew (01:04:06):
Was there anything to wrap up with Shane?

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:04:10):
Yeah, yeah, I was just seeing if there’s any comments I wanted to bring up, but I think that’s everything. Okay. So, um, I’ve already talked about the, uh, show at the beginning, but I’ll talk about it again by going back to the right page. Where the hell is it? Oh, there, it’s, this show is premiering on Friday,

Sheydin Dew (01:04:29):
So exciting at 8:00 PM

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:04:30):
Eastern Standard Time.

Sheydin Dew (01:04:33):
Be there or be Square.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:04:35):
Yes. It’ll be me and Ed. So if you enjoyed us on, um, let’s make a comic book, then you’ll love this as well. Um,

Sheydin Dew (01:04:44):
Uh, any Kickstarts tour to mention at

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:04:47):
All? Kickstarters?

Sheydin Dew (01:04:49):
Yes. Sorry if I’m jumping in. Yes, okay.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:04:52):
Um, I’m just bringing the banners up so people can actually see the links to them. We have so many links, this is to God among Men. Um, it’s in the last five days. Um, so you want to get in there and get this as an awesome comic. Very different. Um, I dunno their catchphrase very well, so I’m not gonna try. Um, but it is a true crime story. So it’s a true story. The names have been, um, changed to, uh, hide the innocent and the guilty I guess you could say. And um, and the other one we’ve got is Cell Lands is coming up very soon. It’s in pre-launch stage, so cell lands.com X studio, and that’ll take you to that Kickstarter where you can click that notify button and um, yeah, it’ll give, give you an email when it launches. Um, and that is, it’s, and I, it’s uh, issue two, but the thing with Cell Lands is they’re all standalone stories. They’re actually all occurring at the same time. So issue one is occurring when issue two is and so forth. And you can read them in any order you want except the last one that brings ’em all together. Ooh. Yeah. So it, they’re all standalone stories, so yeah,

(01:06:09)
There you go. So that’s, that’s pretty cool that he’s done that.

Sheydin Dew (01:06:12):
Fantastic. And did I, I feel like I um, uh, cut you off of the shows. My apologies. What other shows do we have <laugh>?

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:06:19):
That’s cool. That’s cool. It’s good to get in there for those links. Yeah, we’ve got our Chin wag, uh, next Tuesday that’s back and that is with the Ry gang or the Ry crew or whatever they call themselves. Um, and then the following, not the f Yeah, the Friday after that is drink and draw for its, uh, Fortnite on, um, it is doing Looney Tunes as the, um, see if I can find, I dunno if I’ve got the link here in the, and I won’t type it out and take a time. Oh, here it is. It is in there after all. So if you’ve already drawn the art or if you’re drawing it very soon, just go to Comex cx slash Art and there is a submit form where you can give me all the information that I need to be able to share it later. And also, um, it checks at the file sizes, something that will fit into yard. ’cause we’ve had a problem where people, um, give us really big art in emails that won’t go onto the Streamy yard. Um, so yeah. Fantastic. So that’s probably everything to do with those.

Sheydin Dew (01:07:21):
Um, we’ve got

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:07:22):
Just amazing, Ethan.

Sheydin Dew (01:07:24):
Oh, as always, as always. Um, thank you. I guess, uh, the last final note, um, I do believe here in Adelaide there is a, um, an event this weekend, which is the West Torrance Comic Expo, which will be on the 27th of April, is a free entry and it’s at the Hammer Library, I believe. So if you are in Adelaide, um, do be sure to go check that out. I think it’ll be a blast. But other than that, that’s all from me. Anything else?

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:07:53):
I’m all good. What about you, Ethan? Oh,

Ethan Harris (01:07:55):
Uh, well big thanks to both of you for having me on <laugh>.

Sheydin Dew (01:07:59):
Thanks. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for being time. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Ethan Harris (01:08:05):
Thank you. Enjoy.

Sheydin Dew (01:08:07):
Absolutely. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much. And thank you to everyone who’s tuned in. Otherwise, we’ll see you in a fortnight.

Shane ‘Sizzle’ Syddall (01:08:14):
See you a fortnight, Olie. Cheers. Thanks, Ethan.

Voice Over (01:08:18):
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