Mesut Kaya is an artist who creates funny comics featuring a bald guy with a big mustache and awkward life situations. According to Mesut, the main character of the illustrations is very close to his heart.
Through the short bald-headed character, the artist manages to channel all his interests and people seem to be enjoying that a lot. Mesut has more than 11k followers on the social media site.
We got in touch with the artist to learn more about him. Read below for the exclusive interview.
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Mesut was a big fan of cartoons and comics when he was a kid. “I would watch every cartoon show I could get my eyes on and read all the comics they had at the public library. When I figured out that most shows and games I loved came from Japan, my focus shifted more towards anime and manga.”
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“I’m not a big fan of giant robots and action. Like every kid my age, I loved Dragon Ball, but more for the gags than the fights. I was fascinated that Akira Toriyama was not only the artist and the author but also that he managed to place gags in between the action. That’s when I wanted to become a mangaka who writes and draws gag mangas. I didn’t pursue that dream. Fast forward to today: I’m a digital designer, who draws little sketches here and there.”
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The artist is a motion designer and is constantly in front of a screen. “Maybe that’s why my art is all digital. Sometimes I scribble on paper, but I don’t have a beautiful sketchbook. I always wanted to tell stories, whether it was via books (I wanted to become an author), music (I play guitar), games (as an indie game dev), or comics.”
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The artist did not like long webcomics. He likes small comics. “They are like a distillation of the gag mangas that I loved.”
Mesut said that he thinks about the illustrations all the time. “I bounce around ideas in my head and avoid going to obvious places. Some are inspired by real-life events, but most are a result of me connecting dots. My wife is also very involved in my process. I show her drafts and tell her what I want to do and where I want to go. She also reminds me, that I shouldn’t overcomplicate certain ideas.”
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“I like to tell stories. The challenge for me is to tell them in four panels. It’s an arbitrary rule, like a Haiku, but the limitation is what makes it fun. I also love the process. I take my time, rewrite the story, and test several ways to tell it. It’s meditative and lots of fun. I only post once a week, which gives me the time to reflect on my work and the stories I want to tell. Sometimes I ‘waste’ a post for a stupid gag nobody gets, and sometimes it’s quite wholesome. My comics would definitely change if I posted every day.”
If you don’t want to miss out on the adventures, check out Mesut’s account.
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