Steenz visited UR last week to discuss her story of becoming a cartoonist. Steenz kept explaining how she ended up taking over the “heart of the city” and why she enjoys it so much.
Steenz stressed that she doesn’t own the comic but is only working for the company. Steenz’s position seems to be quite secure, as the publishers are very happy with the work. A lot of the presentation was devoted to her previous life and her quickly growing as a cartoonist. Steenz dropped out of college to pursue a passion for art, where she worked in various positions in the comics world. Starting off in sales and distribution, then turned into a famous cartoonist.
One thing I learned from Steenz is that becoming a cartoonist is quite a lot of work. Having to draw comic strips daily and thinking of new stories to tell the audience is not an easy job. Yet it’s also a job with your own schedule because you can work ahead by making multiple strips a day and taking the rest off.
Steenz was able to tell us the ins and outs of being a cartoonist, which will help us with our understanding of comics and cartoonists’ approach to certain things. Talking to an expert is always inspiring and can show many upsides to certain jobs. The call made me realize that most of what Steenz puts in her comics is what happens to her on a day-to-day basis, and that’s how cartoonist think of new stories to tell in their comics. Yet, on the other hand, something that Steenz might like, her publisher won’t, and she will have to change the story so it’s not just her work at the end. Especially with all the modifications the comic has to go through, like editing and even coloring, the comic doesn’t necessarily feel like the cartoonist’s work anymore.