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QRD #73 - Father's Day 2015
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Cartoonist Dad Interview with Ayal Pinkus
May 2015
Ayal Pinkus
Name: Ayal Pinkus
Comics: Self-published: Selected Short Comics 2014 (& some older ones not worth mentioning)
Websites: www.ayalpinkus.nl

QRD – How old were you when you first realized you wanted to be a cartoonist?

Ayal – I was 38. I started by wanting to learn to draw editorial cartoons, but I soon realized that wasn’t my medium & it evolved into comics, longer-form storytelling.

QRD – What are a few highlights of your cartooning career?

Ayal – I’ve only really started to release things to the outside world recently, so I think -- hope! -- my big highlights are still ahead of me.

QRD – At what age did you decide you wanted to become a father?

Ayal – Forty or so.

QRD – What are some positive & negative impacts your family has had on your career?

Ayal – I don’t really make money making comics or with anything else as I’m a stay-at-home dad now. It is funny how becoming a father has focused my comic creation efforts though. I have less time, but I use it much more efficiently, so I actually get more done now than before I became a dad.

QRD – What are some positive & negative impacts your career has had on your family?

Ayal – My comic creation activities provide a creative outlet for me, so I see it primarily as a positive thing for me, neutral for my family. I’d drop my comic creation activities if I thought they impacted my family negatively. My family comes first.

QRD – Has your daughter effected the comics you make &/or read?

Ayal – A bit, yes. I now look at the art I make & the comics I buy & think, “Do I want my daughter to read that in a few years?” Because she probably will, if it is within her reach.

QRD – Have you had problems with the lack of steady money from an artistic career providing the security you feel necessary in your household?

Ayal – No. I’m a stay-at-home dad, my wife works & we have some savings.

QRD – Given the limitations having a family has on going on the convention circuit, would you have showed more earlier in life if you’d known?

Ayal – I believe you should only show work when it is good enough. Publishers & audiences will only give you one chance, if that. My work isn’t good enough yet to be shown around even now.

QRD – Do you think being a father or a cartoonist has a greater impact on your community?

Ayal – Being a father has the biggest impact on my surroundings I think. My comics are still mostly my own creative outlet.

QRD – Would you rather see your daughter eventually become a cartoonist or parent?

Ayal – I would love to see my daughter become a mother! & I’d like her to become anything she wants. I’ll support any vocation she chooses. It would be wonderful though if I got to collaborate with her on projects.

QRD – Both family & comics seem like things that will take up as much of your time as you’re willing to put in. How do you end up dividing your time?

Ayal – My family takes precedence of course. My daughter & wife are more important to me than my art. Having said that, my wife goes to work & my daughter to day care & I try to go to bed early & get up early. I’m naturally an evening person, but sometimes I manage to get up early & when I do, I can get a lot done when everyone’s still asleep. So I have some time to work on my comics.

QRD – What does your daughter think of your comics?

Ayal – She likes to tear them up. She’s almost two now.

QRD – Do you think you could ever do a comic project with your child?

Ayal – I hope we’ll get to collaborate together! That would be wonderful. But I am waiting to see what direction she wants to take in life, what she wants to do. If she wants to go to ballet, play music, or ride horse back; I’ll support that two hundred percent. But telling stories together with my daughter... I would love that!

QRD – Any words of advice to young people?

Ayal – “Nobody knows anything.” ~ William Goldman