Creating Comics!

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

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Creative Process

My cartoon Em was created as an autobiographical side project,

depicting life as a young (semi-) professional in a shared London

house. It was picked up by the London newspaper thelondonpa-

per in October 2006 and has been featured on a daily basis since

then. In producing Em, I have found a niche within my profession

that without any doubt is the most rewarding, enjoyable experi-

ence of my career to date. It is my absolute dream project.

I have always kept an autobiographical cartoon, so to be

able to produce one on a full-time basis is fantastic. I enjoy

the freedom of it and the ability to gain ideas and inspiration

directly from the people around me. The style I use for the strip is

less formal than in my other commercial work, with both the line

M

aria Smedstad moved to England from

Sweden in 1994, and ended up studying

art as a result of her utter bewilderment

at the English educational system. She then fell in love

with the Cornish seaside and continued her studies at

University College Falmouth, graduating in 2001 with a

degree in illustration.

Having taken her tutor’s parting words of “You didn’t

receive your grade because of your artistic talent, but

because of your weird concepts” and “Not bad for

someone as cack-handed as you” as encouragement,

she moved to Kent, where she started working as a

freelance illustrator.

In 2003 Smedsted moved to London and into a rented

house on the wrong side of the river with three friends

and her dog. Since then, she has worked with a wide

variety of clients, producing illustrations for magazines,

newspapers, book covers, and greeting cards.

Highlights include illustrating Jo “Supernanny” Frost’s

Confident Baby Care, writing and illustrating You’re the

Best Sister Ever for Andrews McMeel, and her ongoing

work with a number of BBC publications.

Maria Smedstad

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Creating Comics

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

#175 P DTP:204 Page:136

(RAY)

120-176_19413.indd 136 5/26/10 8:56:42 AM

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

#175 P DTP:204 Page:137

(RAY)

120-176_19413.indd 137 5/26/10 8:59:42 AM

(Text)

Creative Process

My cartoon Em was created as an autobiographical side project,

depicting life as a young (semi-) professional in a shared London

house. It was picked up by the London newspaper thelondonpa-

per in October 2006 and has been featured on a daily basis since

then. In producing Em, I have found a niche within my profession

that without any doubt is the most rewarding, enjoyable experi-

ence of my career to date. It is my absolute dream project.

I have always kept an autobiographical cartoon, so to be

able to produce one on a full-time basis is fantastic. I enjoy

the freedom of it and the ability to gain ideas and inspiration

directly from the people around me. The style I use for the strip is

less formal than in my other commercial work, with both the line

work and the coloring being looser and fresher. The strips are

hand drawn, then colored digitally and sent off in weekly batches

for the following week’s papers.

The topics I cover in the strip center around my ever-drinking,

man-hunting housemates, my cynical scientist boyfriend, my half-

tailed rescue dog, and a horde of other truth-speaking acquain-

tances and our efforts at getting on with life in the 2000s.

Title: Em

Client: thelondonpaper, 2006

Media: Pen on paper, Photoshop

Maria Smedstad

137

Maria Smedstad

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

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