“ADHDinos”: 30 Times This Artist Perfectly Captured What Living With ADHD Is Like In His Comics (New Pics)

When asked about the feedback the artist has had of people with ADHD reading his comics, he replied: “Something I learned following my first in-person event and all the amazing conversations I had with fans is that those who relate to the comics most are individuals who were diagnosed with ADHD later in life, like myself (or those with no formal diagnosis). I think this is because we never had these resources and information growing up while struggling with ADHD.

While I try my best to bring humor to these topics, I think the real value of the comics is the small nuggets of information contained within them. I get a lot of responses like “I feel seen” or “are you bugging my therapy sessions” but I think the most amazing thing I’ve been told is that someone not only learned something about themselves that they’ve struggled with for a while, but that through the comic they were able to explain an issue to others that they couldn’t before.

Moreover, I’ve almost lost count (I know it’s at least 50) of people who said that they sought out a diagnosis because of the comics. That’s really cool to me."

“Some comics come really quickly, others change a lot from draft to finished comic,” Ryan says. “It’s a little unpredictable, but some translate really well to paper while others don’t. On the other hand, some comics that start as a little lackluster stumble into a single change which makes them among my favourites.

In terms of producing them, the quickest I’ve ever done is an hour with the average being about 4, but certain comics (anything at night or in the dark for some reason) take me a lot longer to get right.”

When asked about his work process, the artist says: “I’ll have good days and bad days with work. Some days I'll write down a dozen useable ideas and other times I'll go weeks without coming across anything noteworthy.

I write everything in my notes app because I almost always have my phone nearby. I’ll often stop whatever I’m doing to get the idea or premise down. The worst feeling in the world is having a good idea and then losing it, and if I don’t get the idea down within a minute or so (sometimes seconds) it’s gone - so I’m a little weird about that.”

“The comics started as a sort of a self-reflection on the way ADHD has affected me, so pretty much all of the ideas come from a direct struggle I’ve had/ am having,” Ryan says about facing creative block.

“I have several hundred new ideas in my notes and it’s climbing far faster than I’m using them, so in terms of content, I haven’t hit any blocks yet. Sometimes if I feel a comic isn’t up to par, I end up just tumbling it through the drafts for a while until I either delete it or improve upon it somehow.”

As for future goals, the talented creator says: “I have my book coming out in spring which is really exciting! I’ve created 40 new comics exclusively for that (which is pretty huge because I only passed comic #80 recently).

That opportunity has opened up a lot of doors for me and I have some huge plans (some secret) for this year. I have to revamp the clothing merchandise completely, figure out how to make the best pushies ever, make ADHDinos.com a little more useful, and I have a number of really cool in-person events planned for the next year!

Ultimately, I want to make ADHDinos into something individuals with ADHD can relate to and improve themselves through. I think the comic does a great job of highlighting issues (namely ones I’m still struggling with) but as it stands I don’t offer a lot of direction for people who are also struggling (namely because I’m still learning).

I’ve got plans for some really neat ways to improve the actionable information and resources available to viewers and I’m looking forward to learning the best ways to provide these going forward.”