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I’m Shawn, a computer programmer who really likes coffee and moonlights as an artist who’s absolutely obsessed with it.

In 2017, I started a little web comic/art brand in an effort to carve out some time in my busy schedule to be creative on a daily basis. Coffee time was the best time to get a drawing session in, so why not make the whole thing about coffee? Coffee had also been a significant part of my professional life, from one of my first jobs as a barista to later developing websites for famous espresso machine brands and beyond.

I eventually branded my caffeinated creativity "Coffee Hotline", and while it is unfortunately not a phone number that you can call to instantly find hot coffees near you, I like to think it represents the connections coffee makes in all of our lives through creativity and community. I've had the joy of connecting with so many amazing people through this project: artists, baristas, coffee entrepreneurs, comic fans, and more.

More info: Instagram | twitter.com | youtube.com | teepublic.com | Etsy

To so many people, coffee isn't just a delicious-tasting wake-up beverage; it represents a cozy atmosphere, good friends, good books, good music, and so much more. It's such a diverse topic, and there is so much inspiration to be found within. I've taken that inspiration and made piles of comics, animations, music, and apparel designs that you'll find on my socials and I'm excited to share some of my favorite comics with you here.

My artistic inspirations and influences are definitely NOT single origin. I'm a huge fan of animated cartoons and Japanese anime. Bravest Warriors, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, Cowboy Bebop, Fairy Tail... just to name a few. I'm obsessed with cozy-feeling color palettes and I probably spend most of my time fine-tuning and balancing hues, then actually drawing.

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    #2

    A Meme About Waking Up

    A Meme About Waking Up

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    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whatever you prefer! If I had the choice between those two options, I would always choose having a cup of coffee with my not wanting to go to work.

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    CoCo
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Thank God I don't drink coffee.

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    #3

    Is A Latte Proud Of Its Art?

    Is A Latte Proud Of Its Art?

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    The Comics of Coffee Hotline looks at the world mostly through the eyes of cute cups of coffee brimming with wholesome energy, dad jokes, and just plain silliness. I like to think my art transfers the kind of energy I get from a hot cup of joe directly into this imaginary caffeine-infused multiverse I'm creating.

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    #5

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    Eric Martinez
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hey my coffee is made from water... Doesn't that count?

    Kara Ledbetter
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It actually does! The medical consensus is that beverages such as tea and coffee are still hydrating. The advice for people in good health is just to limit sugar and mind your total caffeine intake!

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    Colin M.
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This one is a personal attack on me cause yes, that cup is making me feel uncomfortable

    Wolfy
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Its not a cup ! Its a glass !

    FluffyDreg
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Coffee thank you for standing up for me but water is also just looking out for me too.

    EmiEm
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Coffee is just flavored water. They've done medical studies, the caffeine and perceived diuretic effect between coffee and plain water isn't large enough to be statistically significant. Strangely, the most hydrating (regular) beverage is milk, because milk has fat and protein in it so it takes longer for the body digest, and your body holds onto the moisture a little bit longer, but even still you're talking about very small differences. So long as you're not drinking a lot of sugar, which is because sugar is bad for you, almost anything that's liquid is water. If you drink the insane amount of water they tell you to drink now and you're say a heavy coffee drinker, you could easily wash the sodium, potassium and other electrolytes out of your body and end up having a heart issue, this actually happened to my grandmother but it was tea instead of coffee, she made herself sick trying to keep to the guidelines about water and nearly ended up in the hospital.

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    I have loved to draw and be creative for as long as I can remember, which dates back to when I was about 5 years old. I attribute a lot of this to growing up in a musical and artsy family. The desire to create has always felt as natural as any other basic human need to me and it's inspired me to explore a lot of different artistic mediums over the years from painting to music, photography, and eventually digital illustration. I have spent a lot of time studying design in my free time and even have had the pleasure of working professionally in web and marketing design more than once, but in many ways, I consider myself more of a creative explorer and tinkerer than an artist. Thinking this way has helped me to be a lot freer with what I choose to share on my social media channels: ditching my perfectionist tendencies in favor of trying something new and seeing if it works. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't, but either way, I learn something new from it!

    #6

    Breakfast Incognito

    Breakfast Incognito

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    Garthus Andicus
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I usually just pour my milk in the box and eat it that way.

    Playerwon
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I just pour both on the counter and snort it

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    Wolfy
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Careful ! That's a cereal killer !

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    #7

    It's Okay To Condensate

    It's Okay To Condensate

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    When I first started making comics, I would sit down with a cup of coffee and my iPad, start sketching a mug or to-go cup, and try to come up with a joke on the spot. Anything coffee-adjacent is usually acceptable as a topic. One of my favorite prompts is thinking about what kind of interaction 'coffee' would have with another item that could also be sitting on a counter or tabletop. How would their views of the world differ or align? If I couldn't come up with something funny within the 30-60 minutes I gave myself, I would settle for something just absolutely ridiculously absurd. For the most part, it worked, and I have maintained that same process for over five years. The only thing that has changed is that my mind is pretty much always looking for little jokes everywhere I go throughout my day, but I still find that a cozy coffee shop environment is my favorite place to get inspired - right from the source!

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    #8

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    Lev Borovoi
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So God's cousin is a triple-soy latte blah blah blah?

    Kwahli Naazim
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    *kind ahem* it is a *more ahem* Triple Shot Soy Latte with Half a Pump of Sugar-Free Vanilla & Just Under a Half a Pump of Hazelnut, Extra Whip, Caramel, and Secrete Saucele. But yes, you are correct.

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    #9

    Power Up With Coffee!

    Power Up With Coffee!

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    It has been an absolute joy making comics about coffee for people who love it as much as I do. Nothing makes my day more than hearing that my silly caffeinated comics brightened someone's morning. With this project, I just hope to bring more and more positive silly energy into the world. That being said, not every comic I come up with is going to resonate with everyone and that's just part of the deal. The way social algorithms work can make us feel inadequate if we don't hit certain numbers every time we post, but engagement numbers are not reflective of the true value of art. So, at the end of the day, my main goal is to just have fun making art that I find joy in the process of creating and hope that some of that joy can spread to others.

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    #10

    Non-Compostable Disposable Cups Are Trash!

    Non-Compostable Disposable Cups Are Trash!

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    Lotekguy
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    See you again after I'm recycled, though you may not recognize my new persona.

    #11

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    Mark Wilson
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Eddie Izzard: "I like my coffee like I like my women... in a plastic cup."

    Heather Vandegrift
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "I like my men how I like my coffee: hot, sweet, string, and full of cream" - Me

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    PrettyJoyBird
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Barista - "Sir, how would you like that black coffee?" Comedian - "uhhhh black" barista "how do u take it?" Comedian "in a cup!"

    Bill Swallow
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I drink coffee, not lousy liquid candy.

    #12

    13

    13

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    Mimi La Souris
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    the more i see it, the more i think it was in purpose... :)

    Lesbian Thespian
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    don't you mean a latte night talk show? ok ok I'll go now

    Lotekguy
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    More likely to wind up in a police station's file of mug shots.

    #13

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    Lotekguy
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Some would make fun of people who insist on filling them with elaborate, nitpicky combinations of ingredients with the specificity of a chemist handling toxins and think that makes them chic.

    Bill Swallow
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sherry has a wonderful Christmas coffee mug. White and Gold, with *beautiful* artwork of an Angel on it. I told her someone missed a sure-fire bet by not putting text on the opposite side: "For Lo, the Angel of the Lord came down, and said 'I bring you good tidings of great joy. Coffee's Up!' "

    Michelle C
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mine would probably ask me why I drink so much of it! (3-4 cups a day)

    Tim Douglass
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    **Laughs in 2+ pots a day!**

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    Heather Vandegrift
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mine says "Coffee: a Delicious alternative to hating every one and everything, every morning, forever!"

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hate people who sing in the morning, and Greyhound Rescue

    #14

    Aggressively Generous Roommate

    Aggressively Generous Roommate

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    Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, I do want a piece of you, with a cup of your friend to wash you down. That sentence didn't sound quite so weird in my head.

    #15

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    Heather Vandegrift
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Honestly, Goth Furbies would be much less disturbing than the original kind, because at least the point would be to MAKE them terrifying

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    #16

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    Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I was about five, I was allowed to have "coffee" whenever we went camping. Basically, a mug of milk with a teaspoon of (liquid, not beans) coffee mixed in. By the time I was ten or eleven, I would drink sweetened coffee with milk occasionally. In high school one Saturday morning, helping to assemble the band's fundraising pizzas, I found the only drink provided was black coffee. I've been drinking it black ever since, although sometimes I'll add cream and sugar for a dessert coffee.

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A dear friend of mine says that if you like coffee with milk and sugar, you don't like coffee

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    Kai Einar
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ye the only way I'll drink coffee is if it's mostly creamer sooooo i just stick with tea cuz it tastes better and i dont care about the caffeine

    ammara
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Love coffee's taste and aroma but my body absolutely refuses to accept it in any form. Sorry coffee, you seem like a cool dude. Would've been great knowing you

    Michael Gower
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Never been a coffee drinker for whatever reason. Sort of weird, since I don't think either of my parents ever drank anything else. I do love tye smell of a just opened can of ground coffee, though.

    JELLY
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Coffee is good but it's cringy how many people make it a part of their personality

    Queeqec
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And here I am... I love the smell off good coffee (European here), but I absolutely hate the taste. Even the slightest hint of coffee hitting my taste buds makes me want to spit it out and brush my tongue and teeth immediately.

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    #17

    What Kinds Of Books Would Coffee Read?

    What Kinds Of Books Would Coffee Read?

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    Lotekguy
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Don't know what coffee mugs would read, but juice glasses probably prefer pulp fiction.

    Brian Garrett
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think the baristas need that book more

    Heather Vandegrift
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Really, people need to promote their names more clearly, and stop spelling their kid's names in stupid "creative" ways

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    #18

    Monday's Are Extra

    Monday's Are Extra

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    #19

    My Best Dad Joke

    My Best Dad Joke

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    Lexekon
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    I dunno, the sympathy for the barista kinda vanishes if they really did it wrong, to the point that customer no longer enjoys it. First the wrong order, now an inaccessible one. Feels like the customer was being trolled.

    FluffyDreg
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's...just a play on words about the phrase "on the house"

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    #20

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    Thomas Silk
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Riiiiigt...(as spoken by Dr Evil with pinky touching corner of mouth!)

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    Robert Skinner
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Last pots of coffee but yes you're right

    #21

    Report

    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nope, it speaks truth, that's dead coffee stew, not fit to imbibe

    Bill Swallow
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Even *worse* - It's (horror movie reveal fanfare) - DECAF!!!

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    #22

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    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It may well be more sugar than honey in the bear jar

    EmiEm
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Usually it's not even sugar, it's high fructose corn syrup. There's a lot of counterfeit honey on the market.

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    Karnevil4
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ...No sugar tonight in my tea... (yes I did it.) ☹️

    #24

    I've Only Had One Cup Of Coffee Today (3 Times)

    I've Only Had One Cup Of Coffee Today (3 Times)

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    Heather Vandegrift
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My one cup is just big enough for 3 normal sized cups

    Natty Tempest
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have a 2L teacup... 24 sugars, 8 teas bags. That's me for the day. One cup.

    #25

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    #26

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    #27

    When You Misread The Name On The Coffee Cup

    When You Misread The Name On The Coffee Cup

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    #28

    Coffee's Mantra

    Coffee's Mantra

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    Heather Vandegrift
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's right, coffee, and many of them stay out of JAIL thanks to you!

    #29

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    Karnevil4
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A) Big feet. B) Also thinking of Pink Floyd. 🤷‍♂️

    #30

    Avocado + Toast 4 Ever

    Avocado + Toast 4 Ever

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    Julie Epp
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You're going to get a lot of criticism from disgruntled Boomers.