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Who says you can’t have a little fun during dark times? Certainly not me. That's why, to blow off some steam during the pandemic, I've been making cartoons about my experience.

It started as a creative way to entertain myself. I've always loved cartoons but never actually made my own. While they include everything from current events, to politics, to everyday life, I usually try to make them about the pandemic in some way.

My humor is somewhat cynical and sarcastic. I wouldn't say I'm a pessimist, but I do find that looking for the humor in the darkness keeps me laughing at things that would otherwise be too depressing to deal with. Hope they give you a laugh, too!

To see more of my cartoons, check out my Instagram page!

More info: Instagram | zukorcreative.com | twitter.com

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in art and comics. Even so, I really haven’t made a lot of comics. My background is in drawing and painting, but for the past twenty years, I’ve worked as a marketing creative, coming up with ideas, designs, and communications for all kinds of companies. It’s a demanding career, so I haven’t made as much art on the side. But things changed during the pandemic. I don’t usually share my artwork, but 2020 was such a strange, confusing time. It motivated me to make art that expressed my feelings and connected with others. So I started an Instagram page and posted cartoons. Kind of a COVID diary, I guess.

In general, I love coming up with ideas. It’s my favorite part of the creative process. I think that’s because I’m a problem-solver by nature. And to me, idea generation is like solving a problem. With the COVID cartoons, I sat down each morning with a notebook and thought about what was going on in the world and how I felt about it. I wrote down a lot of ideas that didn’t go anywhere. But once in a while, I’d find a gem. I bounced ideas off my wife to get a second opinion. She can be tough, and I knew if she liked it, it was probably worth pursuing. Once I circled a few ideas in my notebook, I’d move to my drawing table and sketch them up.

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I tried to make the cartoons my own, but I'm certainly not without influences. I like funny, dark, sarcastic humor. I took a lot of inspiration from New Yorker cartoons, especially amazing artists like David Sipress, Ed Steed, Joe Dator, and Lars Kenseth. My drawing style is pretty simple, clear, and bold. I like working with brush pens and then adding color in Photoshop. Style-wise, my influences include illustrators like Mike Lowery, Chris Judge, and Gemma Correll.

People seemed to really enjoy and connect with my Instagram posts. While I was creating and posting the cartoons during lockdown, it helped alleviate some of the feelings of isolation. The process was therapeutic. And it gave me a focus and sense of purpose during a very uncertain time. Plus, they were really fun to do!

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Flavia Slag
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Need to send this to my "I don't believe in wearing masks" friend.

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Animebooklover
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Chunky orange monkey will make you more dumb, proven by original founder Donald J. Trump.

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I'm not a Robot
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe Very Stable Genius comes in a slightly darker hue called Marmalade Mussolini.

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I'm not a Robot
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YESSSSSS.I wonder if the neighbor two houses down would mind if I used his trump 2020 sign to wipe my a*s with. ( I would remove it from his front yard first )

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I'm not a Robot
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I skip the snooze bar lunges , I can squeeze in some extra Crunches and Jack Squats.

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Animebooklover
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ebola got tired and decided to hop in the game, sadly corona was winning.

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