Bill Nichols’ Prescription:
Comics 10ccs Jonboy Meyers

What inspires you to create and keeps you going? 

Well I love to draw and create—and the challenges drawing brings everyday, new challenges to stretch, grow and get better….and I love to tell stories 🙂

Do you have a set routine? 

Yeah work from home hours you try to keep a set schedule, usually starts at 5am with gym until 7am,  Answering emails for an hour, then jumping into work around 9am, breaking for lunch for 30 then working until 6pm, dinner, back to work until 9-10pm and do it all over again the next day.  It’s totally Groundhog Day, but you want to try to keep regular hours and add in some sort of fitness regime in there so you’re not sitting all day.

What kind of output do you try to achieve?  

I try to at least get one thing either finished, roughed out or written.  Try to have a day that is productive, even if it’s small stuff. Slaying dragons takes time so give yourself a break if you don’t do it all in one day.

What inspires you WHEN you create? Music? Noise? Silence? 

I like Music and podcasts…mostly podcasts so it makes me feel like people are talking to me and I don’t live in a total bubble.

Who was the first comic book creator that influenced you to pursue this? 

Hmm, my first exposure to comics was War Comics, so guys like Joe Kubert, Alfredo Alcala and Frank Robbins were my first comic art creators whose work I really appreciated.

When did you realize you could follow this path yourself? 

Hmm probably when I first started to write and draw my own superhero comics when I was 4-5 years old.

What do you find to be a challenge in creating?  

Telling the right stories and trying to come up with a visual that supports that Narrative—i think you always want to try and do something different with every project you are on—to push yourself and show some growth in your work.  Even if all of it doesn’t land quite right—don’t be afraid to try new things and work in new styles.

What else do you have to learn? 

Well learning 3d is super helpful and a time save though I’m NOT very good at it and could be a lot better….

What keeps you motivated to get better? 

Seeing other artists grow and post, really gets me going.  You want to be better, push yourself and not put yourself in a creative box.

Can you turn your brain (creativity) off (and on)? 

IF you are a working professional you kinda have to be creative even when you’re not 100% feeling it.  You don’t get sick days and you have to find a way to try to get things done so you can stay on schedule as much as possible…which at times can be challenging.  But always try to do the pages you like the MOST then working stuff in between to keep your motivation up.

Booster Shots

What advice do you have for aspiring creators? 

Draw Everyday, write everyday. Try to stay creative and look at what others are doing and see if it’s something you can adapt into your own work.

Do you ever worry about running out of ideas? 

haha no, I’m like Doritos. I can make more.

How do you handle the slow times? 

Draw.  Still be creative, just because the work is not there doesn’t mean you don’t stop.  You can always do pinup shots for fun if you’re in a lull or take up writing and come up with your own creative IPs.

How do you feel about the industry?  

I love comics, I think as a whole they need to scale digital more to reach more people in order to survive…. the fact that Batman or Spiderman comics can’t come out at the same time all over the world translated in their own language these days is totally baffling to me…  I also think that more people need to start doing their own projects in conjunction with working on Cooperate comics—which gives them the creative freedom to really express their talents and abilities outside of Editorial constraints. It can be creatively fulfilling and help your growth as a creative in general and can also be impetuous to moving into creator-owned full-time.