Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christine Mari. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Christine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Art has been a constant in my life ever since I was a child. I started out drawing stick-figure family portraits, and then as a teenager moved into the questionable realm of fan art, and later in college, I started drawing comics. That said, I never considered pursuing art professionally until after graduating college. There was a period of time when I was convinced that art should remain a hobby, and nothing more. I then proceeded to graduate with a degree in International Relations and worked as a teaching assistant in an international school in Tokyo, Japan. It wasn’t until the coronavirus pandemic, when I lost my job, that I thought about doing something more with art. That experience gifted me with an “I have nothing to lose” mindset that helped me take this kind of crazy leap of faith and try something new. In June of 2020, I decided to run a Kickstarter campaign to publish my comics, and I ended up raising $60,000. The Kickstarter was unlike anything I had ever done before, but it was such a rewarding experience. I learned so much. Most importantly, it helped me realize that it was possible to make something out of my passion.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Christine Mari and I am a Japanese American cartoonist. I was born in Tokyo, Japan and I currently reside in Los Angeles. My comics talk about a range of topics but heavily feature my mixed Asian American identity, my experiences with depression/anxiety, and the general twenty-something experience of trying to find one’s place in the world. My comics have been published in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, and Elle Magazine. I am currently working on my first full-length graphic novel with Little Brown, Ink.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I love social media because without it I never would have found this amazing global audience who supports my artwork, or been able to connect with other inspiring artists. Nowadays, however, I see a lot of fellow creatives fretting over algorithms, hashtags, and other aspects of social media that we unfortunately don’t have a lot of control over. Many social media platforms, such as Instagram, are also showing preference to business accounts and advertisements over pages that simply want to showcase their work. It can be draining if you feel like you are constantly struggling to be “seen.” And I think that makes social media tricky, because while it has the potential to be an inspiring space, it can also be very demotivating.

With that said, my advice is not very technical, but it has personally helped me as a creative when I feel at odds with social media. After several years of sharing my work online, I think that the most important thing about building a social media presence is to not lose sight of your purpose/vision. Don’t force yourself to create content just because you think that it’s what people want to see, or because you feel pressured to appeal to certain trends. In the end, your art is your own, but that is also what makes it so relatable. If you are being true to yourself in your art, then I can guarantee that there are people out there who will see themselves in that honesty and connect to your work. The number of followers you have is not as important as much as having a dedicated audience that believes in your work.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

In my experience, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist are the connections I form through my art. I have always been an introverted person and I find it very difficult to talk openly about how I think or feel. Comics became a space where I felt like I could freely express myself. And I think it’s truly extraordinary that there are so many different people around the world who see something in my art, who tell me that they feel like I understand them, or that I’ve helped them voice something they’ve always felt but don’t know how to express. In turn, I feel less alone too. don’t think I truly saw the value in my own work until I saw the way that other people could see themselves in it. I struggle with impostor syndrome – I am a self-taught artist. My art style is simple, and sometimes I worry that my stories aren’t interesting enough. But does art always need to be this big, exciting thing? Isn’t every story or experience worth telling, no matter how big or small? Your life doesn’t have to be like a movie to be beautiful. In the end, I think my art is my attempt to make sense of this big, crazy world that we’re all living in, and it feels really nice to know that I’m not alone. We’re in this together.

Contact Info:

• Website: christinemari.com
• Instagram: christinemaricomics

Image Credits
Personal Photo Image Credit: Richard Lee