Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kim Winder. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kim, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
I’m incredibly happy to make a living using my creativity but I won’t sugar coat how it can be just as stressful like a regular job. I was making the comic on my free time while working as an office manager for a plumbing company. I was unexpectedly let go and rallied to make the comics work. I got lucky and it did.
All that said, before I stressed about meeting deadlines and keeping the higher ups happy …. but now it’s the worry of making enough to pay the bills, healthcare, and keeping my audience interested.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Kim. In 2018 my New Year’s resolution was to stick to a hobby since I had a terrible habit of dabbling. I decided to make a daily comic strip to improve my drawing skills. To keep myself accountable, I’d post on social media.
For a full year I made a new comic strip every day even though I worked a full time job along with freelance work. Since then it’s been 4-5 new comics/animated shorts per week.
I never gave myself a theme or story to follow, just whatever felt right. I noticed my comic drifted towards sexual positivity and leaned into it. Hell, my comics mascot is a sentient buttplug named Gary.
How did you build your audience on social media?
So. Much. Persistence. I started in 2018 and things are so different now but a lot of the core things stay the same.
First- I built my audience by engaging with them. After posting a comic, I dedicated the first hour replying to every comment possible. This aspect is actually one of my favorites because, I’ve met and become friends with so many incredible people.
Second- I stayed consistent with uploads. If you post every M/W/F… keep that. If you need to change it, do it gradually so your audience can pick up on the change.
Third- I rolled with the punches. Shadow bans, algorithm changes, creative blocks happen. It’s okay to not be happy about it, but don’t let it ruin your long term goals.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I never went into this with anything other than improving myself and don’t plan on giving myself a goal because at this point it seems like a limitation.
Contact Info:
- Website: thereddotcomics.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/the__reddot
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRedDotPage
- Twitter: X.com/the__reddot
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TheRedDotComics
- Other: https://patreon.com/the__reddot
Image Credits
(Just me)