Hey there, I'm Yannis Bolman, and I'm thrilled to share my comic creation. I've always been drawing comics as a hobby ever since I could hold a pencil and although my daily work running a video game company (Little Chicken Game Company) is very creative and demanding, drawing comics never stopped being fun for me. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I embarked on a new artistic adventure that led me to create "Bird with Pants," a comic strip that celebrates the failing antics of animals trying to be humans.

Looking forward, I aspire to expand the reach of "Bird with Pants." My dream is to see this comic featured in newspapers, quite literally following in the footsteps of Larson. I also envision a tear-off calendar, where each day begins with a dose of animal-inspired hilarity, adding joy and laughter to everyone's routine.

Hope you will enjoy more Birds with Pants in the future!

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

#1

As a fan of the legendary Gary Larson and his monumental comic "The Far Side", I've always been captivated by the impact of single-panel comics. I experimented with different formats, including four-panel comics, before realizing that the concise punch of a single frame is what I wanted to do most.

I always carry a Samsung phone with a pencil so I can scribble down ideas when I get some inspiration. Inspiration can literally come from anything. Observing birds, my own grumpy cats, and people immersed in their daily routines usually spark my imagination. The response from readers around the world has been heartwarming and I enjoy reading the feedback on the comics.

#2

#3

Although "Birds with Pants" looks really analog, it is fully digitally made. I enjoy having the old-school look, as it reminds me of the old newspapers and comics. I use an iPad to make all comics, which is really convenient as I can literally make them anywhere. Same for making scribbles of comic ideas on my mobile phone. Having a little tablet phone in my pocket all the time helps me to jot down ideas whenever they pop into my head. I usually make a quick sketch on my phone and scribble down a caption. Then when I have some time to make the actual comic, I can browse through the sketches on my phone and adjust them to make sure the comic works as best as it can. The digital workflow really helps me make the comics quick, so I can go from the first idea to the sketch in an hour or two if needed.

#4

#5

Gary Larson and his body of work on "The Far Side" have been a huge inspiration to me. I always enjoyed drawing animals and putting them in funny circumstances. His comics really fit well with me for that reason. And he has a great knack for making simple things look absurd or funny just by placing them in a different context. I devoured all his work and learned so much from him as well. Mostly in trying to capture the essence of a joke, which sometimes comes down to finding the right caption or expression on a character.

#6

#7

The response from "Birds with Pants" readers so far has been great. I love how people react to the comics, most of the time a comic will remind them of something that they have been through or that they went through with their own pets. What's also very cool is that there's been a number of occasions where readers come up with better, funnier captions than my own. I ran some stories on my Instagram, where readers could add their own captions to my comics and I still do that from time to time. I love it when the readers interact with my comics.

With "Birds with Pants", I mostly try to hold up a mirror to us humans and show some of the absurd things we tend to do or say. But the comic is also a great way to show off the idiosyncrasies of various animals. Animals have the weirdest behaviors and if you put them in human context, it can become quite funny. I think it's also a nice way to help people learn a bit about animals in general.

#8

#9

Ideally, I'd like to see "Birds with Pants" reach a bigger audience. And maybe someday it can even be featured in a newspaper. I always look for the comics in newspapers and like how they lighten up the day a bit. I would also love for the "Birds with Pants" comic to be made into a tear off calendar, providing a laugh a day. But mostly I enjoy making these comics, so as long as I enjoy putting these animals in weird situations, the more we'll keep seeing of these Birds with Pants.