Artist Intro: The Gerbil

Name: Jonathan, aka Gerbil

Current projects: Cordyceps Tickles (autobiographical webcomic), Grey Bouquet Designs (postapocalyptic childhood whimsy)

Past projects: "Don't You Hate When It Happens to You" minicomic from Day in the Life anthology; cover art and doodles for local zine Get Off Yer Ass!; many many unrelated things preceded by somebody telling me "hey, you should draw..."

Websites: http://itsinyourheadnow.com/
http://www.greybouquet.com/
http://gerbilfluff.livejournal.com/ (NSFW)
http://sugargerbil.deviantart.com/ (caution: contains trace amounts of really old crap)

Shop: http://www.greybouquet.com/ --> go to "Shop" --> ??? --> profit

Webcomics I read when I remember to go online: Bizarro, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Perry Bible Fellowship, Romantically Apocalyptic, Hanna is Not a Boy's Name, Stop Paying Attention, JACK (NSFW), Kevin & Kell, Godseeker, DAR, Introspective Comics, Tiny Sepuku, more I'm sure I'm forgetting

Print comics I read: [recently] Peepo Choo, Empowered, The Boys, Wonderland; [all-time faves] Transmetropolitan, Fruits Basket, Blacksad, absolutely anything by Junji Ito or Furuya Usamaru

Blogs I read: Hyperbole and a Half, Cracked (uh.. that one counts, right?)

My fav stuff to write or draw: Stuff that's endearing and somehow off-putting at the same time. Or even better, the stuff where somebody laughs at it and then immediately looks sheepish for doing so, but it's obvious they still like it. So basically whenever I win over cognitive dissonance in other people's brains, and it doesn't only make sense in mine. This is when I've done my job well~

What inspires me to make comics: NEED. TO GET IT. OUT OF MY HEAD. It never stops coming whether I write it down or not, but people seem to enjoy seeing it if I do, and I want to roll around in that I-made-something-that-is-awesome feeling every chance I can.

Why are you in the BHC: They keep me going outside, talking to other people, and drawing, and it's all enjoyable. 'Specially 'cause so many of us seem to be pushing against the same kind of art-making issues. Plus, they're the reason I now have a filter for what I say out loud. Which, seriously, is REALLY handy!

My artistic new years resolution: Two comic strips a week, for the autobio stuff. Keeping it going. No pauses. Final destination. Nodding as my punctuation for that last one.

Favorite part of the artistic process: When I get to see somebody look at something I doodled into the third dimension, and they start chuckling. Or wincing. Or d'awwing at how it's cute. Any of those, really.

Hogwarts House: who with the what now?

uh... Pokemon types?: Now we're talkin'! Dark, Psychic

Blood Type: the hippie kind ("be positive"? Really, blood?)

Astrological Sign: Scorpio, right on the edge vs. Libra