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Creator Highlights are featured posts where we interview comic artists and novelists within the Tapas community. To celebrate the end of Season 1 of Happiness Theory, a series from our first Incubator program, we thought it would be fun to chat with Kan, creator of "Ultramarine Weather" and "Happiness Theory". 

1. Hi Kan! As the creator of Ultramarine Weather and also the incubator series Happiness Theory, you're a familiar face on Tapas. But for the readers that might not know you yet, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where are you from? How did you become interested in art, writing, and comics?

I live in Knoxville and I've been drawing almost my whole life. I don't remember what exactly about it was so appealing to me as a kid, but I've always loved to write stories and draw-- so comics felt like an obvious path to follow!

2. You've already shared some insights into your working process and inspirations for Happiness Theory in our staff series "Inside the Creator Incubator", so I think it'd be best to open up the floor to some questions submitted by readers on the season finale of Happiness Theory. First off: how has the incubator program been?

For those who don't know, the Creator Incubator is a program where creators and Tapas work together to co-create new stories. Contracts are tailored to each creator but basically, Tapas paid me to write and draw a comic, while they helped me with editing and promoting. As for my own experience, it's been great! I started working on Happiness Theory back in November so I was given plenty of time to build a backlog before it debuted in April, which made the whole thing much easier and less stressful. Though it's co-created, I was still able to write and draw the story entirely the way I wanted. Plus, I was supported and encouraged every step of the way by my editors.

3. Readers would also like to know a bit more about what your process was like with the Incubator. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

To be honest, my process wasn't much different from how I make Ultramarine Weather. I start out with an outline, then I write the dialogue in script form. Though it's a vertical scroll format, I still I thumbnail the panels page by page and do all my inking and colouring the way I'm used to. The only differences were that the final presentation was organised for a vertical scroll, and that I had a lovely editor to catch all my typos and tangents lol I usually make all my comics following a print format and this is the first time I've worked vertically. It was hard at first but after a while, I found myself thinking vertically when planning scenes and I came to love it! It's so much more versatile than being confined to a page.i

4. By the way, congratulations! How does it feel to be finished with Season 1 of Happiness Theory?

Thank you! It feels amazing--I can't believe I finished it so quickly! It felt like it just poured out of me haha The page count of Season 1 was almost the same as Ultramarine Weather's current count--and I've been working on UW since 2015! I had so much fun working on this season and I can't wait to create Season 2!

5. Is there any advice you'd give to fellow artists/creators?

Truthfully, I never know what to say when people ask for advice! I always want to just offer encouragement. But! I guess some general advice would be to always keep drawing and writing, because you'll get better the more you do it. Even if you're not happy with where you are now, you'll notice your improvement over time. And in terms of professional advice-- always read your contracts! A good rule is to never sign something you don’t understand. Personally, when I was joining the Incubator program, I was able to go over the contract in detail with Tapas and get all my questions answered. Always make sure you’re comfortable with a contract before you commit to it. Also, make backlogs for your comics!! They are such a lifesaver when real life gets in the way, as it always does lol

6. Here's a fun question: what's the best thing to do on a day off?

Hang out with friends! Otherwise, I love reading comics, watching anime, documentaries, and playing video games.

7. What are your favorite sci-fi anime/comics/movies? Did any of them inspire or influence you on Happiness Theory?

Haha this is where I embarrass myself and say I don't actually watch or read that much sci-fi but the influence of the ones I do like can probably be seen in my works. Movie wise, I like Jurassic Park (mostly just the first 2), Independence Day (both lol), and Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis. I also enjoyed the Mass Effect series, though I haven't dug much deeper than the game itself. The inspiration for Happiness Theory came from a summer of alien documentaries on Netflix and thinking about the aliens that weren't necessarily eager to invade but more to study. It's fun to think that Earth would be a bit like a science project.

8. For those who haven't had a chance to check out Happiness Theory yet, how would you describe it in three words?

Drama, Aliens, and Art

9.  Okay, lightning round!

- Cereal or milk first?   Cereal with no milk!

- Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?  Yay!!

- Cake or pie? Pie

- Friends-to-Lovers or Enemies-to-Lovers? Friends to Lovers!

- Slow burn romance, or fast paced? Slow burn me to death

- Fluff or angst? Angst

10. Lastly, where can your readers and fans keep up with you on social media?

I'm mostly on twitter and instagram! You can find me under username: denpasei :D

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If you haven’t already, make sure you check out Kan's phenomenal series "Happiness Theory" that will have you examining what it means to be human and what it means to love. 

Stay tuned for more Creator Highlights. See you next time!