STUDENT HIGHLIGHT
Pen and ink self-portrait of the barista using screen tones, 2023.
Syd Low creates internet comics, a large part of which are about working as a barista. They took Wren McDonald’s Minicomics: From the Page to Production (VNC-2362-A) with me over the past summer semester, and I was taken by their personal comics detailing their bike rides, relationship highs and woes, the pitfalls of working in customer service and their fantasy horror minicomic about haunted paintings.
Lunar New Year ink stamp by Syd Low, 2022.
How did you get started making comics?
I started making them with any kind of consistency when I was 19, while I was working for this Americorps program. They were a way both to journal a bit but also get a snapshot of these moments to share with my coworkers. I'd wanted to make other not-autobio comics before but never got that far, so I think working with sort of already existing material helped me not get too in my head about it. I stopped for quite awhile and then picked it back up again when I was 25, for similar journaling/venting about work and grad school.
When do you know you have a good idea for a comic? What's your process like?
My process is sort of like a sudden possession: I have an idea and within a matter of days sit down and bang out a sketch and immediately ink it. I like the casualness, but I do feel like I'm starting to plateau in terms of both what stories I'm telling and how I use what's unique about comics to tell them.
For me a good comic usually comes from some happening that's goofy or unique that makes for a fun story, or something that’s very relatable to a certain group; in my case most often food service workers. There's a kind of catharsis from drawing some deranged customer acting out, and then having people online commiserate and also feel represented for a change. I used to worry about being too niche or needing to give more background, but increasingly I think the way to interesting work is specificity. In wanting to make more original work I'm trying to allow for the most specificity of “well, I like it, so maybe some other people will too.”
Warm Wishes Risograph holiday card by Syd Low, printed in 2023.
Syd Low, Walk Home, 2021, pen, ink and screen tones, 8.3” x 11.7
Risograph printed holiday card by Syd Low, 2023.
Risograph printed holiday card by Syd Low,
How did you hear about Continuing Education courses at SVA?
I think I must've seen a RISOlab booth at a zinefest or art book fair? I remember taking a handout of the color mixing chart and much later actually looking up who can use the lab, and finding out about classes that way.
You took Wren McDonald's RISOlab course on minicomics. How has that course influenced your practice?
Wren's class was really helpful in that it forced me to sit down and put time into one comic, it let me take the process more seriously and slowly than I usually do, and proved to me that I could! I'm more interested in creating longer pieces now, and especially in printing them and really trying to participate in comic zine circulation. For anything even a touch longer I really try to do at least a thumbnail or two now, and give myself the time to see if, say, one layout or another would be better.
Are there any comics that you've read recently that are inspiring to you that you'd recommend?
Even though I much prefer reading things printed, I'm excited by a lot of the work I'm seeing online. What Happens Next by Max Graves is really amazing to me, and Hal Schrieve's little series on Instagram is a lot of fun. Recent book favorites have been Leo Fox's Prokaryote Season and Benji Nate's Girl Juice. Many of these have messy or even fully unlikeable characters, and it's inspiring to see comic work that's willing to get into the mud in that way.
Photo of Syd Low. Courtesy of the artist
Digital illustration for stickers created by Syd Low, 2022.
Syd Low, Less Ice, 2023, risograph print, 8.5” x 11”.
Is there anything that you're working on—or planning to work on—that you're really excited about?
I'm trying to compile a zine of all my coffee comics; I think it'd be fun to see all together and maybe would let me get barista comics out of my system for a bit. I know that's how most people find me so it's a little scary to not focus on, but it's easy to excuse staying in a rut. I'd like to do another short story like I did for the RISO minicomics course—multiple pages, not formatted for insta!, with original characters. I'm also a fan of informational zines, and I'm working on one zine about tips & tricks for doing your HRT injections, since doctors and nurses often leave us in the lurch to figure it out. Hopefully all of these schemes will be ready to share in print soon!