Tyler is the Eisner-nominated creator of the Stylish Vittles graphic novels and the new series Nothing Better hosted on Webcomics Nation. Tyler self-publishes his work under Dementian Comics. I met Tyler at Comic Con '03 and have been following his work ever since. In February he took the time to sit down and respond to some questions via email.

What is your day-to-day routine for creating comics? How many hours a day, and days a week do you spend creating comics? What percentage of your time do you spend doing what? What do you find the most difficult?

Well, I'm at my day job from about 8-4pm M-F. I always try and do something comics-related. Some days I can get things done at work, some days not. But whether it's actual drawing or not, I'll work as little as 1 hour or as much as 4 or 5 depending on my mood, my sleepiness, and what I feel I have to get done. There are the occasional evenings where I just can't muster the energy for whatever reason, and I just try and get to bed early

But Saturday and Sunday or any other days off are just for comics. I get up at a reasonable hour and work most of the day. I try to spend the majority of my work time on the drawing since that's the first thing people see, but everything is important too and I try not to short-change myself.

Writing is definitely the hardest part for me - not coming up with the ideas, but the actual sitting down and writing out of an issue. It’s not necessarily 'hard,' it's just the least fun part for me.

How much time to you devote to writing your comics? Do you write the entire series/arc in advance, or as you go along?

So far with Nothing Better I've had a general idea where the next few issues are going - along with a couple major plot points in the future - but I generally start an issue with a list of plot points or developments. I try and write around that, but also allow for new things to develop as they naturally do from time to time.

Right now I have a general idea of where I want the characters to go - how I'd like to see them develop, but that can certainly change over time. Beyond the next 2-3 issues/chapters I don't know specifics.

How long have comics interested you and how did you get started in the business?

I've been drawing since I was a little kid but I didn't get into comics until I was older. My parents would buy me the odd comic here or there as a kid - I've got some old Transformers, GI Joe and Smurfs comics lying around. And when I did get into comics it was because I had started making my own. Along with my interest in drawing I've always liked stories so from a pretty early age I was always making drawings about something, or would make a story to go along with it. As naturally as I got older I started telling stories with my drawings. Early on I was a big comic strip fan - because they were in the paper every day, and I was aware of comic books, of Batman, Superman, etc., but I was more interested in my own creations.

I really seriously began making my own comics in Junior high.

What formal training have you had, and how have you found it useful towards your comics? What would you say are the educational requirements for doing comics? What would you suggest one study to hone their skills? Would you suggest getting a Masters, or is a Bachelors okay?

I went to a liberal arts college where I majored in Studio Art, so my 'training' was very broad. I focused on painting and drawing, but also really enjoyed ceramics and sculpture work. Though I was officially an art major in college I tend to think of myself as self-taught just because I was already at an advanced level when I hit college - for me college was about fine-tuning and expanding my talent.

Honestly I don't think there are any educational requirements for making comics - a lot of people in college asked me why I even went to college. However, I feel like that because art is a reflection of the world around us, that being better educated can help you be a more effective artist. So I recommend any kind of post-high school education, in some form.

And it does from an artistic skill perspective, help to get some kind of 'training,' where you have someone helping you improve. Being that I work at MCAD where we have a comics art program, for me the biggest stumbling point of amateur comics work is that the artist can't draw. That in and of itself isn't a stumbling block - as long as the artist can figure out something that works for them. But I see so many young kids who really want to do comics, but the awful drawing detracts from what they're trying to do.

What skills are most useful in the creation process; what do you think was the most important contributing factors (skills or otherwise) to you becoming a comic artist.

It depends on what you want to do - as an independent creator, I do it all. The things that led me to comics were a love of drawing and a love of stories.

Are there any texts you would say are a must-read for inspiring creators going into the industry? Do you have any advice for people just entering the industry?Again, with any art form, there aren't any 'musts.' But the standards, like "understanding comics" and Eisner’s instructional books help. Generally, as with any art form, I think it helps to just ingest a lot. It always confounds me when these aspiring comics kids are stricken when they're told they have to work on their drawing - that they for some reason lack the ability to objectively look at their work and see that it isn't up to the same level as the professionals currently in the industry. And when I say 'ingest, ' I mean, don't just read 'em and put them down. read them, yes, but go back and look at the art, look at the arrangement of panels, etc., and figure out what about it works for you - what the successes are and what doesn't work. It will help in your own work.

I know you self publish; but, do you have to answer to an editor? Do you have anyone objective that looks over your scripts before you start to draw, or your pages before they go to print?

On Nothing Better I'm working with my fiancée as an editor. I know some creative spouses keep totally out of each others work, but we're the types who are always looking over each others shoulders and making suggestions. We're both critical people and we really want each other to succeed so we're always offering suggestions. When I was working on SV Cori made important suggestions occasionally, but because it was my story I felt a bit more attached to it and did my own thing. When I started Nothing Better Cori was constantly suggesting ideas, drawing from her own college experience. Some of those suggestions have ended up as story elements or have changed my idea about certain things, and we felt like she was making an important enough contribution to the work that it should be noted. In certain aspects we're kind of collaborating, but only at the early story development stage. I'll usually write up a script fully and then we'll discuss it, Cori will have her input, but ultimately I'm the one that decides what gets written into the script and drawn into the comic. I also have to say that it's just useful having another artist to bounce ideas off of. It's why I'm sure some people like working in a studio setting — that outside opinion can be very useful, and it's a problem a lot of artists face outside of school, when they're working all alone.

Being that you self-publish, how do you get paid? Do you give yourself a certain percentage of each sale? Do you find that you can live comfortably doing comics?

I get the checks, they go into the bank, I write checks to pay off my comics bills! Up to this point I've only ever recouped my cost on publishing, and when you factor in the cost of cons, travel, etc., it's always a loss. The only extra money I actually make is off the occasional freelance illustration gig. Right now comics do not afford me a living, but they will some day.

Do you find writing your own comics difficult? How does it compare to illustrating other’s work or doing freelance art? Which do you prefer?

I've been accused of being an egotist (both in jest and in spite) and I'll admit I'm a little self-involved, so it's no surprise that I've always been more into my own work than working on someone else's project. and realistically I don't think it's an ego thing - I'm a creative person and I have my own ideas and I'd much rather spend my time developing those than on others'. But I do enjoy freelance work occasionally as it is kind of freeing, especially if the other party is easy to work with. it doesn't usually require as much of yourself as your own work so I tend to be a little more easy going about it and just have fun with it. Ideally, I would like to strike a balance between the two - as most indie creators do - they make some nice money doing illustration and do the comics out of love.

Do you find publishing your own work difficult? I know you’re distributing through Diamond and have to work far in advance -- how does that effect the way you work? How far ahead were you in issues before you went to Diamond? How far in advance do you have to have your pre-orders in? What is the minimum pre-order to work with Diamond? I was under the impression that they take a large cut of sale profits. Is that true? Have you found it worth it to distribute with Diamond?

It’s only difficult from a time perspective. If I didn't have to work a day job it would be much easier. That’s part of the reason I decided to stop publishing the individual issues of NB - I'm going to shop it around to some publishers.

But typically you're working 5-6 months in advance. Your cover and solicitation info have to be into Diamond about 4 months before the book comes out. Previews appears 3 months before your books ship, and orders come in a month after that. Pre-order limits are based on retail sale prices - and the minimum is $1500. So for a $2.95 comic book, you'd need pre-orders of about 500 to stay in the game.

Diamond's sales terms are usually %60 of cover price, which is standard. In any market, comic or otherwise, you're typically only going to get about %40 of the cover price of your product. This is all in place to make sure that everyone along the way gets paid. Diamond takes your stuff and turns around and sells it to the retailers at a %30-40 discount, which is where they make their money.

If you're going to get your stuff into the Direct Market you have to work with Diamond.

Tyler, I’m under the impression that you print with Quebecor printing. Have you found their products satisfactory? I’m considering printing with them for an upcoming project I’m doing and would like to get your opinion. What is the minimum amount of books you can order? Can you split your order up where some go to Diamond and some come straight to you? It is extremely expensive?

I like Quebecor. They’ve done a good job on everything. Most people agree they tend to be a little higher than some of the other printers who specialize in comics like Brenner and Morgan, but their quality assurance seems to be better. That is ultimately why I went with them - I felt better about them doing a good job. Plus, yes, they have a direct pickup for Diamond every week. You can specify in your shipping instructions how many books to send to Diamond and how many to you.

There is no real minimum for printing, but 1000 is generally considered the point at which anything below that wouldn't be worth it. Mostly what you're paying for is press-time, so once the press is running with your stuff, it doesn't cost much more to print 2000 or 3000 than it does to do 1000.

Tyler, you were nominated for an Eisner award. How did that affect you on an emotional and productive level? Did it give you more confidence that you are skilled in your craft, and push you to create more?

Oh, it felt great because it was a total surprise, but at the same time I'm aware of the shortcomings of my SV work, and I know that the category I was nominated for is kind of a 'the new guy' kind of thing. More than anything I've tried to use it as a promotional tool. It sometimes gets people to stop and look at a convention when they might not otherwise.

What did you do before you started doing your comics? I know you still have a day-job as well as your art; does have that day-job drive you crazy? What is keeping you from doing your art full-time? What steps could you take to do comics for a living?

Before comics I just drew pictures or wrote stories on their own. it does drive me crazy, but their are days that it's okay because I am interested in lots of things - and like I said there are days where I can get comics stuff done on the job. right now it's just a matter of being able to pay the bills - my comics aren't making enough money - I get some nice extra change for freelance gigs but that just helps to pay off the bills - when you've got a mortgage, bills, and student loans to worry about, it's even tougher to make a living with comics. But I'm working my way toward that.

What types of pens/ink/paper/art supplies to you use to create your work? When and if you use digital colouring, what program do you use? How did you learn your techniques in that program?

I draw with many different kinds of pencils, but mainly use a Windsor & Newton Series 7 #2 brush and a Hunt 102 nib to ink. I use PITT pens for lettering. Photoshop for grey tones - which (like everything else) I've just picked up by playing around with it.

Do you have any words of warning or encouragement based on your own experiences?

If you actually get into publishing or making a finished comic, you'll know if it's for you or not. If it is, you'll keep at it, even when it seems hopeless. That’s how I know it's what I should be doing - comics are one of the few constants I've had in my life. Even when it's not fun, it's rewarding in some way.