Mesut Kaya is an artist who creates funny comics featuring a little bald guy with a pointy nose and big mustache ending up in fun, awkward and sometimes embarrassing life situations. According to Mesut, the protagonist of these illustrations is an exaggerated version of him and very close to his heart.
Through the short bald-headed character, the artist manages to channel all his interests and people seem to be enjoying that a lot. Mesut has more than 11k followers on Instagram where he uploads the humorous adventures of the “little dude” once a week.
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Bored Panda got in touch with the artist to get to know more about him and his creative process. Scroll down for the exclusive interview!
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
Mesut revealed that when he was a kid, he was obsessed with cartoons and comics. “I would watch every cartoon show I could get my eyes on and read all the comics they had at the public library. When I figured out that most shows and games I loved came from Japan, my focus shifted more towards anime and manga.”
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
“I’m not a big fan of giant robots and action. Like every kid my age, I loved Dragon Ball, but more for the gags than the fights. I was fascinated that Akira Toriyama was not only the artist and the author but also that he managed to place gags in between the action. That’s when I wanted to become a mangaka who writes and draws gag mangas. I didn’t pursue that dream. Fast forward to today: I’m a digital designer, who draws little sketches here and there.”
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
The artist is a UI/UX and motion designer and therefore constantly in front of a screen. “Maybe that’s why my art is all digital. Sometimes I scribble on paper, but I don’t have a beautiful sketchbook. I always wanted to tell stories, whether it was via books (I wanted to become an author), music (I play guitar), games (as an indie game dev), or comics.”
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
The artist shared that he was never a big fan of lengthy webcomics. He loves little bite-sized comics. “They are like a distillation of the gag mangas that I loved.”
When asked about the inspiration for his comics, Mesut replied that he thinks about these little illustrations all the time. “I bounce around ideas in my head and avoid going to obvious places. Some are inspired by real-life events, but most are a result of me connecting dots. My wife is also very involved in my process. I show her drafts and tell her what I want to do and where I want to go. She also reminds me, that I shouldn’t overcomplicate certain ideas.”
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
“I like to tell stories. The challenge for me is to tell them in four panels. It’s an arbitrary rule, like a Haiku, but the limitation is what makes it fun. I also love the process. I take my time, rewrite the story and test several ways to tell it. It’s meditative and lots of fun. I only post once a week, which gives me the time to reflect on my work and the stories I want to tell. Sometimes I ‘waste’ a post for a stupid gag nobody gets, and sometimes it’s quite wholesome. My comics would definitely change if I posted every day.”
Check out Mesut’s Instagram if you don’t want to miss out on the “little dude’s” adventures!
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Image credits: iammesutkaya
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Source: boredpanda.com