30 Characters Challenger: Zoë Kirk-Robinson

Wanted in connection with the disappearance of many chocolates

Everyone else seems to be doing these “introduce yourself, people!” posts so I thought I’d throw my ring into the hat along with everyone else. So “hi!” I’m Zoë Kirk-Robinson. I’m the artist and co-writer of The Life of Nob T. Mouse and All over the house and I also write a webcomic-related advice website called The Webcomic Builder.

You may have heard me on The Webcomics Company podcast (but I won’t hold it against you if you haven’t!), where I’m one of four people who fight for truth, justice and the webcomics way. Or something.

I’m a writer for a living rather than an artist, but I’m hoping to one day be able to make my comics, or at least some cartoons I draw, how I make my living. Hey, a girl can dream. My backup plan is to become a barrister and since what the world really needs is more artists, not more lawyers, I’m sure I have the forces of good on my side when I pick up a pencil. 🙂

I started creating webcomics waaay back in 1996, when I put Portly Stoutmaster’s Journeys online for the first time sometime around March or April that year (I remember it being before my exams in May). I followed that up in December of 1996 with The Life of Nob T. Mouse. Portly Stoutmaster may still be around, I’m not sure. Nob Mouse certainly is. The comic turns 14 in just over a month, making it older than several members of my family. That’s just plain freaky. It’s even more funny, from my point of view, when you know that I only made the comic as a way to look busy while slacking off from physics exam revision.

Now I’m planning my third webcomic, Ink Proof Cannon, which will be produced in conjunction with the publishing company I started to manage The Life of Nob T. Mouse and All over the house. I’m hoping to design the main characters for Ink Proof Cannon‘s stories during the 30 Characters Challenge, plus a few more that could appear in comics later. The fact that I’m combining this challenge with NaNoWriMo, a day job and two existing webcomics means I don’t expect to get much sleep this November, so here’s a tip: buy your shares in Pro Plus now because stocks are going to run short!

My weapons of choice for the Challenge are a collection of trusty HB pencils; a sketchbook I’ve designed all my All over the house characters in; a lovely HP scanner/printer combo; and my Nisis graphics tablet (ever heard of them? Neither had I but it works!). If any of them fail me, I may resort to pen & ink and uploading the characters by taking pictures on my ‘phone if necessary.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Category: Participants