'It was different for him' is a comic strip drawn up for Neighbourhood Press and Perth Comic Arts Festival's collaborative comic anthology project. 

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Buy the book here! https://www.neighbourhoodpress.net/shop/west-coast-comic-anthology

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'It was different for him' explores the emotional impact 'LOCKDOWN' had on one individual. While some people were left distraught by isolation and fear (rightfully so), others were left wondering why life couldn't have been like this more often (Specifically the push to work vanished). It is a delicate subject and that is why the safest and softest representation is played out in the comic strip.

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Our economy and culture was built for the survival of humans. But at the cost of mental health. Why is life a constant struggle for some? Some people are built for something that in most cases cannot sustain them. art. Is it an obsession? Is it natural? Sometimes, it's not just a hobby but a requirement for contentment. Either way, our culture pulls us away from it. If it is not 'useful' or 'paying the bills', time cannot be given to it. But it is useful for mental health. It can also be useful for 'entertainment' purposes (But most of us, including artists cannot fully comprehend that).

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I try and do a comic strip every week for the newspaper. Even if it were to pay me a good fee, it would not be enough to live off and not enough to keep centrelink/jobcentre away. So we work other jobs. At the moment I am lucky to have a job I quite enjoy with nice people around me. But I still get anxious and feel broken when I can't find the time to be creative. One of the main reasons my weekly/ now fortnightly comic strip is a joke a week is not because I like making people laugh (Although that is good too). It is because I am desperately trying to bring these characters to life without dedicating the time I would usually put into a character story. This is why I am proud of 'It was different for him.' It gave me a chance to try something new and create a story, even if it's small. 

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I've gone off on a tangent. My partner calls this, 'Nathan Rambles'. 

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As a side note, this was a very interesting technical process. Not only had I pinched a nerve in my arm and so production was heavily delayed, but I was only allowed to work with two colours. This was due to an interesting way of printing. (Find out more below)

I chose to go bold with the colours and I'm quite happy with how that came out. To me the solid orange-red represents constant sirens flashing over the strip with a sense of emergency. 

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Information on the unique Neighbourhood Press and their Risograph printer:

"Neighbourhood Press is run by print enthusiasts Scott Alexander and Nora Mironov. Specialising in Risograph, Nora and Scott use this niche form of printing to collaborate and experiment with small businesses and local creatives on print based projects. In this digital age people think of printing as a way of replicating precisely what they see on their computer screen; Riso printing is more reminiscent of a time before digital printers and online marketing campaigns. We want to encourage people to think more creatively about printmaking as a process and foster an excitement for exploring alternative means of print production for their creative practice or business."

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- Nathan Vass Viney

29/05/2021