Meet Jared Plink

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jared Plink a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jared, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

It helps when you start early. I started making comics when I was around 8 years old, back when there was no internet and the best you could do was staple papers together and share them with your elementary school classmates. Ever since then, I can’t even think of a time when I wasn’t making comics.

Many studies have shown that the vast majority of people completely lose their childlike sense of creativity by the time they reach adulthood…but does it have to be that way? Being an adult sucks. Don’t be embarrassed to embrace the inner child. If you have a story, write it down, draw it, however dumb and childish it might seem. Be self-critical too. When an idea isn’t working, ask your peers for help and retool it. If it’s still not working, trash it and move onto the next idea.

This all seems like basic advice, but you see a lot of younger people nowadays afraid to truly express themselves in their art. The internet has given us the opportunity to do just that, but most only scratch the surface level. Stop sitting on your ideas! Create your story and put it out in the world, and keep at it no matter how much life throws at you.

The internet is such a great place to foster creativity. You don’t need some big network executives to approve your idea, just do it!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m Jared Plink, a freelancer and comic artist. I’m most known for my brief time at SEGA and my indie comic DJ Gray.

DJ Gray is a comic about an alien named DJ who falls in love with a human woman he accidentally abducts. While stranded on Earth, DJ meets many colorful new characters and uncovers a bizarre world of government conspiracies. August this year will mark the comic’s 5th anniversary. In those 5 years, I’ve released 2 physical DJ Gray volumes, both of which you can buy on my online store.

I’ve also drawn various pieces of official artwork for SEGA’s social media, often celebrating a game’s release or anniversary. I worked together with Sonic Team and industry legends such as Kazuyuki Hoshino and Rieko Kodama to get the look of the characters right. It was fun while it lasted and I learned a lot!

Comics have become an increasingly niche medium over the years, but I personally think they are one of the truest forms of artistic expression out there. You really don’t need a team of people to make a comic. As long as you have a pen and paper in hand (or stylus and tablet) you can make your own comic and establish your creative voice. I’m always injecting parts of myself and my life story into my work, while also writing something I would genuinely want to read.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Don’t give up. It’s easy to feel like throwing in the towel after seeing your peers improve and succeed much faster than you, but I think it’s important to abandon that mindset and just work at your own pace.

Don’t pay attention to the numbers. You don’t need a big audience to feel creatively fulfilled. Developing your own niche audience that supports you is good enough.

Most importantly, take care of yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard, take breaks, go outside, create new experiences, etc. This will all benefit you in the long run.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Check out “Sand Land” by the late Akira Toriyama. I was heartbroken by his recent passing. His comic work was possibly the biggest influence on me out of any other comic artist. His paneling and artwork was expertly done in way that seemed almost effortless, like he wasn’t even trying. In my opinion, Sand Land was his best story to date, and the fact that he supposedly drew it all by himself makes it all the more impressive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://djgraycomic.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jaredplink
• Twitter: https://x.com/DJGRAYcomic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@JPsupper
• Other: Store: djgraycomic.com/store