Tiff Zhang, an artist based in California, has found a fun way to beat perfectionism through her comic series, Between Walks. Inspired by her love of dogs—especially corgis—Tiff’s comics show them in all kinds of random, everyday situations that pop into her head. By focusing on whatever comes to mind, she’s found freedom from rigid expectations and even beaten her own art block.
Between Walks is her way of reminding other artists that art doesn’t have to be perfect; it can just be a fun way to enjoy creating.
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Bored Panda reached out to the artist with a few questions! Reflecting on her passion for drawing dogs, Tiff explains, "I've always loved dogs and would play with my friends' dogs a lot. Dogs are one of my favorite animals to draw. I participated in an art challenge called Doggust where I drew one dog a day for the month of August for four years in a row (from 2019 to 2023). Because I loved drawing dogs so much, I wanted to try making a comic based on them. For many years, corgis were my dream dog! I loved watching corgis play in dog parks and around the city, and they were one of my favorite dogs to draw because they were so playful. I ultimately ended up adopting two cats instead of a corgi because cats fit my lifestyle better, but I still really love dogs. Drawing Between Walks gives me a chance to express my love for dogs!"
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When it comes to the impact that Between Walks has had on her art, Tiff shared how it’s helped her overcome creative block. She explains, "As an artist, I would often get stuck on starting projects, sometimes for as long as several years, because I was unsure how to start or worried about how a project would turn out. When I started drawing Between Walks, it helped me get out of my head a bit and focus more on just drawing, and doing that helped me grow confidence in my ability to create art. I still often struggle with completing artistic projects, especially bigger ones, but when I am stuck, I often try to remember what the feeling of drawing without worrying feels like, and focusing on this feeling anchors me in the art creation process."
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Asked about her inspiration behind individual comics, the artist revealed that many Between Walks strips are simply based on things she feels like drawing. "Many of my Between Walks strips have been driven by things I wanted to draw. So for example, sometimes I might be like, 'I wanna draw an axolotl'—or maybe one day it's like a T-rex. And the cool thing about a whimsical comic like Between Walks is that I can come up with strips based on these random things I think would be fun to draw. Sometimes the comics are based on sketches I like also. For example, the 'Shadow' comic was based on a sketch of a cat staring at their shadow—I thought it'd be fun to turn that into a comic."
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On the topic of art block, she explained the paradox she experiences and the unique method that helps her push through. She shared, "For me, I think the big paradox with art block is that in order to draw anything, we have to give ourselves permission to experiment and try things out—but I think every creative loves making great work, so it's easy for us to get disappointed with ourselves when we make work that we think is less than great. For me, the method that's probably helped me get out of this paradox the most is to intentionally make bad art. Like draw stick figures, blob dogs, ridiculous doodles that don't make any sense—any of it! I just keep telling myself, 'I gotta make something bad—I can do that. I can make a bad drawing.' And if I let myself make bad art and come in with this explicit expectation that it's not meant to be good, then it's so much easier for me to be kind with myself. And when I'm kind to myself, I have more fun with drawing and draw more!"
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And with her love for dogs, Tiff draws plenty of inspiration just from observing them around her city. She smiles, "Absolutely! I live in a city with a ton of dogs and dog parks, and I will often spend mornings hanging out at the park, watching dogs play with each other. Observing dogs has definitely given me ideas for comics."
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