Hi! I’m Maria Scrivan, creator of the daily panel, Half Full, syndicated by Andrews McMeel, and the middle grade graphic novel series, Nat Enough, published by Scholastic.
“Where do you get your ideas?” is the probably the most common question asked of cartoonists, usually followed by, “What pen do you use?”
I don’t know where ideas come from, but they are floating around in the ether, waiting to be written down, and filtered through the lenses of our experiences, preferences and worldview.
I do know that the subconscious is hard at work by the repeated occurrence of finding two seemingly “random” thoughts next to each other in my sketchbook, that form a new idea. I usually don’t remember writing the words but after given time to marinate, they form a cartoon all by themselves. I have confirmed this with other cartoonists who have had the same experience.
Hilary Price is amazing at creating humor through incongruity by taking real life situations, giving them a twist, and adding a dash of brilliance.
Teresa Burns Parkhurst is the master of putting down on paper what everyone is thinking but afraid to say out loud. She also completely nails the most subtle nuance of expressions. 
Many of my ideas come from (often frustrating) experiences of daily life, like perpetually correcting autocorrect. I also spend a lot of time imagining what my dog would say if he could talk.
My middle grade graphic novel series was inspired by actual experiences from childhood, and I’m finally grateful for all of the embarrassing photos from that time.
I’ve learned that there is humor in almost everything, although sometimes it might take a while to see it.
The latest book in the Nat Enough series, Nat for Nothing, is out on February 7th, 2023 and is available for pre-order now. (Link: https://amzn.to/3Cvbzcb) You can see more about the rest of the books in the series here, (Link: https://www.mariascrivan.com/books) and you can read Half Full daily on Gocomics.com. (https://www.gocomics.com/half-full)
Website: www.mariascrivan.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @mariascrivan