On balancing creativity with managing a disability: Graphic novelist Ren Daniel & the "Pineapple Pen"
An interview with a very cool human
Editorial Director Ashley Holloway sat down with Canadian illustrator, artist, graphic novelist, and writer Ren Daniel to talk about all things creativity, including learning to live with a chronic illness.
Ashley Holloway (AH): Hi, Ren Daniel (RD), thanks for spending some time with Unleash! Among many things, you are an Alberta-based illustrator and writer/editor who creates some really cool art. You are also a graphic novelist who also creates comics. I am really interested in how you got your start; can you tell me a little bit about your journey?
RD: Sure! I was a hobbyist animator as a child, utilizing an app called Flipnote Hatena for the Nintendo DSi. Thanks to it, I fell in love with drawing and animating, and my life goal was to animate my own series!… Until I realized that one person animating so much would probably be impossible, especially as I had health issues that stopped me from working as much as I’d like. So, I settled on illustrating and worked as a freelance illustrator for some time before realizing that comics and graphic novels heavily borrow skills from animating—it was a perfect fit!
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AH: When you start a project, do you begin with the illustrations or the text?
RD: I always used to begin with the illustration: the illustration is the most important! Who cares if the dialogue is stiff because a well-designed character can remedy that, and so can good backgrounds! But when I realized my body will not always allow me to illustrate, I was forced to prioritize writing, and suddenly that stiff dialogue needed to be remedied.
Now, I take the “pineapple-pen” approach to projects: I’ll take some stuff I’ve drawn, I’ll take some stuff I’ve written, and I’ll combine them into a horrible amalgamation that, somehow, surpasses everything I did prior.
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AH: As someone who also battles with an invisible disability, you and I have had many conversations about how this impacts our creative process. Can you tell me a little about being a creative individual with a disability in an ableist context? How do you manage? Do you have any tools or resources you use? (OK, that was three questions…)
RD: Those who work in the entertainment industry know that we must be willing to sacrifice the best years of our life for a project—generally a commercial project—to prove we are worthy of staying in the field. And if you win the lottery and are employed, there are dozens of people, if not hundreds, ready and willing to replace you as they also want a chance to live their dream. Many of those individuals are more skilled, faster, and younger than you, and have better genetics that will protect them from long-term health effects. Put simply: like a workhorse, if you develop (or are born with) health problems, you are told the dream is dead and you need to face reality of a life out back.
Since I’ve had these health issues since childhood, I experienced the grief of a dead dream at a young age. And, having accepted that grief, I can now say that: yes, my work is hard on my body; I’ve had times where I was not able to work for months—and even years—at a time. But when I could not animate, I turned illustration. When illustration became difficult, I turned to 3D modeling to limit my hands’ exertion. When that became difficult, I turned to typing my stories to better plan and prepare. And when typing became impossible because I was in braces, I turned to voice-to-text programs like Dragon dictation which took nearly all the pressure from my body.
Writing with my voice stands as my last bastion, granting me the time to heal while also pursuing fulfilling work—preparing the story for production. And, so far, I’ve been lucky that my body has always blessed me by healing, at least to some degree, and I’ve been able to return to illustrating.
And now, when I do go back to my graphic novel work, I’m faster, cleaner, and more prioritized; each limitation has forced me to learn a new skill. My stints in writing have improved my storytelling and drafting to an immeasurable degree. The development of 3D skills has taken me from a beginner to someone who understands industry standards. My use of voice-to-text ensures that I never put unnecessary strain on my body by typing. And I no longer suffer from perfectionism, as I feel nothing but gratitude that I’m even able to hold my pen.
I am now more adaptable and resilient than I could have been had I won the genetic lottery. The most important, however, is that I have now proved to myself that if an obstacle gets in my way, be it health or life, I’m able to work a way around it—to continue doing what I know I need to do.
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AH: You have all these cool little comics and snapshots, if you will, about life in addition to more story-based work. It seems almost philosophical. What do you base your work on? Where does your inspiration come from? (OK, a double-whammy there…)
RD: If we’re referring to my “Daniel & Luka” series, those are based on those closest to me; sometimes it could be based on a conversation I had with my mother—for example, her telling me that one day I, too, will “stress rub” my eyebrows off— and I love seeing her smile when she reads it. It may be an experience I had with my partner, like when she, huddled in blankets, screamed at me to put on pants when I was shoveling snow—I live to see her burst out laughing at the memory.
The D&L comics were also my way of “easing back” into comics because I was, honestly, terrified to try again. I wasn’t sure if I could ever return to comic work, and if I couldn’t handle something so simple, I was inviting my own funeral. But Thank God, I could work on the short comics. And now, they make me happy by making my family happy and by storing memories I would have otherwise taken for granted.
Ren Daniel is a Canadian illustrator and writer-editor who's driven by an obsession with the art of storytelling and a love for psychology. If you enjoy exploring the world through creation and art, you can read his graphic novels for free on his website.