My name is Manasi. I am an artist. My brand “The Comical Cyanide” is all about cute comics and doodles and happy merchandise like cards, bookmarks, mugs, notebooks etc. I draw/doodle everyday life scenarios and take inspiration from daily happenings around me.
It has always, always my dream to be an artist! I took inspiration from my grandfather who is also an artist, so growing up in a family who supported art was wonderful. As a child, I started scribbling random things. I used to scribble on walls, papers, literally anything I could get my hands on! It started with me winning various drawing competitions at kindergarten and drawing cartoons on my textbooks. That’s when I realized I could be an artist.
I’d say it wasn’t a decision. I think I was meant to be an artist, meant to follow my passion! I initially thought I could only be a professional procrastinator but I am happy I found other passions.*winks*
Everyone around me was supportive of being an artist and following my passion. I want to be thankful to my parents who motivated and supported me to follow this path!
I started with random sketches and then refining them. I made a cartoon character of myself and it grew popular quite instantly! After that I got motivated to make more comics and started with bookmarks. I wanted to make my passion a career and inspire more people to do so. I started making bookmarks for myself initially, they were only meant for self use. After that a lot of my friends started enquiring about them and others seemed to like my bookmarks. That’s when I realized I should start with selling merchandise that would make people happy! (Online Store)
My bookmarks became a favorite among the book fanatics. I decided to sell them at an affordable price making it easy for anybody to buy. The journey to start selling happy merchandise began! After that, there was no looking back. I have started with mugs recently and greeting cards are getting a good response. Soon there is more of merchandise coming up.
I also faced a lot of hurdles while working on this. Initially I wasn’t aware of suppliers so I had to literally go hundred places and talk and negotiate with so many people for a particular deal. A lot of mugs initially sent, got broken in the shipment process, that’s when I learnt new packaging techniques and methods to send the fragile items with proper care. The most important hurdle an artist faces is creativity block. I keep having my blocks but it’s only temporary. I start fresh with a pen and a notebook (with a big fat dose of caffeine) and all the fresh ideas just come in! My journey is still an ongoing road to success. I still have a lot to learn and improve!
I am extremely happy with what I do! Not everyone is lucky to have their passion as their career. Even though the journey is a long road, one cannot stop because of the hurdles. It is going to be tough but it is going to be worth it.
Absolutely! I believe in dreams. You are the creator of your own life. Never let go off your dreams. I focused on this dream for too long and worked to achieve it. Basically, if you work hard on your dreams you definitely will make them a reality. And believe in them because they will come true one day. It may take days or years but if you keep walking on the path to achieve your dreams you will reach your desired goal. I was always a dreamer as a kid (I still am). Dreams were a happy place to go and I never gave up on them. So dream and dream and achieve your goals. Most importantly, believe in yourself and your dreams. If not you, who will?
Regards,
Manasi Deshpande
(A dreamer and an artist)