Have you ever heard that saying, "It's easy to see a bubble when you're not trapped in it"? It got me thinking about it as my inspiration for my entry into the #sketchquest cotest. Everyone has a safe space or place or simply a world we tend to get stuck in like our biases, our routines, and our social media feeds to name a few. That idea sparked an inspiration for me to create a simple comic that says a lot without a single word. I wanted to draw a one panel comic that could be funny and make you stop and think. Something relatable.
So, I came up with a sketch of a goldfish and an office worker. The usual setup goldfish is bored tired and stressed out, swimming in circles in its tiny bowl, bumping into a plastic castle and plant. You look at it and feel sorry for the poor fish, it has no idea how small its world is but then you look at the guy who owns the fish. Guy is hunched over his desk, busy with his work and the computer screen full of spreadsheets, completely stressed out. Now zoom out a little, the guys is totally oblivious to the fact that his own life,,, that open plan office with its glass walls is just a bigger version of the fish's bowl right? The visual I created is a reminder that we are all a bit like that goldfish, looking at others' problems while ignoring our own. I didn't need any dialogue because the expressions on their faces say everything. The fish's eyes and the guy's tired demeanor tell the whole story.
I used a few quick, bold lines to capture the irony. I kept it in black and white to make the message stand out without any distractions and ease of execution. This comic is a simple call to look at your own life and ask yourself: Am I the fish, or am I the guy in the office? The first step to breaking out of your bubble is to realize you're in one.
Thank you for reading hope you enjoyed andlearned something from it.
