Meet Rachel Dukes | Cartoonist & Cat Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Dukes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I’ve been self-employed for 15 years, working solely as a freelance cartoonist for the last nine years. Most of that time I prioritized work above all else: accepting every project that crossed my desk and overextending myself to get everything done. I regularly pulled all-nighters (sometimes up to three days) to meet work obligations and remain available for friends and family. I love cartooning and thought nothing of it, even attempting to keep working around the clock after I fell ill with several autoimmune diseases (including chronic fatigue syndrome) in 2013. The comic and book industries demand fast and frequent turn-arounds for little pay, and building an audience on social media means posting new content daily. There’s no leeway for folks living with unpredictable health—it’s untenable. In order to maintain my career and pay my bills, I overworked myself for another seven years, until mid-2020, when my body completely gave out. I slept 18-20 hours each day for over a year, and only recently gained enough energy to feel creative again.
In the past few months, I’ve been focusing on my health first, family second, and work third. For the first time in my career I’m allowing myself to focus on one big project at a time and create in baby steps: small warm up drawings just to keep my hand moving, writing professional work in short bursts, and drawing small personal comics in Field Notes pads only when I have enough energy to sit at my desk for a few hours. I’d love to be creating more work (and faster) but I’m truly grateful just to be back at it at all after such a long health crisis. Right now I’m working on creating a new work life balance: one which may not be in line with the industry but means that I can keep creating regularly for years to come.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Stubbornness, a passion for comics, and support from friends and family is what cultivated my career in comics. Sticking with any career for a long period of time is challenging; and they say the average working career for cartoonists is about 10 years before people burn out and seek more-stable and better-paying career. I fully understand why people quit comics – especially after putting myself in such poor health to make it work – but I’m proud to be back on my feet and trying again in a hopefully more-sustainable way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I may live in one of the most exciting cities in the world but, frankly, I’m a quiet homebody—especially now, being immunosuppressed. That being said, Griffith Park and the Observatory are always nice. If a friend is into true crime, we can drive by the Los Feliz Murder Mansion and the Sowden House, or go to the Museum of Death. There’s always LACMA and traveling or pop-up art exhibitions, Giant Robot, Amoeba Records, The Last Bookstore, Skylight Books, and Secret Headquarters. If we’re getting food, we’re definitely going to Leo’s Taco Truck, Friends and Family, or Doomies Home Cookin’. The jalapeno poppers and Next Mex nacho fries? Highly recommended.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My spouse, Michael Lopez (@postlopez), deserves all the credit for my published work and my successes. Without their consistent support and encouragement through the years it’s totally possible I’d have withered as a creator and a human long ago. Michael is also a terrific creator and designer in their own right, and it’s always a joy to spend time creating alongside them.

Website: http://mixtapecomics.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mixtapecomics/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MixtapeComics/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mixtapecomics/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelDukes

Other: https://linktr.ee/mixtapecomics