Gamenomics & Comicology

Do you love the webcomics that make you smile with every panel? I have become quite hooked to Alex Braile’s You’ve Got Braile Instagram-based webcomic that highlights the whimsical and charming moments found in everyday life. Keep reading to learn about the man behind the lines, Alex Braile.

Images used with permission by @youvegotbraile

Hey Alex! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Alex: I am twenty-seven. I am a school administrator/former art teacher. I have been passionate about art my whole life and have worked in lots of different mediums. In school I studied painting but I have been drawing and doing woodworking for as long as I can remember. In high school I was very involved in our school newspaper and I would usually make one or two comics a week. This was really where I started thinking about comics as a way of expressing ideas.

How would you best describe You’ve Got Braile? It seems like we are getting snapshots of your personality, how true-to-life are the strips?

Alex: I would describe You’ve Got Braile as something of a celebration of my daily life. A lot of the comics are based off of interactions with my wife or things that happen at work in my office. The comics are almost always based off of a real thought or experience I had. Some of them are exaggerated but the sentiment is usually very accurate.

My wife is probably the biggest source of inspiration for the comics. She is a very kind and smart and thoughtful person who I find hilarious. I doubt she would describe herself as a funny person, but I think she creates some hilarious tiny chaos which I try to describe through the comics.

What gave you the idea for You’ve Got Braile?

Alex: I started this comic mostly because I missed drawing in a way that didn’t take itself too seriously. After I graduated high school and stopped working for a school newspaper I stopped drawing comics for a long time. I learned the more technical skills involved with drawing and painting and then I went on to teach art for a few years. I took the work I was doing very seriously and I loved that experience. But there is a certain pressure that comes with that. Comics give me an outlet for my nerdy side and let me play around more than painting or other mediums do.

Your artistic trademark seems to be your line work. Lines on lines! How did you fall into that style? Do you use a ruler or is it freehand? 

Alex: I think that style sort of found me. Calvin and Hobbes has always been a huge influence on my drawings. But my current art style is definitely a little more rigid than Calvin and Hobbes. I’ve definitely also taken some cues from Chris Ware’s artwork. But more than anything I think my style came from just drawing a lot. People talk a lot about finding an art style and while I think it’s great to think about that, I also think it can be good to just draw and see what happens. My drawings have evolved a lot even just in the year I’ve been making this comic and I’m sure they will continue to evolve.

I will use a ruler with pencil for making panels and for keeping lettering on a straight line. But all the inked lines that end up in the final comics are free hand. I get a lot of comments asking if the background lines I make are digitally added and they are not. They take a long time to do but they are all freehand.

What is something you would like readers to know about your comic strip?

Alex: I just hope that my comics give people something to smile at or share with friends or significant others. There is a lot to laugh at in our daily lives and capturing those things in comics helps me be more grateful for them. I hope that other people see that through my doodles.

Want more hypnotic lines and fun comic strips? Be sure to follow @youvegotbraile on Instagram.