If you’ve ever lain awake at 2 a.m. reliving a painfully awkward conversation from five years ago, congratulations—you’d probably enjoy Portuguese Geese. Joe Holtby, the artist behind these painfully relatable webcomics, knows all too well the sting of awkward social situations and turns them into comics.

His process? “The sun has to be down, the vibes have to be right, and I have to have a good YouTube video playing,” he says. And just like that, another comic is born, proving that awkwardness is a universal language. Inspired by legends like PBF Comics, Cyanide & Happiness, and Extra Fabulous Comics, Joe has mastered the art of making one laugh at their own misfortunes. “I hope my comics can make people laugh, and maybe even inspire other artists,” he shares. So, if you’ve ever tripped over thin air or said “you too” when the waiter told you to enjoy your meal, rest assured—you’re not alone.

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Given the chance, Bored Panda reached out to the artist. When asked about his creative rituals, Joe explained, “I usually try to perform the following ritual: the sun has to be down, the vibes have to be right, and I have to have a good YouTube video playing. Then I’ll scroll through my list of comic ideas until I find one that I think is good, and then I go to town on it, usually finishing in about two hours.”

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Reflecting on the evolution of his art style, he remarked, “The biggest evolution in my art style over the years is that all of my human characters have been turned into geese! This was something I wanted to do for at least 2 years, but I was nervous about making such a drastic change to my already established comic. The audience reaction turned out to be way better than I thought, and I’ve been trying to perfect the style ever since.”

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When asked about what he finds most rewarding about being a comic artist, Joe shared with us, “One of the most rewarding aspects of being a comic artist is seeing reoccurring fans show up every day to new comics. Knowing that people are closely following my work warms my heart and keeps me motivated to keep going. There’s also no feeling like posting a comic online and seeing such a huge positive reaction to it, sometimes even going semi-viral.”

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Regarding his influences and inspiration, he explained, “The first webcomics that I remember seeing as a kid were PBF Comics, Cyanide & Happiness, and Extra Fabulous Comics. These are all inspirational in different ways to me: PBF showed me that you don’t need a consistent art style to have a good and successful comic series. Cyanide & Happiness taught me that you can turn anything into a good joke, and Extra Fabulous shows that you can make the comics that you want to make, and they can still be successful.”

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Finally, when asked for advice for aspiring comic artists, Joe offered a simple yet powerful message: “Make comics that YOU would like to see. This may sound simple, but it can be easy to find yourself chasing trends or trying to copy someone else’s work, resulting in a mediocre or bad comic. No one’s first couple of comics are gonna be amazing, so you should draw a couple before posting any online. Once you get more comfortable with creating comics, you should start to see yourself improving and eventually you will create comics that are way more personal and represent your sense of humor well. Once you find your voice, the fans will come!”