Liana Finck, who’s been contributing cartoons to this magazine since 2015, is full of feelings, which she unabashedly feels very deeply. This makes her the type of person with whom you arrange to have a business lunch, only to end up talking at excessive length about your mother and your fears and the pet peeves you usually reveal only after years of friendship or many martinis. She writes the captions on her cartoon submissions in such tiny handwriting that you have to lean way in to read them, as if you’re being let in on a secret. Then—wham! It’s no secret—it’s an incisive, relatable, profound, hilarious joke or observation. But don’t take my word for it. Below (and in the video above) are some of her words, from which you can learn a bit about the art of emoting onto the page, from a master of the craft. — Emma Allen
Do you draw with your left or right hand?
Left. I️ think I️ was ambidextrous or undecided as a little kid, but I️ had my right hand in a cast for six months, and after it emerged—voilà, I️ was left-handed. But my parents are both left-handed, so it was probably destiny, or something darker.
What art do you have hanging on your studio walls/above your drawing desk?
I’m more of a window person.
Do you snack while you draw, and, if so, on what?
Lately, I️ don’t eat, besides black coffee, till 4 P.M. It has been working for me. After that, I️ eat toast, salad, milky coffee, and ice pops while I️ work.
Do you listen to music or podcasts while you draw?
Yes, constantly. It’s my great shame. But whenever I️ try to stop I️ get depressed. I️ do best with long things that walk the line between brilliant and boring—the Ezra Klein show is good for work. I also like conversational ones. A favorite is “Retail Nightmares.” But I’ve been on an audio-book kick for a long time. I’m listening to the last book in Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “My Struggle” series right now. I️ love him.
What object or setting do you absolutely hate drawing?
A store full of items. Like the greeting-card rack at a drug store. Which is a trope. Also the insides of trains, buses, and airplanes.
If you could have dinner with one cartoonist, living or dead, tonight, who would it be?
Saul Steinberg, but alive.
What would you serve?
Do I️ have to cook? If so, never mind.
What was your favorite cartoon (strip or animation) as a kid?
I️ don’t want to admit which problematic Disney movies I️ loved. I️ liked cartoons much better than live action (which meant: “Saved by the Bell”) for far too long, but was never a huge TV person. I️ liked, but did not love, “Tintin.” And “The Far Side.” I️’ve never gotten “Peanuts” or “Calvin and Hobbes.” Or, thankfully, “Dilbert.” I️ was very into children’s books, always. Reading (being read to) Maira Kalman for the first time when I was four was a revelation. I️ have somewhat better taste in comic strips now. And I️ still love animated movies, especially Miyazaki. My favorite is “Ponyo.”
What did you spend your first New Yorker cartoon-sale check on?
Very expensive sunglasses. The irresponsibility and impulsiveness scared my mom. But they’re still my only pair of sunglasses.
If you had to get a tattoo (or new tattoo) right now, what would you get?
Probably something accidental, because I️ would not willingly get a tattoo.
Dogs or cats?
Both. But I️ don’t know if I’ve ever really touched a cat.
