We’re reaching out to some popular creators to get their best tips and tricks for success and better understand the ups and downs of life as a trailblazer on the internet.
This week, we caught up with Andy, aka Ice Cream Sandwich, via email. Andy is the creator, writer, comedian, and animator behind the top animation YouTube channel “Ice Cream Sandwich” with over 2 million subscribers.
Because of the time-consuming nature of animation, Andy doesn’t post videos very often. But despite having less than 30 videos uploaded to his channel over five years, Andy has attracted a cult following that waits patiently for his new videos.
Andy’s drawings might look child-like at first glance, but his minimalistic drawing style has actually attracted an audience mostly composed of 18-24 year olds, and his stories often revolve around relatable, adult situations.
The interview below has been condensed and edited.
What’s the first thing you do to start your day online?
Usually, I plow through Twitter and look at art 🙂 I like to follow a lot of artists on Twitter.
What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out as a creator?
People don’t care if you mess up something, misspell a word, etc. They have their own lives to worry about. No one is churning through your content with a fine-toothed comb. If you made something entertaining, then you’ve done well, and being a perfectionist ends up working against you. To this day, I still struggle with this and have to pull myself away from deciding the PERFECT word for a joke I’ve been staring at for an hour.
When did you realize you’d broken through and become a successful creator?
My first video that did really well was a video about killing a spider with a door. I look back at it and see so many flaws, but it made me realize people liked the flavor I brought to the table.
If you hadn’t become a creator, what would you be doing right now?
I’d be a programmer for some company making stuff that I would never interact with. Programming is a fun and interesting field, but being a programmer drove me to try YouTube because it’s pretty unfulfilling to make stuff that you just never see the result of. When I post something that I like, and others like, it’s much more fulfilling. I can point at it and say, “I did that :)”
What’s one thing you do to manage your relationship with your fans?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of interaction right now because I post so little, and that’s not great. The nature of animation, even though my animation is dead simple, just means that I post waayy less than other creators. Currently, I’m working on developing my own animation tools to speed up my workflow and hopefully that will allow me to dedicate more time to my community.
What do you think of the idea of cancel culture?
It’s probably not real. I see some creators come back stronger than before, or they will have a smaller audience but still an existing one that allows them to keep making content. The ultimate decider to actually cancel the creator is the creator themselves.
How much of your true self do you show online?
I’ve shown my face once. I will never make that mistake again.
What’s one of the best interactions you’ve ever had with someone who follows you?
Noodle was someone that made fan animations of my old comics a long time ago, and now we are friends 🙂 It’s great talking to someone that does the same stuff you do, because we can really connect on the hurdles we hit when we’re each making content. Specifically drawn content. We share a lot of the same struggles, and that is a great connection to have with someone.
What is your most treasured tool?
My drawing tablet, it’s how I make all my videos!
What holds you accountable?
I don’t understand this question so I drew this Among Us guy.
Thank you, Andy, for speaking with us!
We’ll be featuring a new Q&A with a creator every week, so shoot an email to [email protected] for a chance to be included.
