Ball State alumnus and creator of Garfield, Jim Davis, visited Ball State’s campus Nov. 13 to answer questions and screen the most recent Garfield animated movie, “The Garfield Movie.”
The event, hosted by the School of Art, brought in a large crowd to Pruis Hall, filling up every seat in the hall. Community members and students of all ages showed up with Garfield shirts, backpacks, books and more. Guests were able to watch the 2024 animated Garfield film, followed by a 30-minute Q&A with Davis that took questions from the crowd.
"I remember well learning from people who were out in the business world or the art world," Davis said. "I always appreciated the time from people who came back to share their experiences."
Davis, who grew up only about 30 miles from Muncie in Fairmount, Indiana, shared some behind-the-scenes fun facts with the audience in the Q&A portion of the event.
"Garfield, by the way, was my grandfather's name," Davis said. "He was a big, stern man, but his eyes gave him away. He had a heart of gold, [and] I thought, 'I want to create a character like that.’”
Davis also discussed some of his early career experiences, such as designing comics for the news publication in Pendelton and the way Garfield has evolved over the years.
"I've always tried to cater to different generations at the same time. It's still the kind of appearance, same kind of humor I did back in 1980s," Davis said.
Davis shared stories of the way Garfield has changed over the years, telling the story of how Garfield went from walking on all fours to walking on two feet and recalling an experience with Charles Shultz, who shared some insight with Davis about his work creating Snoopy.
"I learned about this leap of faith that readers have with comics. You can warp your characters to make them change, do different things," Davis said. "To allow Garfield to do the things I wanted him to do for the sake of a gag, he just naturally changed."
Davis talked about what contributed to the change of Garfield's appearance over time, including changes to the size of newspapers requiring Davis to make Garfield's eyes bigger or decisions to make his arms larger.
Davis had the opportunity to reflect on the way the Muncie and East Central Indiana community has come to embrace Garfield, such as through the night’s event and things like the Garfield Trail in Grant County.
"It's neat, you know, just the simple fact that people like what I do because that's what gets me out of bed in the morning — trying to create something that people really enjoy," Davis said.
Davis shared words of encouragement and advice with aspiring artists — some college-aged and some elementary-school-aged — reminding the importance of continuing to learn and staying true to oneself. He reminded people that if you don't think it's funny and truly love it, no one else will.
"There's a certain amount of ego to art ... You have to set that aside and actually trade on the talents and the drive of a lot of other talented people out there," Davis said. "It's not about you. It's about the viewer. So, don't waste their time. Make them laugh, make them cry, make them feel something."
For comments, contact Olivia Ground via email at olivia.ground@bsu.edu.
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