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On some of the most popular softwares comic creators use (Note: For the purpose of this post, I will abbreviate Comics and Graphic Novels to just comics .) In anticipation of my upcoming debut graphic novel series Monkey King and The World of Myths: The Monster and The Maze , I want to share with you all the things I have learned and am still learning on making comics. Monkey King and the World of Myths will come out on April 2, 2024! Let’s begin by looking into a question I get asked a lot: What computer programs do professional comic artists use? To the best of my knowledge, it varies. I am not trying to be ambiguous. The truth is, what we use largely depends on our preexisting knowledge and familiarities to the programs, how available we are to spend time and money on learning new softwares, and what effects we want for each book. Every project differs, from style to execution methods, so it is only natural that there is no standard. With that said, here are some popular programs comic artists use: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Procreate, Clip Studio Paints EX, and MediBang. With the exception of MediBang , I have used all four other programs at one point or another. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, and I will share with you my thoughts on them. Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by any of the softwares, apps, or extensions. I am just a user reflecting upon my personal experience. First and foremost, the industry leading giant Adobe Photoshop . Monkey King and the World of Myths is mostly illustrated in Photoshop. This powerhouse is, first and foremost, a photo-editing program. But because of its multi-functional abilities, it has taken over as the dominating program for illustrators. ( Corel Painter was the other leading and competing software. I know friends in the concept art industry who switched between Corel Painter and Photoshop, but that was years ago, so I am not sure if it’s still popular. Maybe you can tell me, friends in concept arts!) The most powerful thing about Photoshop is the wide array of add-ons one can either download for free with an Adobe subscription (such as all the Kyle’s brushes) or purchase (such as all those beautiful, unique pens and brushes on True Grit ). Kyle’s brushes are free to download for Adobe subscribers. Unique brushes can be purchased through different websites, such as True Grit , which offers brushes for Photoshop, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, etc. In addition, you can also purchase various plug-ins and extensions to facilitate your work process, depending on how you work. I’ll discuss a few plug-ins I use regularly at another post . Alas, nothing in this world is perfect, and this includes Photoshop. As powerful as it is, there are some drawbacks. The program is not designed for comic creations. If you have a 100-page comic book, you will have to create 100 files, and you better have a good filing/naming system to keep track of each page. For this reason, the combined use of Photoshop and InDesign works better for comics. Adobe subscription is expensive. You are paying for a premium software. Photoshop alone is US$37.99 a month (as of Feb 2024). If you want InDesign as well, you will have to get the whole Adobe bundle (in addition to Photoshop and InDesign, you also get 20 other powerful softwares, like After Effects (for motion graphics), Lightroom (for photos), Dreamweaver (for web design)… etc.) That will cost you US$89.99 a month. If you want to work on the road, your only option is a laptop and an additional pen tablet. That’s because the Photoshop app for iPad is practically useless for illustrators. Again, this is because Photoshop is a photo-editing program, not an illustration program. Adobe has a different app built for iPad illustrators: Adobe Fresco. (I haven’t used Fresco because I have no time to learn yet another program. Maybe it will work seamlessly Photoshop. Who knows? If you work between Photoshop and Fresco, let me know if you like it (or vice versa)!) Next comes Adobe InDesign , the industry standard for book publishing. Monkey King and The World of Myths is written, layout designed, and organized in Adobe InDesign. Not all comic creators use this software. Many will submit their hundreds of Photoshop files (neatly named, I assumed) to the publisher, where the designer or art director then take over to import the files into InDesign. (Each publisher works differently, so it is important to communicate with them on how to set up the files for each project.) I use it because I have a background in graphic design, which means I am already knowledgeable with the program. In fact, for Monkey King, I wrote the entire book in InDesign. There was no Microsoft Word or Scrivener . This is one of those “exception” case, where I suspect most people don’t do it this way. If you don’t know InDesign, I would recommend skipping this program altogether and use Clip Studio Paint instead. It is a lot less expensive. Using a combination of Photoshop and InDesign means I am drawing in one program (Photoshop) and writing in another (InDesign). This works well for me because I can see at-a-glance the entire book, but it also means I have to constantly switch back and forth between two programs. InDesign has the benefit in keeping all my fonts in vector format, which is crucial for printing books. Downside to InDesign? In addition to the cost I mentioned, this software is not compatible on an iPad. That’s right! You CANNOT use InDesign on your iPad. Again, if you are on the road, this means you will have to get a laptop. Moving on to the extremely popular Procreate for iPad users! Part of Monkey King and the World of Myths was drafted in Procreate. The biggest attraction to Procreate is definitely the cost: it is a one-time fee at US$14.99 (as of Feb 2024). No subscription. No annual-fee. Nada. If you have an iPad and an apple pencil, you only need to purchase this app once. That’s an insane bargain! And it is quite powerful! A lot of fantastic professional illustrators use Procreate for their entire book projects. For example, Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and Leuyen Pham was created entirely in Procreate. Me fangirling at Pham’s and Yang’s book event in early February 2024 at Vroman’s Bookstore , Pasadena, California. Do I use it? Not much. This has nothing to do with the program. It’s a preference on my end. I don’t like the UI (the User’s Interface). Some illustrators love the “clean” UI workspace, but for me, I want the tools I use regularly to be located at hand. I don’t like to click and open each tab every time I want to switch a tool. That’s like me putting my brushes neatly in a drawer, opening and closing them each time I switch a brush. My desk might look clean, but the whole work process drives me crazy. (Is it just me who thinks it’s silly that each time I open or close file, it does this zoom in/out feature to the gallery that I find more annoying than amusing?) (Also, all files are saved only in the app itself. I need to import and export files to the cloud separately, which is time consuming.) One more thing: Procreate does not support CMYK. (It has a fake CMYK channel, not a real one.) Anytime you work with prints, your colors need to be set in CMYK, not RGB. You will have to convert the file to CMYK once you import it back in Photoshop and make changes there. Last but not least, Clip Studio Paint EX , the program that is built specifically for comic creators. I have been experimenting with CSP for Book 2 of Monkey King . Let me be honest with you: I wanted to learn CSP (Clip Studio Paint) for about 2 years, and I have finally found some gap between projects to learn the software in the past 2 days. (Yes, I dedicated two whole days to learn it!) I can see why it is popular: It is designed for making comics. It’s essentially combining Photoshop (where I can draw using a wide array of brushes) and organize all the pages like InDesign (where I can see the whole book at-a-glance). You can work seamlessly from the desktop/laptop to your iPad. The software supports both platforms. In fact, if you are adamant like me on how you want your workspace to be set up, you can save the workspace and import it directly from one platform to another. You can save things on the CSP cloud, and you can set it in auto. This means I can work on my desktop in my studio, bring my iPad to lunch and continue to work on the same file on my iPad. It’s much more cost efficient. Currently, my subscription plan is at US$12.49 per month for access to two platforms (desktop and iPad), and it includes 100GB cloud storage. If you don’t need multiple platforms, you can purchase the app for a one-time fee instead of going with subscriptions. (You won’t have the cloud feature, but why do you need cloud if you are working only on one platform?) I know some people prefer paying a one-time fee instead of monthly. You have the option here. There are some handy and easy-to-use features, such as the perspective tool. Photoshop can also do this, but the CSP version is more user-friendly. Importing and exporting PSD files between Photoshop and CSP is a breeze. At this point, you might think I am just going CSP all the way from here on forever. Not so fast. There are some major drawbacks to CSP as well. Much like Procreate, there is no real CMYK setting in CSP. It does have a CMYK preview function, but it means either me or the publisher will have to convert the files back into CMYK at some point. A seasoned colorist will know approximately what colors to avoid when working in RGB, but that’s not ideal. Colors are already a little off from monitor to print no matter what, and now I have to imagine how far off the colors will be, and I have to constantly toggle between the CMYK preview setting to check? I am not a fan. I am a newbie on CSP, but it seems like the text in my layers cannot retain as vector when I export the file? This will be problematic when I hand off the files to publishers. Can someone more knowledgeable than I am let me know if there is a solve to this? That’s my takes for now on these four popular programs. They each have their pros and cons. For now, my favorite continues to be Photoshop, but CSP comes in a close second for how easy it is to use and how much more budget-friendly it is. What about you? What’s your favorite softwares to use? What do you like or dislike about them? I would love to hear and learn from you! PS: Affinity offers a cheaper alternative to the once monopolizing Adobe. I haven’t tried its programs yet (Affinity Photo as an alternative to Photoshop, and Publisher as an alternative to InDesign). If you use them, let me know too what you think!

CGN is a balancing combo between writing and artwork. When I was young, I thought the most important thing in comics and graphic novels was the artwork. Perhaps this was due to my background in illustration. I love to draw. Naturally, the first thing that caught my eyes would be the quality of art. But as I grew up, I slowly realized that a good comic/graphic novel (Let’s just shorten this to CGN for typing-sake, shall we?) does not necessarily depend on how skilled the illustrator is. This can be a controversial perspective, as it offends illustrators. Are you saying what we do is not important? How dare you. Of course not. I’m an illustrator myself. I LOVE illustrations. I would buy a CGN if the cover artwork attracts me. I buy prints. Beautiful and unique arts make me go to a happy place. They touch my soul. This summer, without knowing what the story was about, I bought “Takemitsuzamurai” (written by Issei Eifuku & illustrated by Taiyō Matsumoto). The artwork simply looks stunning, doesn’t it? I’m saying, a good CGN depends much more than just the quality of art. Here’s a famous example. When One (that’s his pseudonym) made the web manga One-Punch Man , objectively, his artwork might not be considered great, in a traditional sense. “One-Punch Man”, created by One. Turns out, One-Punch Man became a big hit online because of its engaging storyline. It caught the attention of famous manga illustrator Yusuke Murata (村田雄介). He connected with One and re-illustrated One-Punch Man . “One-Punch Man” was re-illustrated by Yusuke Murata and got picked up and serialized. One-Punch Man became one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It’s easy for me to say Story is King! Story is King! Story is King! But, if you ask my honest opinion, story is also just part of why One-Punch Man was so good. One might not have a formal illustration training background, but the story pace and storyboarding technique are clearly there. I wouldn’t call that a killer instinct in CGN storytelling methods. He must have spent a long time studying how CGN worked. From plot to storyboarding, One clearly had a good understanding on how to execute a story in sequential art format. Another example off the top of my head is Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama. When I first got my hands on the book, I was mildly surprised. The artwork, especially character design in the early volumes, had room for improvement. (To be fair, the titans were designed in a very unique and memorable way.) Once again, the story was very gripping. I personally did not enjoy anything overly graphic and violent, and Attack on Titan surely went there, but I ended up reading at least 10 volumes of the series. The story was fantastic, pacing was done well, and the world-building was a lot of fun to read. Are there rules on the visual sides of creating CGN? Absolutely! I’m a creator, so I notice them more, but if the story carries through, I also know breaking those rules doesn’t matter. Here’s an example when it comes to “CGN art rules”. I don’t remember when I learned this. It must have been in one of those how-to-create-CGN books. Basically, a speech bubble should never be kissing a panel box, as that tangent creates visual confusion, or, on a minimum level, a visual annoyance. Do I avoid it? Yes. Do I see it on other CGN? Sometimes. Do I immediately throw away that book? 100% not. If the story is good, the story is good. These rules have very little weight (if at all) when it comes to the bigger picture. I think they are more suggestions than rules. :-) A well-written story is still fantastic even with occasional grammatical errors. CGN is a very interesting storytelling method. It’s not a play, but dialogues drive the story the majority of times. It’s not a movie script – because how a story unfolds in a two-hour screen-time is different from the length of a book. It’s not a regular novel – because a CGN too wordy becomes a heavily-illustrated novel, not a CGN. The art is important, but the plot, the pace, and the writing are also extremely important. A lot of times, the visuals can attract a reader’s attention, but the story will keep the reader. It’s a balancing and integrating act. A special dance. Which is why it’s so challenging but so fun to make them. And the best practice is still read a lot, write a lot, and draw a lot. In my opinion, “storytelling crafts”, “business skills” and “personal traits” combined to make each CGN creator unique. I’ll discuss more on this in future posts.

How I became a history buff through reading comics and graphic novels. As most of my friends and colleagues know, I am a history buff. But I wasn’t born a history buff. That part was very much nurtured. When I was growing up in Hong Kong, I loved reading comics and graphic novels. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a highly visual learner (still am!). Images drew me in. I was lucky that my parents were never opposed to me reading comics. They were both teachers, and they understood that different kids learned in different ways. (Okay, it probably helped too that they both majored in art.) They saw it as a good thing for me to pick up the habit of reading. So, they took me to the local library every weekend. There, I checked out tons of comics and graphic novels on biography, history, and mythology. Biography series above include: Siddhartha Gautama, Julius Caesar, Michelangelo, Galileo, George Washington, Hans Christian Andersen, and Florence Nightingale. Sample interior pages of the series I loved as a child. There was a series that focused on world history, and another series specifically on Chinese history. I soaked them up like a dry sponge in the ocean. I had the most fun reading them. Sometimes, I created my own history comics. The creative process deepened my interest in the subject matter. A comic I did in middle school. The story revolved around a war during the Song Dynasty in China (around 950CE). It was learning without realizing I was learning. Because I had a good foundation in history, I was really into history classes in middle school and high school. The more interest I had, the more I spent time reading and studying in history classes. That, in and of itself, became an infinite cycle of curiosity and interest. Graphic novels are great for visual learners. There are many great history and biographical graphic novels nowadays. They are EXCELLENT not only for children, but also for adults who either want to refresh their memory on a particular person or time period, or for those who want to build a general foundation in history. Some of my favorites include: And for older audiences: I really would like to thank my parents for being very open-minded. Back in the days, a lot of people saw comics and graphic novels as something to frown upon. Harmful, even. True, there were titles that were violent, sexual, and inappropriate for kids. But that could be true in anything, including plays, movies, TV shows, video games, the internet… My parents knew comics in and of itself was just a storytelling format. The content of the story mattered much more. Do you have a favorite comic or graphic novel on history or biography? Please share in the comments below! Until next time!

Eiichiro Oda masterfully reminds us the key to a strong story. Kazuhiko Torishima (鳥嶋和彦), legendary editor of Dragon Ball , once famously criticized Eiichiro Oda (尾田榮一郎)’s One Piece. Torishima described Oda’s compositions as “messy”, the flow among his action sequences as “ill-defined”, and the overall story as “boring”. A year later, One Piece became a bestseller. Torishima acknowledged his mistake, “Oda’s is very gifted in character development. Along with the written dialogues, strong world-building and touching friendship-arcs, Oda is unquestionably a very successful manga creator.” Every creator is different. To me, the biggest strength in Oda’s work lies in his great skills in his ability to tell a very character-driven story. The premise of the book was simple: a boy named Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming the pirate king and searched for the ultimate treasure of the sea known as One Piece. On his journey, he recruited crew members, each with his/her unique sets of talents, baggages, and dreams. Each character has his/her own touching storyline, and those stories ultimately circle back to become reasons why he/she eventually joins the crew. The emotional arches are very well developed. When an author can touch the reader repeatedly, the story is bound to go far. There were dialogues that made me laugh with happy tears, and scenes that made me cry with sad tears. Many tears were shed. To top it off, Oda’s had a solid world-building talent. The world of One Piece contains its own history and complicated geopolitics among bandits, pirates, the world government, and political factions. Did I mention it also has tons of fighting actions to get your heart pumping? In terms of art, Oda often pulls the “camera-angle” for a more drastic effect. “I like to make the character at the front really big, and the ones behind really tiny. This gives more depth to the scene.” ~Eiichiro Oda, via a Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine interview. One Piece is a story where a bunch of dreamers get together on a boat to go on an adventure of a lifetime. They cheer each other on and always have each other’s back. Isn’t that what we all strife for in life, to chase our separate dreams together with a group of trustworthy friends? You can almost taste the salty sea water, almost hear the boy’s exciting, booming voice calling out to you: “ Adventure is on the horizon! ” How can a reader resist to dive in? Luffy will be part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this week, which is a VERY big deal . The parade is highly selective. This means the series have made a strong footprint in American pop culture. (On a side note, because I am also a big fan of picture books, check out Melissa Sweet’s beautiful book Balloons Over Broadway to learn more about the story behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. ♥︎) The live-action series in 2023 became the #1 show on Netflix, and it made #1 in 84 countries! As of 2023, the story of One Piece is still ongoing. After working on it for more than 25 years, rumors had it that Oda is planning to end the series soon. Although he had said that many times before. Who knows? In the mean time, the grand adventure continues. *** As a general guideline for parents, educators and librarians, the recommended age for One Piece is 14+. Although there are no nudity scenes, there are sexual references, and fighting scenes can at times be violent. Sanji is a smoker throughout the manga series. In the American anime version, this has been switched to him holding a lollipop the entire time, but his smoking habit remains in the comic format – something to be aware of if you are introducing the series to a young audience. *** Do you enjoy reading One Piece ? Who is your favorite character and character’s story arc so far? I look forward to your thoughts on the comments section below.

A genuine question to my fellow comics and graphic novel creators Today, we dive into something a bit technical: adjusting colors when painting digitally for comics and graphic novels. And while we’re at it, I do have an open question for those who friends who are much more knowledgeable than I am on this topic. I’ll ask that towards the end of the post. As a rule of thumb, when we create graphics for prints, we make sure the files are set up correctly. Print files are always set up in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key), not RGB (Red, Green, Blue) mode. (You want to make sure you’re not working off RGB. As you can see, RGB has a slightly wider range, especially in the greens. If you select a pop green color in RGB, it’s going to be significally duller once you print it in CMYK.) Most printers use black as the key, so we associate “K” as “black”. Professional comic colorists always aim for 0% for K and adjust CMY to match their existing colors. Let’s say, you have this orange. Notice CMYK is set at C25 M64 Y75 K18. You want to then pick a color where K is 0, and re-adjust CMY to the closest orange you can match it with. I have now matched the orange to C39 M71 Y86 K0. As you can see, the new color where K is set at 0 is very close to the old color I originally picked. At least they’re close enough for my eyes. And I know in the back of my head this works better for print. The main reason is the same reason why we avoid using black straight off the tube when we paint: black fresh off the tube looks flat. Any time you put black in your color, the color ends up looking dull. Mixing your own black gives you more options in developing depth. It breathes more life and layers to your artwork. I’ll give you an example. In “MY LITTLE SISTER AND ME,” I mixed phthalo blue with burnt umber for the kids’ hair to make them pop. The overall composition for this book was designed simpler, and I needed something to pop so make the visuals more fun. In “DIM SUM, HERE WE COME,” I mixed quinacridone rose with phthalo green for the kids’ hair to convey a softer black to match the overall palette. The compositions in this book were busier, so I needed a bit more harmony to avoid visual overloads. By mixing my own black, I have more options to play with. Not to mention this avoids a flat and dull look to the painting. The same concept applies to setting K at 0% when coloring comics and graphic novels. By doing so, we avoid colors turning out muddy and dull on final prints. (Note: I don’t think it works the same in digital painting. It applies more to comics and graphic novels because we usually work with a very selective and limited color palette.) So, here comes my question to my professional colleagues / art directors / designers / production designers who are infinitely more knowledgeable than I am: When you build your color palette, do you make sure K is at 0? The reason I asked is that I don’t hear often this gets discussed. This is VERY comics and graphic novels specific when it comes to coloring and the printing process, and I’m genuinely curious! And I am learning! Always. :-)

Tools and Furnitures Many Illustrators Use Today, I digress slightly and want to share something lighter and fun. Many of my friends are professional creatives. Sometimes, when I pay them a visit in their studios, I can’t help but notice we have the exact furnitures or tools. I always find this a bit amusing. A quick note: you don’t need any specific tools or furnitures to make your art, your comics, your graphic novels, or your work. A paper notebook and a No.2 pencil will do. The important thing is to sit down and start making the work. JK Rowling conceptualized “Harry Potter” on a spiral notebook. With that said, here are some items that many creatives use. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the items mentioned below. (◍•ᴗ•◍) — (1) Art Drawers If you work bigger than 8.5”x11”(or the slightly bigger A4 size, for my European friends), you will eventually need space to store those artwork. Flat file cabinets are usually pricy and bulky. If I see flat file cabinets in a friend’s studio, I would go, “Wo-ah! You rich!” (In which my friend would inevitably go, “I scored this at a garage-sale / estate-sale / hand-me-down when a friend moved / freecycle website.” Flat file cabinets that most artists can’t afford. But for the rest of us with no neighbors selling off their furnitures and friends with no intention to move, this IKEA ALEX drawer is affordable, practical, and goes well with the rest of our Scandinavian-furnished space (all IKEA). I think the majority of my friends owns at least one ALEX. (2) Archival Boxes Sometimes, when I finish a project, I don’t want to stack all the artwork in the IKEA ALEX drawer – I need those space for on-going projects. This is when archival boxes come in handy. I throw in all the project’s related items in a labeled box, including early sketches, revision notes, book dummies, final artwork, etc. Make sure you put the boxes in an elevated space – in case of flooding . Even if you live in the desert, there is still a chance your pipe might burst. I’m speaking from experience. On that note, I once saw a YouTube video on how UK illustrator legend Quintin Blake stored his work. I’ve always wondered what those folders were. They look fantastic! Did he handmade them? If not, where did he get those? Does anyone know? :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EE9q1lygpM (3) Utility Cart with Casters My talented friend Joe Cepeda (who makes all his own furnitures) once said he would always put casters (aka wheels) on everything. This way, he could rearrange his studio depending on what art medium he was using for a project. Genius. I don’t have as big a need to move everything around, but I do see his point on the benefit of this flexibility. Here’s yet another very popular IKEA item that many of us authors/illustrators own: The RASKOG utility cart. IKEA likes to switch up the colors all the time, so depending on when you purchase the cart, the color will be different. Mine is in cottage red. A note: I see other places selling similar looking carts, but the one IKEA is inexpensive, sturdy, and the casters work really well. IKEA is not paying me to say these things (although that would be nice.) It’s just my honest opinion here. (4) Slanted Desk This comes in handy particularly for comics creators and graphic novelists – especially if you still draw the old school way (meaning non-digital). Some friends have drafting tables in their studios. I don’t have enough space to install another desk in my room, so I use a portable version, one that I could put on top of my current desk. I use this a lot when I’m working on my picture books. For graphic novels, I have gone full-digital. That’s when I put this drawing board aside in a nice corner of the room. I like that flexibility. Tips: Sometimes when I am just sketching or writing, I like to pull out this slant board instead, a small option for friends who like ergonomic items. (5) Book Stand I use a book stand everyday, from reading to referencing books while I’m working. This comes in really handy. They no longer sell this particular one on Amazon, but you can find similar looking ones, such as this bamboo version . I also have a lighter version of a bookstand I bought at Daiso (I think it’s $6 there). They are not as visually pleasing. But if you need to reference another book and you want something less bulky, these lighter version works – unless it’s a really big or heavy book. (Also, not a fan of that flimsy page holder. But I get what I paid for.) Trivia: Thomas Jefferson, our third president, owns a fancy one. If you love this, you can buy an inspired version in the Monticello Shop. — One last note: if you are just starting, don’t worry about all the furnitures and tools. Invest your time and energy on your craft instead, and only buy items when it makes financial sense, or as a pat on the back when you finished a big project. I accumulated these items over a very long period of time, too. (I don’t have that fancy Thomas Jefferson multi-book stand. It’s nice, but probably unnecessary. Also, bulky!) — Are there tools or furnitures you use regularly that you’d like to share with everyone? Please comment below! I’d LOVE to see what everyone uses! I hope you enjoy the post. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my Substack, where I share thoughts on everything comics and graphic novels and art-related. Have a great day! ˓˓ก₍⸍⸌̣ʷ̣̫⸍̣⸌₎ค˒˒

Balancing life between passion and health to stay at the top of the game. Today, I want to discuss an important topic: staying healthy as a comic & graphic novel creator. We all know the not-so-secret sauce: Sit up straight. Rest your eyes every hour. Stretch. Workout at least 20 minutes a day. Meditate. Drink eight glasses of water. Less meat, more veggies. Eat rainbow food. Don’t forget the fruits, but don’t overdo them. Go easy on sugar. And less salt, too. Go low sodium. Make your food really bland. Take your vitamin. Go to bed early. Sleep those 8 hours. Repeat that for the rest of your life. Yikes! The truth is, many comic creators I admire have some real health issues. Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece , once mentioned (and I paraphrased): “The turn-around time for comics is really tight. A lot of times, I only get about three hours of sleep a day.” “One Piece”, created by Eiichiro Oda. (Image source: https://wallpapers.com ) Fujiko F Fujio, creator of Doraemon , passed out and died at age 62 while he was drawing at his desk. “Doraemon”, written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The assistant of Yoshihiro Togashi (creator of Yuyu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter ) revealed Yoshihiro Togashi suffered from constant back pain. In “Sensei Hakusho”, Kunio Ajino revealed the daily life working as an assistant to manga genius Yoshihiro Togashi. Yoshihiro Togashi is best known for his manga series “YuYu Hakusho” and “Hunter x Hunter.” Both series are among the best-selling manga in history. Our profession requires us to sit by the desk and draw for an extended period of time everyday. We churn out work at the expense of our shoulder muscles, neck muscles, wrist muscles, hand muscles, and of course, our eyesight. Sitting too long results in poor blood circulation, which, in turn, affects our overall health. When we are on a tight schedule or under heavy deadlines, we tell ourselves, “It’s the passion that matters!” But beware to not ignite that passion in an explosive way, or the burnout and physical pain will come back to haunt you fast. Sure, many creators I admire have serious health issues, but many also try their best to lead a healthy lifestyle. Those are habits I try to pick up. Takehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk and Vagabond , plays basketball regularly to maintain his health. “Slam Dunk”, written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue, is the seventh best-selling manga series in history. Marcie Colleen , lead writer for Epic’s Time Buddies and Kitten Ninja series, has a daily running and yoga routine. “Kitten Ninja”, written by Colleen AF Venable and Marcie Collen, illustrated by Ellen Stubbings. I myself am a big competitive badminton player. I used to play four times a week at two different local badminton clubs. Nowadays, I can only manage to play about two times a week, but I fiercely guard those precious hours. My debut graphic novel “Monkey King and the World of Myths: The Monster and The Maze” will come out April 2, 2024. Some walk the dog. Some swim laps. Some bike around the city. The key is to find a few physical activities you truly enjoy, allocate time weekly for them, and stick to the routine. For Wacom Cintiq users, I also recommend looking into a good pen-grip. I use the Ergo pen grip. It looks funny, but I find my hand muscles a lot less tired at the end of the day. (At $30, it’s PRICY, considering it’s really just a piece of plastic. I guess if you phrase it as “the thing that reduces hand muscle fatigues” or “a long-term investment in your illustration career”, it makes me feel slightly better. Slightly.) (Also, that silly carrot-orange color might be an eye-sore, and the designer in me cringes a little, but it surely makes my pen very visible on my desk.) Plus Ergo Grip for Wacom Pro and Grip Pen Stylus. As for that mouth-full of cliché-goodie-advice I mentioned at the beginning? Try to do as much as you can, but don’t kick yourself too hard when you can’t. They are reminders, ideals. Sometimes we hit the mark, and most of time, we don’t. All we ask is try. Then try again. And again. Because if you love doing this, you want to this for a long time. Perhaps a life time. And preferably not in pain. Stay healthy, friends!

The energy in Takehiko Inoue's artwork adds to his storytelling magic. In my third year in high school, a Korean American transfer student came to our school for about a semester. We were in the same art class. She was REALLY good at drawing, and we bonded over our passion in art. One day, while we were both drawing, she asked me, “Have you read Slam Dunk ?” It was the infant age of the internet. We had limited access to the world wide web through AOL – over that squeaky dial-up modem. The Age of Information had not truly arrived. My knowledge in world popular culture wasn’t great. I shook my head. My friend’s eyes widened with excitement, “Maple, you HAVE to read Slam Dunk ! The artwork is insanely good!” And that was my first encounter to the 7th best-selling manga series in history, the series that is often described as “the one that changes a person’s life.” Before Slam Dunk , I don’t recall reading any manga related to basketball. Yoichi Takahashi’s Captain Tsubasa was a mega-hit, but it was on soccer. For baseball aficionados, there were Adachi Mitsuru’s H2 and Takuya Mitsuda’s Major . When Slam Dunk hit the market, not only did it shook up the world of manga due to its popularity, it shifted the focus of sports culture in Japan. Talk about the impact of a good story! S lam Dunk revolves around a high school troublemaker with no interest or ambition – until he found basketball. It’s a story where reader sees the transformation of a young man from indifference to dedication and passion. The character’s growth speaks to the heart of a generation with a thirst to look for a purpose in life. Friendships. Camaraderie. Teammates. Nemesis. Humor. Laughter. Jealousy. Tears. Trust. Falling down. Giving Up. Getting back up. Coming back stronger. It’s the whole package. Takehiko Inoue has been a basketball aficionado since high school. His love in the sport spilled over into his artwork. As a reader, one of the most exciting part of Slam Dunk is the way Inoue conveyed actions. You can almost hear the characters’ hearts pumping. When Inoue finished working on Slam Dunk , he made another bestselling series Vagabond , a fictional story of a swordsman’s journey in the 1600s. Admittedly, I only glanced through a few books. It was very graphic, and that wasn’t my cup of tea, personally. But the artwork is top of the line, as always. If you are looking for an exciting sports series, Slam Dunk is definitely a good choice. Keep in mind that the series was made in the early 90s. It was a different time, and some jokes are no longer appropriate today. *** Readers who are into sports-related graphic novels should also check out Gene Luen Yang’s Dragon Hoops . *** Do you like Inoue’s artwork? Do you have any sports comics or graphic novels that you love? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section below! Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Hello! I’m Maple Lam , a published children’s book author and illustrator, and I have a LOVE comics and graphic novels. This newsletter will focus on everything I learned and loved about this sequential art form, including studies, work process, what I observed and learned from the greats, the publishing industry, behind-the-scene contents, interviews, etc. My goal is to share this passion with creators and readers who love comics and graphic novels. I don’t anticipate anything 18+, but I will cite art samples periodically that may include graphic images. Please use discretion if you are a minor. Bigotry or harassment in the comments will result in immediate blocking. Let’s level up together by learning from each other! Stay tune!

Welcome, welcome! My name is Maple Lam, and I am an author and illustrator with a deep passion in children's books, graphic novels, arts, history, and competitive badminton. This is the space where I talk about all things creative, inspiring, and little nuggets of life. I can't wait to share my journey with you. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ* "Far and away, the best prize that life has to offer is a chance to work hard at work worth doing." ~Theodore Roosevelt, American politician, historian, naturalist. Subscribe here to my newsletter in case you missed my blogpost!