First, we asked the artist if she had any major influences in her life that might've helped her to develop and refine her style.
"I loved reading comics since I was young, especially the slice-of-life genre, such as 'Old Master Q,' 'Sanmoao,' and '牛仔.' These are all popular comics stories in Hong Kong, the city where I live. When I was older and started reading online comics, I enjoyed 'Zen Pencils' and 'Smile Brush,' which were longer comics with more meaningful messages. These comics gradually inspired me to create my own slice-of-life comics 'Roar Street Journal,' and 'IT Guy & Art Girl,' making both funny and heartwarming stories."
Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Bonnie how long it takes her to fully finish her comics.
"It depends on the length of the comic. For 4-6 panels, it usually takes about 3 hours. For longer comics that occupy 5-10 slides in an Instagram post, they usually take a day to finish. Sometimes I would write the story and draw the sketch on one day, and then finish it up on the next day."
Being an artist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask Pang about her ideas for the comics.
"I draw inspiration from everyday life. For 'IT Guy & Art Girl,' many of the ideas are from daily experiences, so a lot of stories actually happened in real life! Other times, the idea comes from our friends, the internet, or things I observed in life. When an idea hits me, I usually write it down so I can use it in the future."
As we mentioned before, sometimes creative work can cause quite a burnout, therefore we asked the artist how she dealt with that as well.
"Yes, I believe it’s a common challenge for many artists and people doing creative work. When I have too much work to do or drawing the same thing for too long, I feel more stress and less passion. My attention span is not long enough to focus on one project for a long time, so I like to work on several projects at the same time, switching between them. Work-life balance is also important! I try to do more non-art activities during free time."
We also asked Bonnie about how people reacted to her work.
"People generally enjoy reading my comics. Sometimes they get a good laugh, sometimes they feel touched. Other times they feel really relatable to their own relationships. On some occasions, my comics would stir up discussions, since my fanbase is very international and every culture has its unique viewpoint on relationship dynamics. It’s always nice to learn new things from my readers."
The creative process is not easy, but there are some enjoyable parts about it.
"In making comics, my process is: an idea, sketch, line art, color, background. I enjoy coloring the most, it’s a relaxing process because I don’t need to think much when filling in the colors. It also gives a sense of satisfaction when the comic is near completion."
We also asked about the inspiration behind the artist's Instagram account.
"My Instagram actually started well before my comics. At first, I only used it as another platform to post my artwork. I was creating the comic 'Roar Street Journal' back then, I’ve always wanted to share it on social media but it’s only limited to Webtoons due to copyright. When I began to draw 'IT Guy & Art Girl,' Instagram became the main platform for the comic. Over the years I see a lot of great comics on Instagram and thought it’s a good way to reach more audience."
Digital art and art, in general, is not easy and requires a lot of patience, time, resources, and in most cases even money, therefore we wanted to know how the talented comic artist started her own career in digital art.
"I got my first digital drawing tablet when I was 15, and I never looked back! I never took any digital painting course, instead, I taught myself to draw in Photoshop and other computer softwares. Before that, I mainly draw with colored pencils. In high school and university, I still practiced art in acrylic, charcoal, and oil painting, but ultimately I went back to digital art because it’s the most convenient."
Artists tend to get motivated by a lot of things such as curiosity, the search for beauty, or even meaning. Therefore, we asked Bonnie about that too.
"I think it’s communication and self-expression. I’m quite introverted and not great with words. While some people would exercise, talk, or play instruments as an emotional outlet, for me it’s a creative art. It’s also my way to communicate with the world, whether it’s telling funny stories or conveying meaningful messages."
