I Document My Life With A Cat In These 40 Comics

Growing up, I read a lot of Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield, which is what drew me to the art of comic-making in the first place. Over time, my style has changed from a typical comic strip format to a more graphic novel style format, which I can attribute to all of the amazing graphic novels I've been introduced to in the last few years.

When I first started drawing 4-panel comics, it used to take me 6~7 hours for each one. Now that I have become more familiar with my characters and developed my own comfortable drawing style, drawing a 4-panel comic usually takes me around 2~3 hours. This of course does not include the process of coming up with the concept, which varies. For my longer-form comics, which are more in a graphic novel format, they can take me around 8 hours to even sometimes over two days per 'episode,' depending on how complex I decided to make the panels. These longer-form comics also require me to prepare the story ahead of time, in script format, so it can take even longer when the entire process is put together.

When thinking of what I want to write and draw about, sometimes, I will be reflecting on a theme and trying to generate ideas. Other times, the ideas come more naturally, when I'm going about daily life or feeling inspired by the real world around me.

Creative work is an exciting and fun process for me, but it's not without its own challenges. Burnout is definitely one of the biggest challenges (in addition to many others) that artists face, including myself. Cat & Cat Comics on Instagram has grown into a whole graphic novel series called Cat & Cat Adventures, published by HarperCollins. Working on these books in addition to other books, all while trying to balance creating new free Instagram comics, definitely has taken its toll, and for a period of time, I had to deal with a wrist injury and burnout from over-work. Now, I try my best to take a more balanced approach, and I don't commit to creating new online comics every other day like I used to, so that I can make sure that the work I do create is the highest quality, because I've put in 100% of my mind and effort into it.

What I'm most grateful for in my creative journey so far has been all of the people who have reached out to me, written reviews for my Cat & Cat Adventures books, and shared with me their stories of how they resonated with a particular comic, storyline, or character.

I think seeing the impact my work has had on people's lives, even if it's not the most significant event in their life, is the most enjoyable part of creating art. My second favorite is probably coming up with the concept and ideas in the first place. Building a world is such a personal experience, and I love every aspect of it, from designing the characters to adding small details that bring them to life.

My previous experience was not in art at all, but in healthcare and technology. I got my Bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology and a Master's degree in computer science. Before I moved to working as an author-illustrator full time, I was working in the tech field. All throughout my life, I've been drawing and writing for fun, but it was only in the last couple of years that I started digital art. I still have so much to learn, but it's been great growing as a creator.

What motivates me as an artist is an inner desire to create, as cheesy as that may sound. I have so many ideas inside of me, characters who want to speak and share their stories, universes, and different timelines that are itching to be drawn. Even within the Cat & Cat universe, I hope to weave together positive, helpful messages that inspire people to be kinder and be more loving to both themselves and each other, and as I continue to tell these wholesome, silly stories about Squash, Ginny, Mickey, Minnie, Nana, and more, I want people to feel joy when they think about my 'Cativerse.'