Users of the popular social messaging app Line are likely to be familiar with the wide variety “stickers” used in conversations on the chat software, but, while animated stickers require advanced skills to create, it might come as a surprise to learn how easy it is to design simple pictures for sale in the Line sticker store.
Lu Shu-hsia (呂淑霞), 56, said her motivation for creating her first sticker series, titled “Benhuman” (扁狐人), stemmed from seeing the “Invisible Person” sticker series on Line’s online store after her son, Kang Yen-chi (康晏棋), taught her how to use the chat software.
Resting at home after quitting her job due to an old spinal injury, Lu said she was browsing the Line sticker store when she came across the “Invisible Man” series and told Kang that if the series could earn its designer money despite its simplicity, then maybe she could try her hand at designing some stickers.
Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times
Although she had never learned how to draw, she said Kang was supportive of the idea, adding that it was his enthusiasm that led her to take the project seriously.
At first, Lu drew all her pictures on paper, but Kang later bought her a tablet, complete with illustration software and a touch-control pen, as a Mother’s Day gift. Using the tablet meant she no longer needed to scan her drawings into digital format.
“There was a lot of fumbling about to begin with. I would touch something on the screen and my drawing would disappear, never to return,” Lu said, adding that she had no previous experience of using computers and that, as her children were at work during the day, she had no one to ask.
However, when her children came home, Lu would ask them about the problems she encountered and eventually, through making notes, and trial and error, she became proficient in the use of the tablet and illustration software.
Lu said she used cartoons in newspapers as a reference point when she did not know how to draw certain things, such as arms and legs, adding that a touch of creativity and imagination was also required.
“You cannot create something unique from looking at other people’s creations,” Lu said.
On the first day that Lu’s sticker series was released, it reached 33rd place in the “Wacky/Weird” category in the online store, which includes about 6,000 different items. Although designers only receiving NT$10.5 of the NT$30 paid for a sticker series, Lu said it was something that helped keep her busy.
“It does not require a huge investment in technology to enter the industry, and one can learn how to express themselves creatively through art,” Lu said, adding that she has become increasingly more interested in drawing the pictures.
Lu said that her limited drawing ability restricted her to producing weird pictures, although she intends to create sequels to her series by using family pets as her muse.
Lu said she feels honored that people want to buy her stickers, adding that while her pictures are intended to be amusing, they carry a utilitarian message.
She said her goal was to eventually draw a series that would capture first place in the “Wacky/Weird” category in the online store.
Kang said he hoped the story of his mother’s dedication to learning new skills at her age would encourage to others who are in search of new hobbies or ways to make money after retiring.
Lu’s daughter, Kang Hui-ching (康惠菁), said many family friends sent her text messages after the sticker series went on sale to praise Lu’s dedication.
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