A Zero-Art Graphic Designer
Watching kindergartners is an absolute delight. They’re unassuming and unafraid of making mistakes. Most importantly, they can laugh at their own quirks; a lighthearted side many of us lose somewhere along the way to adulthood.
Ask yourself — when was the last time you let your guard down and giggled like a child? When did you laugh out loud at your failures and idiosyncrasies?
For the longest time, I struggled with that. Then I came across a quote:
It won’t matter if the world laughs at you if you can laugh at yourself.
To rekindle that child in me — and to laugh at my own absurdities — I started creating comics inspired by everyday life. In doing so, I realized we live in a comical world; one that’s often unintentionally funny.
What Was I Thinking?
Talking of idiocy, here’s a slightly embarrassing backstory of how I accidentally became a graphic designer.
It was 2013, and I had volunteered to help a monk create posters for his blog. The trouble was — forget graphic design — I didn’t even know where to start or what software to use. When it was time to get into action, I was clueless, and my hands trembled.
In school, my art abilities were nothing short of a disaster. I once got a negative point on a science test for drawing an unrecognizable amoeba. Considering that amoebas are shapeless, that was quite an achievement.
So, unsurprisingly, my first poster was… epic. To put it bluntly, it was awful. Even more foolishly, I decided to email my masterpiece to the monk.
“That doesn’t look like the work of a graphic designer,” he replied.
Ouch.
Those words pierced my heart like a sword because I was already disappointed in myself.
Me, a Graphic Designer?
Most people get bogged down by negative feedback, but my mind works in reverse. The more I’m criticized, the more energy I find to grow. That one line he uttered lit a fire in me.
So, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.
I watched countless tutorial videos, read whatever I could find about design, and practiced late into the night. Adults struggle to learn things that kids pick up in minutes. It was awkward, tiring, and frustrating beyond reason — but I stuck with it. Every spare moment went into nurturing this unexpected skill.
A few years later, I found myself creating greeting cards and small creative projects for community events. Eventually, I even made my first little comic. Somewhere along the way, this “pathetic artist” had turned into a hobbyist graphic designer. Forget about everyone else — even I couldn’t believe it.
Turning Myself Into a Comic
Within a few years, I had made posters, cards, book covers, and all sorts of creative things. Looking back at it all, I couldn’t help laughing at myself. Who needed professional comedians when I could see the biggest joker of my life in the mirror every day?
That’s when the idea struck: Why not make a comic out of myself?
I created a character inspired by my own quirks and clumsiness. Then I thought — why stop at me? Whether we’re worldly or spiritual, we’re all weird in our own ways. There’s a little Mr. Bean, Olaf, or Suppandi hiding inside each of us.
So I created a few more characters inspired by everyday life and human nature. To get started, my husband even wrote a few jokes for me, which gave the project its first push.
What began as a way to laugh at myself slowly turned into something more meaningful: a reminder not to take life — or ourselves — too seriously.
The Real Lesson
I’ve slowed down on my Zen-themed comics. Yet those simple, playful creations taught me something profound: humor can soften our edges.
When we learn to laugh at ourselves, we truly become lighter, kinder, and a bit more human. After all, we’re all walking cartoons in our own ways… aren’t we?
