Webtoon hosted a CANVAS Creator Q&A event during the month of July and I participated via my creator profile. This post is a compilation of my answers so anyone who missed the event or is new to me can have the chance to read them.
The series I’m referring to throughout this Q&A is my web comic For Humankind (which you can learn more about here).
Q. What’s an unexpected or random item on your desk?
A. I prefer to work in a clear space, so there are only three items on my desk. One of those items is a Mister Rogers Funko Pop.
The work and life of Mister Rogers are huge influences on my own work and life. Having that little Funko of him on my desk while I work comforts me.
Q. What music do you listen to while working on your series?
A. When doing illustration work, I usually listen to K-pop and J-pop, though I have been trying out a lot of Scandinavian pop lately. When writing, I only listen to instrumental music (currently lots of lo-fi), if any music at all.
If you want specific song recommendations, some of my current favs are—
• That That (PSY; prod. and feat. SUGA of BTS)
• もしも命が描けたら / Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara (YOASOBI)
• First Impression (Amanda Tenfjord)
• the entire Glass House album (lofi geek)
Q. Go-to movie snack?
A. I always like having a bit of chocolate if I’m watching a movie at home. Buuut also there’s a movie theater where I live that serves restaurant food inside, and if I’m watching a movie there, my go-to is chicken tenders and fries. Quite the movie snack, if I do say so myself.
Q. Coffee or tea?
A. Neither. I literally just drink water 😂
Q. Dream vacation?
A. I want to go to Hawaii with my younger siblings. My siblings are my very favorite people and we have a growing list of places we want to go together. I think Hawaii will be the first place we visit.
Q. What got you into drawing and storytelling?
A. I’ve always loved reading and am especially smitten with television. TV and books taught me how to tell stories, and I like creating something from nothing, so I decided at age fourteen that I wanted to be an author.
Shortly after deciding that, I discovered screenwriting and quickly abandoned the novel format I had been using and began writing in screenplay format, which is MUCH better suited for my writing and storytelling style.
Drawing is something I started just a few years ago, when I realized how much having a visual added to my writing. I feel like I draw more out of necessity than passion, but I’m learning it’s a really useful skill to have and can set me apart as a writer.
Q. What’s your favorite easter egg from your series?
A. I’m always writing a bunch of stories simultaneously, and some of those stories have worked their way into this series.
The “down, down, down” from Letter #2 and the “sunset that tells me it’s proud of me” line from Letter #24 are references to two of my other stories I’m currently writing.
Q. Describe your series in 5 emojis.
A. 📝✉️📬👻🥰
…I think that’s a good description, yeah?
Q. Fav thing to do when you take a break from creating?
A. My favorite break activity is always changing, but currently I’m really enjoying playing my Nintendo Switch when I’m taking a break from creating.
*cough* And sometimes I enjoy it too much and my break goes on way longer than I originally intended *cough*
Other than that, I’ve also been reading and working on my Korean and Spanish.
Q. Share a fun fact about your main character that you wish more people knew about.
A. Yu’s little sneakers that he likes to wear were a gift to him from someone else.
Being a ghost, Yu doesn’t tend to feel very seen. One day someone saw him floating by and noticed he didn’t have any shoes, so they gifted him the pair they had on their own feet without hesitation.
That small act of kindness meant the world to him, so the sneakers are now his most prized possession.
Q. How did you decide your characters’ names?
A. When figuring out Yu’s name, I knew I wanted it to be one syllable and cute sounding, since that kind of fit his personality and would go well with the feel of the series. Eventually the name “Yu” came to mind and I knew that was the name for him.
It even paired well with the concept of the series, if you consider the fact that these letters are written to *you* the reader and our little ghost boy Yu is the one receiving them.
Kinda cheesy, but I have no regrets.
Q. Which of your characters could you relate to the most?
A. Yu, as he is my only character on Webtoon haha.
There are days where I feel lonely and invisible, which I think everyone experiences from time to time. I feel like a little ghost in those lonely moments, which is probably the aspect of Yu I relate to the most.
Q. What’s the most unexpected place you found inspiration for your series?
A. One time I took my parents’ dog out after it had rained, and while wandering around the yard I noticed leftover raindrops resting on the blades of grass. I thought the little orbs of rain looked cool, thus Letter #22 (For Anyone Who Has Failed a Class) became rain-themed.
This is what the rain looked like that day:
Q. What’s a message you would give to your younger self when you first started this journey?
A. For my webtoon journey, I’d say: don’t be embarrassed by your gentle heart and tender thoughts. They will actually be able to bring comfort to some people, just as you had hoped.
For the start of my writer journey, I’d say: make sure you’re saying what you want to say with your art. Don’t tiptoe around it or hint at it — just say it.
Q. Your fav comment you ever received on your series?
A. The specific comment this question brings to mind is the one I believe was the first ever comment someone left on my series. It said:
“Putting a comment here because I don’t see any and this webtoon is beautiful.”
At the time, I had been posting the series for a couple of weeks and wasn’t sure how anyone felt about it. This comment was so sweet and encouraged me to keep making the series, since at the time it was an on and off should-I-quit-this-or-should-I-keep-going struggle for me.
That comment was a special little treasure to me then, and it’s a special little treasure to me now, so thank you for it 🙂
And thank you to everyone who leaves me comments! I look forward to them every upload because it’s fun to hear from you 🤗
Q. What are your goals for your series this year?
A. One of my goals is to keep posting consistently, both my webtoon and my author commentary series on my blog.
Q. Share the story of your “THIS IS IT” moment when you decided to publish your series on Webtoon.
A. The night I published my series on Webtoon, I was so embarrassed by what I had created I almost took it down in the same moment. That’s my story.
But in all my prep work for launching For Humankind, I had made a buffer that would last me twelve weeks, and I told myself I couldn’t quit until the buffer was used up… which is fortunate because my readership blew up right at the end of those twelve weeks.
Hearing so many people say that my series was comforting to them played a large part in me committing to keep making it. I mean, that’s why I set out to make this series in the first place.
Again, thank you to those who followed along with this Q&A throughout the month!
Olivia Forero 