Do you like inspiring quotes? How about comics?
Through the creative genius of Gavin Aung Than, inspirational quotes and comics have become funny and heartwarming comic stories.
In 2012, Than, who became a full-time freelance cartoonist in 2011, launched Zen Pencils, a popular blog where he posts comic stories that he adapts from inspirational quotes. He has given everyone from Confucius to Henry David Thoreau the Zen Pencils makeover, transforming their wise words into heart-warming, funny and stirring comic stories.
Zen Pencils: How to make good art
MELBOURNE, Feb 22 — One of my favourite comic stories is an adaptation of novelist Neil Gaiman’s 2012 keynote address at the University of the Arts. Gaiman ends his speech by advising the fresh graduates to “Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art.”
The artist behind the aforementioned comic adaptation seems to have taken this to heart. Gavin Aung Than, a former corporate graphic designer left his job of eight years to become a full-time freelance cartoonist in 2011. By the next year, he had launched Zen Pencils, a popular blog where he posts comic stories that are adapted from inspirational quotes. Everyone from Confucius to Henry David Thoreau have been given the Zen Pencils makeover, transforming their wise words into heart-warming, funny and stirring stories.
Based in Melbourne, Than has been drawing comics since his childhood years. He recalls, “I was a cartoon and comic junkie growing up, obsessed with Looney Tunes, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles, The Simpsons, and whatever other animated shows were on TV. I would always try to draw the various characters. From there, I discovered comic books and became mesmerised with the artwork and haven’t stopped drawing since.”
One of the first quotes Than adapted was Teddy Roosevelt’s “Daring Greatly” speech, which struck a chord with the young cartoonist. He says, “It was really the first quote I memorised and stuck on my bedroom wall. It forced me to ask myself tough questions — ‘Was I really trying hard enough to achieve my goals?’ and ‘Was I a man in the arena or a critic on the side-lines?’ That quote led me to buy a Teddy Roosevelt biography and I learnt all about his remarkable life.”
