Jennifer Chuu: The Comic Artist

July 10, 2026

Guest: Jennifer Chuu
Career: Comic Artist and Writer
Based: Nomadic
Instagram: @moonsia_art
Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/the-witch-and-the-bull/list?title_no=1892

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Jennifer's Current Work
Jennifer is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the physical book version of her comic "The Witch and the Bull." The campaign ends in 14 days and features both Volume 1 and 2 of the series, which is available to read for free online on Webtoon.

Kickstarter Campaign
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antler-studio/the-witch-and-the-bull-vol-1-and-2

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Episode Description
Jennifer Chuu didn't want to go to university. Four years felt too long, so she went to Vancouver Film School for one year instead, studying game design. Just enough to know what she was getting into before she actually got into it. Then she worked for a games company, developing worlds in tiny digital spaces. Sometimes she designed pet habitats for a game called Dream Pet House. Sometimes she created characters and assets she loved. The work was solid. It paid well. But it was also strategic. Every paycheque was a brick in the wall she was building to eventually leave and chase her real dream: being a comic artist full time.

When she got laid off at 23, she didn't panic. She had savings. She had time. She had hunger. She told her parents: give me one year. One year to debut herself in Taiwan as a full-time comic artist. She did it in exactly that, creating a series about a boy named Leo who got on a circus train to chase after a mermaid. And somewhere in the middle of drawing Leo's journey, she realised something profound: she wanted Leo's life. She wanted to travel and work like he did. She wanted to see what was beyond her own fish tank.

Now six years into her current comic "The Witch and the Bull," she travels everywhere the Mediterranean Sea touches. Not to escape her work, but to deepen it. Every coastline, every stranger, every clashing belief becomes material for her characters. She's learned that discomfort is where growth happens. That your characters hold pieces of your consciousness. That living your story doesn't mean you have to sacrifice telling it. This is a masterclass in using travel to create, and creativity to justify travel.

Timestamps

00:00-00:37 Introduction to Digital Nomad Stories podcast

00:37-01:08 Ibi's introduction to Jennifer's unique journey

01:08-01:34 Overview of Jennifer's story and "The Witch and the Bull"

01:34-01:46 Transition into main conversation

01:46-02:07 Jennifer works on comics, currently six years into "The Witch and the Bull"

02:07-02:40 Game artist career in New York for eight years

02:40-03:14 Working for Zynga creating 2D game assets

03:14-03:32 Designing pet habitats and environments for Dream Pet House

03:32-04:13 Jennifer's favourite design: detective Dutch hound house

04:13-04:52 Passion in game design versus other game companies

04:52-05:22 Laid off at Zynga, decision to pursue comic artist dream

05:22-05:54 Game artist job as savings strategy for dream

05:54-06:18 Vancouver Film School one-year game design course

06:18-06:50 Entering manga contests and parents' concerns about career

06:50-07:29 Parents asking for commitment, one year to debut in Taiwan

07:29-08:01 Creating circus train mermaid series over two years

08:01-08:54 Taiwan publication through Japanese company, webtoon format

08:54-09:00 Webtoon digital scrolling format versus traditional pages

09:00-09:30 [Publishing the Taiwan series and moving forward]

09:30-10:30 [First travel experience and Croatia inspiration]

10:30-11:30 [Character Leo inspiring real-life travel]

11:30-12:30 [Fish tank metaphor and personal growth through travel]

12:30-13:30 [Pitched "The Witch and the Bull" in Croatia]

13:30-14:30 [Mediterranean travel inspiring comic world-building]

14:30-15:30 [Character pieces and personal consciousness]

15:30-16:30 [Main character Tan's evolution through travel]

16:30-17:30 [Discomfort as fuel for growth]

17:30-18:30 [Travel forces perspective shifts]

18:30-19:30 [Burnout period and nine-month break]

19:30-20:30 [Three years of resistance to work]

20:30-21:30 [Creator residency program breakthrough]

21:30-22:30 [Passion is contagious, community impact]

22:30-23:30 [Finding love for work again through community]

23:30-24:30 [Work as priority, cherishing storytelling]

24:30-25:30 [Digital nomad lifestyle balance]

25:30-26:30 [Advice for aspiring comic artists]

26:30-27:30 [Multiple passions and projects]

27:30-28:30 [Philosophy on growth and contentment]

28:30-29:30 [Creating worlds and universe of experience]

29:30-30:30 [Closing thoughts on living and telling stories]

30:30-35:28 [Final conversation and wrap-up]

About This Podcast
Real conversations with successful digital nomads who've built sustainable location-independent income. Strategic insights on how they transitioned, what income streams they built, and what they wish they'd known earlier. No travel tips or lifestyle fluff.

Host
Ibi Malik helps ambitious professionals transition to nomadic careers without income sacrifice.

To watch the video follow this link: https://youtu.be/9CLSISbJ9qY

Follow for weekly episodes featuring professionals who've successfully built nomadic income streams.

Episode length: ~35 minutes
Published: 10th July 2026
Episode #17

The Comic Artist Who Found Herself Through the Worlds She Created

Jennifer is the 17th guest I've spoken to here at Chateau Co-Living and I'm really excited to share her story. Her story about stories. Jennifer Chuu writes and illustrates comic books. She's been working on the same series for six years whilst travelling across the Mediterranean, visiting everywhere the sea touches. Her previous comic inspired her to travel. Her travels have now inspired everything she creates. And somewhere in the middle of all this, she became the characters she draws.

The whole thing started because she didn't want to go to university. Four years felt too long, so she went to Vancouver Film School for one year instead, studying game design. Just enough to know what she was getting into before she actually got into it. And just enough to take that first big step out of Taiwan. Just enough to get a taste of what existed beyond her fish tank.

Then she worked for a games company, developing worlds in tiny digital spaces. Sometimes she designed pet habitats for a game called Dream Pet House. Sometimes she did animation, which she hated. Sometimes she created characters and assets she loved. The work was solid. It paid well. But it was also strategic. Every paycheque was a brick in the wall she was building to eventually leave and chase her real dream: being a comic artist full time.

When she got laid off at 23, she didn't panic. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. She had savings. She had time. She had hunger.

"I have a dream. I want to be a comic artist full time, so I should chase after it. Now I have savings."

She told her parents: give me one year. One year to debut herself in Taiwan as a full-time comic artist. One year to prove it could work.

She did it in exactly that.

The Character Who Inspired Her Life

Her first published comic was about a boy named Leo who got on a circus train to chase after a mermaid. The mermaid, Yvette, lived in a fish tank. She was content there. She didn't know what was outside. Leo knew there was a world beyond her tank. He wanted her to see it. So he invited her on an adventure.

Jennifer was writing about freedom and discovery through these two characters. She was writing about the gap between knowing nothing and knowing everything. And somewhere in the middle of drawing Leo's journey, she realised something: she wanted Leo's life. She wanted to travel and work like he did. She wanted to see what was beyond her own fish tank.

"You were inspired by your own character?!"

Yes. Completely.

Because Jennifer had been like Yvette. Before she left Taiwan, her entire future was mapped out: finish high school, maybe go to college, find a job in Taiwan, buy a house in Taiwan. Everything in her mind was Taiwan. She was content. She didn't know how much she didn't know.

"When you don't know a lot, when you don't know how much you don't know, a lot of times you grow really content. And then you kind of okay with, like, settling whatever you have."

But Leo kept saying: you should check it out. There's a whole world out there.

So she listened to her own character. She travelled. And the more she travelled, the more she realised how little she actually knew and how much was possible beyond her previous understanding.

The funny thing is: she's still creating that same story. Six years into her current comic, "The Witch and the Bull," she's still drawing characters who travel, who meet each other, who question their beliefs, who discover themselves through the journey. Because now she's living that story. And the story is living through her.

A Universe In Motion

Jennifer pitched "The Witch and the Bull" to Webtoon whilst she was in Croatia. The story is set in a Mediterranean-inspired world where humans and witches live in tension, with history and manipulation between kingdoms. But instead of just imagining this world, Jennifer made a decision: she would travel to every place the Mediterranean Sea touches to inspire her storytelling.

"I'm gonna travel to more places for this title because the whole world is kind of built on this world that was inspired by the Mediterranean area. So I'm going to go wherever the Mediterranean Sea touches."

This is the brilliance of her digital nomadism. She's not travelling to escape work. She's travelling to deepen it. Every new country, every new coastline, every conversation with locals becomes material for her characters. The world she's building on the page is built from the world she's living in.

This is Jennifer's life on the page. She meets people with completely different beliefs, different histories, different fears. And instead of seeing them as opposition, she's learned to ask questions and understand.

"I'm like a little universe."

She said this when explaining how she can hold opposing perspectives simultaneously. How she can understand completely different worldviews without needing anyone to be wrong.

"Everything can be true and false at the same time in the same body. Like my favorite colour is green and my favorite colour is not green. These two statements can both be true in the same person."

Every character in her comics has a piece of her scattered across multiple consciousnesses and perspectives. The more experiences she collects through travel, the more characters she can create. Her main character, Tan, started angry and hateful toward witches because his father was eaten by one. But as Jennifer's perspective shifted through travel and experience, Tan's did too. He began asking questions instead of throwing accusations, beginning to understand that everyone's the villain in someone else's story.

This is what six years of travel alongside six years of storytelling does. The artist and the art become indistinguishable.

Discomfort As Fuel

Jennifer doesn't seek comfort. She seeks discomfort because that's where growth happens.

"I used to be a person who I'm like really stubborn. But now I'm like starting to get into this feeling, which is like, I kind of like my mind being changed."

Travel forced this shift. Every new place, every new person, every conversation with someone who sees the world differently. She started doing things she thought she'd hate and discovered she loved them. And all of this uncertainty became her new baseline.

"The discomfort has become the new comfort zone."

Which means she's always growing. Which means her characters are always growing.

The Three-Year Resistance

Then came burnout. She was in Greece, working on season two, chasing weekly deadlines with no buffer episodes left.

"I feel like every time I go to my computer, I want to puke."

She took a nine-month break. But for three years after, she carried lingering resistance to work she loved. She tried discipline, routines, rereading old comics. Nothing lasted.

Then she went to Los Angeles for a creator residency with nine other comic artists.

"Being in that environment actually somehow helped me. It has to do with being around people who are passionate about storytelling like I do, people who are constantly excited about new ideas. It's like it's contagious."

Passion is contagious. Community is medicine. Suddenly the resistance lifted.

"I became so happy with my work."

The Thing She Cherishes Most

Travel comes second. Work comes first.

"This is something that I love the most to do in my life, other than travel, is to tell a story and draw. The fact that I was feeling like I might start to hate this, it's very, very scary to me. Because I cherish it so much."

She fought hard to get here. She skipped the traditional education path. She worked a job she didn't love to fund the one she did. She left stability for uncertainty. She travelled across continents. She lived out of suitcases. She pushed through burnout and resistance and three years of not understanding why her own dream had become such a burden.

And now, having come through all of that, she knows what she has. She knows what matters. She knows that the work she does changes how people see the world. She knows that the characters she draws reflect the complexity of human experience. She knows that her life and her art are so intertwined that separating them is impossible.

She's not just a comic artist. She's a universe of experience. A collector of moments. A mapper of the human condition. A woman who listened to her own character and became the story she was telling.

And she's still travelling. Still meeting people. Still asking questions. Still creating. Still growing uncomfortable so she can keep growing.

The fish tank shattered a long time ago.

Jennifer Chuu is a comic artist and writer, creating "The Witch and the Bull" for Webtoon. She draws from her travels across the Mediterranean, infusing real experiences and human complexity into her storytelling. You can hear her full story about living her characters, finding community through burnout, and becoming a universe of infinite perspectives in: [EPISODE URL]

Digital nomads and location-independent professionals featured on Ibi's Digital Nomad Stories podcast share insights into building sustainable remote careers. Listen to all episodes: www.ibimalik.com/podcasts/ibis-digital-nomad-stories

Episode Transcript

00:00:00:01 - 00:00:37:18
Ibi
Hello and welcome to IV's Digital Nomad Stories, featuring real conversations with professionals who have cracked the code to sustainable, nomadic lifestyles. These people aren't beach and Wi-Fi chasers. They're building competitive advantages that traditional employment could never match. Global mobility, income diversification, and the freedom to capitalize on opportunities anywhere. I'm Amy Malik, your favorite digital nomad consultant. And today I'm joined on the show by Jenny Chu, someone who proved you don't need travel to escape your work.

00:00:37:18 - 00:01:08:07
Ibi
Sometimes you need travel to feed it. She's a comic artist and the strangest part of her story. She was inspired to go nomadic by one of her own characters. She drew a boy named Leo who lured a content Little Mermaid out of her fish tank to show her the world beyond, and somewhere in that drawing, she realized that she was the little content mermaid, and she had to leave to discover the world beyond her fish tank.

00:01:08:09 - 00:01:34:08
Ibi
Now, six years, she's into her comic, The Witch and the bull, and she travels everywhere that the Mediterranean Sea touches. Not to escape her work, but to deepen it. Every coastline, every stranger, every clashing belief becomes material for her characters. The world in her comics is now built from the world she is living in. This is a masterclass in living your own story.

00:01:34:08 - 00:01:46:10
Ibi
When you stop protecting your comfort and start collecting experiences, you don't just create a story, you become the story. Here's Jenny. You write comic books.

00:01:46:12 - 00:01:53:12
Jennifer
Yeah I know. Yes, I write comic books. Yeah. And I also draw them. Yeah.

00:01:53:13 - 00:01:55:04
Ibi
Are you drawing right now?

00:01:55:06 - 00:02:07:13
Jennifer
The Witcher, The Bowl, which was a series I've been working on for like, the past seven years already, Seven years? No no no. Six. Six. I've been traveling for seven years, but I've worked on this title.

00:02:07:14 - 00:02:10:13
Ibi
What did you do in the first one year before you started working on this book?

00:02:10:14 - 00:02:13:05
Jennifer
I was coming up with an idea.

00:02:13:07 - 00:02:16:00
Ibi
How could you afford the travel.

00:02:16:02 - 00:02:20:04
Jennifer
From, like, previous, previous works? Because I.

00:02:20:04 - 00:02:21:16
Ibi
Used the previous works.

00:02:21:18 - 00:02:29:06
Jennifer
Well, actually, technically from the previous previous works. Because the previous work didn't make that much money.

00:02:29:07 - 00:02:31:05
Ibi
I hate those previous works, damn it.

00:02:31:09 - 00:02:40:14
Jennifer
I do love the previous work. So like I was working as a game artist in New York for eight years.

00:02:40:16 - 00:02:43:00
Ibi
Doing what? What does a game like this mean?

00:02:43:00 - 00:02:58:19
Jennifer
You just like, create like assets and like art, like characters. Sometimes you have to do like UI, like icons and stuff. Sometimes I do animation. I hate doing animation, but I did a lot. Okay. Yeah.

00:02:58:23 - 00:03:05:19
Ibi
Okay. All right. So you do all right for a specific general game or like generally or you freelance two games.

00:03:05:19 - 00:03:14:17
Jennifer
Or what? Originally I wanted to do like more like 3D, like triple A games. But then I ended up being in do you know, Zynga?

00:03:14:19 - 00:03:15:10
Ibi
I think I've heard.

00:03:15:10 - 00:03:27:18
Jennifer
Of it. They made Farmville five. So like I later on got into this company and I started doing like like 2D assets. So it's nothing 3D. So it was like making like 2D stuff.

00:03:27:19 - 00:03:30:17
Ibi
What was the favorite thing? Your favorite thing that you designed?

00:03:30:19 - 00:03:32:10
Jennifer
My favorite thing I designed.

00:03:32:15 - 00:03:34:18
Ibi
Like a certain character called Bob or what?

00:03:34:19 - 00:03:51:03
Jennifer
No, but I was like, I love designing, like, because we were making this game called Dream Pet House, and then I love designing the pet houses. Like their environment, their habitat that they're like living in on the tree house. This game doesn't exist anymore.

00:03:51:05 - 00:03:53:08
Ibi
But did you make one for a cat?

00:03:53:10 - 00:03:59:15
Jennifer
There's so many different kinds of cats too. So I made a lot of cat like habitats.

00:03:59:21 - 00:04:01:08
Ibi
Oh.

00:04:01:10 - 00:04:02:09
Jennifer
It's fun.

00:04:02:10 - 00:04:03:11
Ibi
I want this job.

00:04:03:14 - 00:04:13:05
Jennifer
You know what my favorite one is? A Dutch hound, and he's a detective, so his house is like a detective house. I'm not sure.

00:04:13:05 - 00:04:14:21
Ibi
Why, detective Dutch Hunt.

00:04:14:23 - 00:04:17:22
Jennifer
I think you can name them.

00:04:18:00 - 00:04:20:02
Ibi
I love that. I love to name everything.

00:04:20:04 - 00:04:26:16
Jennifer
Yeah, I cannot remember, but, like, this game is, like, dead now. Like it's not on the market anymore. You cannot play it anymore.

00:04:26:18 - 00:04:28:15
Ibi
Did you play Stardew Valley?

00:04:28:17 - 00:04:30:01
Jennifer
I have not.

00:04:30:02 - 00:04:32:17
Ibi
I love that game. It's kind of like Farmville.

00:04:32:20 - 00:04:36:20
Jennifer
Yeah, but I think it's. I think it's more than Farmville now.

00:04:36:21 - 00:04:39:15
Ibi
I love it like it's a full on, like, game game, but.

00:04:39:16 - 00:04:52:13
Jennifer
Yeah, yeah, I think there's more passion goes into it. You know, I don't I don't want to say that because I think a lot of people actually put in a lot of like passion into their work. I just haven't met them in Zynga.

00:04:52:15 - 00:04:58:04
Ibi
I'm getting I get this feeling. Okay, so that was the previous previous job. What was the previous job?

00:04:58:08 - 00:05:21:23
Jennifer
Okay, so after I left zinger, I was doing like freelance work. And because I got laid off and like the first thought, I was like, I have a dream. I want to be a comic artist full time, so I should chase after it. Now I have savings, which is like the first reason why I become a game artist, just to, you know, accumulate like some savings so I can invest in my dream.

00:05:22:00 - 00:05:24:07
Jennifer
But now I don't have a job anymore. I can.

00:05:24:08 - 00:05:25:04
Ibi
Actually have time.

00:05:25:04 - 00:05:26:05
Jennifer
It's a perfect timing.

00:05:26:06 - 00:05:27:02
Ibi
How old were you?

00:05:27:03 - 00:05:40:07
Jennifer
I was 25. 26, I think. No no no no. That's when I started. So I think like, I was like 23 or 24 when I got laid off.

00:05:40:11 - 00:05:44:14
Ibi
And you must have started working so early.

00:05:44:16 - 00:05:54:13
Jennifer
Yeah. Like, you mean like in terms of, like, going, like, stop studying and go to work? Yeah, yeah, because I don't want to go to college. It's four years is too long.

00:05:54:14 - 00:05:56:00
Ibi
So you didn't go to university?

00:05:56:00 - 00:05:58:20
Jennifer
No, it's too long. I like the idea. Just like.

00:05:58:22 - 00:06:03:09
Ibi
You can't do it the same. University either.

00:06:03:14 - 00:06:18:22
Jennifer
Yeah, but I went to an institute called Vancouver Film School, where I studied game design for one year. Okay, so because I wanted to know everything about game design before I even work in the industry. Okay.

00:06:18:23 - 00:06:26:15
Ibi
Yeah. All right. So you went and you studied game design for one year and you didn't do the full course, and then you went and did your thing, and then you got laid off. But now you had some money.

00:06:26:18 - 00:06:50:05
Jennifer
Yeah, money. Some time. I can do some freelance on the side. And then so I enter a lot of like contests, like manga contests around the world. So yeah, international one, some of them in Taiwan stuff because like Taiwan is where I came from, where I grew up. And eventually, like my parents were, kind of worry about me.

00:06:50:05 - 00:06:59:18
Jennifer
They were like, so like, what is it going to be like? Are you going to find a job or are you going to be a comic artist? I say like, give me one year.

00:06:59:19 - 00:07:04:00
Ibi
All of them. I'm to find a job and become artist all at the same time.

00:07:04:01 - 00:07:29:15
Jennifer
Yeah, exactly. Then that's what happened because I promised in, like one year and then I get it done within one year. I wanted to debut myself in Taiwan as my first, like, full time comic artist. Officially, yeah. So I created a series about, like, this kid got on a circus train and to chase after a mermaid so that I drawn for like about two years.

00:07:29:15 - 00:07:33:03
Jennifer
So that's starting from, like when I was like 26.

00:07:33:08 - 00:07:34:19
Ibi
But that was in Taiwan.

00:07:34:20 - 00:07:39:07
Jennifer
That was that was like in Taiwan. But I was living in New York at the time.

00:07:39:09 - 00:07:41:20
Ibi
So it was a Taiwan publication. But you were living in New York?

00:07:41:21 - 00:08:01:20
Jennifer
Yeah, it was a company that was from Japan that has a office in Taiwan. And I was doing the Taiwan platform. Yeah, but that's just like kind of like more like because I wanted my first work to be published in Taiwan instead of anywhere else.

00:08:01:22 - 00:08:03:05
Ibi
Okay. Yeah. Okay.

00:08:03:06 - 00:08:14:06
Jennifer
Why is just for the novelty of it, the money. The money is not not good. But but the novelty is like, great.

00:08:14:07 - 00:08:22:01
Ibi
All right. So you were like, I'm gonna go get a job and I'm gonna go and publish a publication in Taiwan.

00:08:22:02 - 00:08:23:10
Jennifer
Is a job.

00:08:23:12 - 00:08:25:18
Ibi
But I can employ a job. Is it an employer?

00:08:25:19 - 00:08:28:04
Jennifer
No, it's a contract. Yeah.

00:08:28:06 - 00:08:28:18
Ibi
Okay.

00:08:28:19 - 00:08:51:09
Jennifer
Yeah, a contract and not a lot of money. But then, like, once I get that done, I published the books as well. So it was like a digital format. It's like called webtoon. Okay. So it's a long format where you like, scroll down. Okay. Yeah. And then you read a whole story. So we have to like redo the layout again for it to publish into books.

00:08:51:09 - 00:08:54:16
Jennifer
So I publish that in Taiwan.

00:08:54:18 - 00:09:00:11
Ibi
Yeah. So it's like a digital format that it's just like one, one page and you just keep trolling down to it.

00:09:00:12 - 00:09:00:16
Jennifer
Yeah.

00:09:00:16 - 00:09:03:17
Ibi
Yeah, yeah. But then you turn it into an actual physical book.

00:09:03:19 - 00:09:12:22
Jennifer
Yeah, exactly. That's all. You have to take all the panels out and then redo the layout again to fit into pages, and then make it a little better as well.

00:09:13:03 - 00:09:16:10
Ibi
This is a full on creative start to finish project.

00:09:16:11 - 00:09:23:03
Jennifer
Yeah, that was really fun. I was not redoing the layout. I was I was not the one redoing the layout. Someone else did.

00:09:23:04 - 00:09:23:20
Ibi
No, but I mean.

00:09:23:21 - 00:09:24:18
Jennifer
Like someone else.

00:09:24:18 - 00:09:29:20
Ibi
So you did this whole publication that was digitally and physically published? Yeah.

00:09:29:22 - 00:09:30:20
Jennifer
It's really fun.

00:09:30:21 - 00:09:33:16
Ibi
Was that that was your first freelance?

00:09:33:18 - 00:09:55:05
Jennifer
No, it was my first contract as a comic artist. Yeah. So basically how comic artists work is, like, you pitch an idea and editorial team likes it, and they greenlit it and was like, okay, we're going to we're going to get this made. And then when you pay you like per episode and then you get some revenue share whenever we make money on it.

00:09:55:05 - 00:10:20:08
Jennifer
But at the time in Taiwan, there's no revenue share on that because they just started out in Taiwan. That company, which right now that company doesn't exist in Taiwan anymore. Rep. Yeah, but after that whole project, that series is done. I decided I was like, you know what, I know English. I'm gonna, you know, work with like somebody in the US.

00:10:20:09 - 00:10:29:12
Jennifer
There's webtoon and that's what I was aiming for. And then that's where I pitched my next idea. And and it worked fantastically.

00:10:29:14 - 00:10:32:06
Ibi
So you pitched it and you got the pitch. Yeah.

00:10:32:07 - 00:10:36:07
Jennifer
Yeah, I got it. And I've been working on the same title for like six years already.

00:10:36:08 - 00:10:52:23
Ibi
My god. Okay, so tell me about the pitch. Like what was the like, what did you need to do? Like you'd had this experience for two years, but you did your thing. Plus the graphic, the game design, you had all of that and you had the hunger and the bravery to do it and to submit it to webtoon.

00:10:53:00 - 00:11:00:22
Ibi
Yeah. And so what did you do? You like I'm going to come up with an idea and I'm going to send them a deck or what? Yeah, yeah.

00:11:00:23 - 00:11:16:17
Jennifer
I had a contact of the chief editor at the time, so I just tell him I'm not crazy. I've done this before. You know? I want to put your idea. And if you if you don't like it, it's fine, but I'm going to put you something. So I pitched in and he's like, you know what? It's pretty good.

00:11:16:17 - 00:11:28:08
Jennifer
I'll bring it to the meeting. And then my editor picked it up. He's like, oh, I want this. And then so like he picked it up and then we start working on this project together.

00:11:28:09 - 00:11:32:23
Ibi
How did you get the contact of the Chief Creative?

00:11:33:00 - 00:11:34:17
Jennifer
I don't know if I can say this.

00:11:34:22 - 00:11:47:23
Ibi
Okay, fine. You don't have to tell me. Interesting. Okay, so you got this contract, this contact through some means, and you put it together and you send it out there. Okay, good.

00:11:47:23 - 00:11:50:18
Jennifer
Yeah. You know, I just thought, like, I'll give it a shot.

00:11:50:19 - 00:11:51:06
Ibi
Okay.

00:11:51:07 - 00:11:51:18
Jennifer
Yeah.

00:11:51:19 - 00:11:54:11
Ibi
And then what happened?

00:11:54:13 - 00:12:18:02
Jennifer
And then I since I was already a digital nomad at that time because I think like it was like the previous, like work makes me feel like I don't want to, you know, like, like living New York anymore because there's no point of because I was already working remotely. And so I was like, traveling. Right? So I was in Croatia and I came up with this idea, and then that's why I got greenlit.

00:12:18:02 - 00:12:43:05
Jennifer
So I was like, you know what? I'm going to travel to more places for this title because, like, the whole world is kind of like built on like this, like world that was inspired by the Mediterranean area, the region. So I was like, I'm going to go wherever the Mediterranean Sea touches. So that was my plan. So I did that.

00:12:43:07 - 00:12:51:12
Ibi
What inspired you to base the comic on a travel?

00:12:51:14 - 00:13:13:20
Jennifer
It's because I want to travel. Oh, actually, because the reason I wanted to travel was actually has to do with my previous series that I published in Taiwan, The Mermaid one, because like the main character, he wants like freedom, you know, he wants to discover himself. He wants to chase after what he like. He thinks that he wants he wants the mermaid.

00:13:13:21 - 00:13:19:20
Jennifer
That's what he thinks. So he get on the circus and he started working with the circus. And they start traveling.

00:13:19:20 - 00:13:21:12
Ibi
And circus. The traveling circus?

00:13:21:13 - 00:13:28:04
Jennifer
Yes, exactly. And then I was just like, you know, wouldn't it be nice if I can also travel and work like he does?

00:13:28:04 - 00:13:30:12
Ibi
You were inspired by your own character.

00:13:30:13 - 00:13:33:17
Jennifer
Yes, I often do.

00:13:33:19 - 00:13:43:17
Ibi
That's amazing. Yeah, I love it. Oh, okay. So what was the mermaid's name? Yvette. Yvette. So you were inspired by Yvette?

00:13:43:19 - 00:13:49:19
Jennifer
No, I was inspired by the. The boy who was in love with Yvette named Leo.

00:13:49:21 - 00:13:51:00
Ibi
Yeah.

00:13:51:02 - 00:13:55:14
Jennifer
Yeah. Event is in a in a fish tank most of the time.

00:13:55:16 - 00:13:56:18
Ibi
For your pet.

00:13:56:20 - 00:13:59:10
Jennifer
I know she doesn't feel like she's poor, though.

00:13:59:13 - 00:14:00:12
Ibi
Okay. All right.

00:14:00:13 - 00:14:03:13
Jennifer
Fair enough. Interesting. Interestingly.

00:14:03:15 - 00:14:05:03
Ibi
Why?

00:14:05:05 - 00:14:32:15
Jennifer
I think so in the story. Like, because she was, like, kind of living in her fish tank. Kind of like a closed society. She doesn't. And she's already pretty happy about it. So it's almost kind of like me. Like not when. Before I even leave Taiwan. Even before I even know what's going on outside in the world, I was like, I can just like I wanted to finish high school.

00:14:32:15 - 00:14:54:08
Jennifer
And at the time, like when I was still in high school, I was like, maybe I can go to college, you know? And then I'll find a job and I'll stay in Taiwan. I'll buy a house in Taiwan and I'll like blah, blah, blah. Everything in my mind was in Taiwan. I wasn't thinking about anything else outside, but because like, I in the end, like didn't want to study for years in university.

00:14:54:11 - 00:15:16:20
Jennifer
That's why I went to Vancouver, and that's why I get a little bit taste of like what it what could be like outside. There are some things I don't know outside of my own country. Yeah. Even just Vancouver is already very exciting. Yeah, but the thing is, like when you don't know a lot, when you don't know how much, you don't know.

00:15:16:22 - 00:15:25:02
Jennifer
A lot of times I you're really like, content and you're kind of okay with like settle whatever you have. So that was kind of more like.

00:15:25:02 - 00:15:27:08
Ibi
That content was content.

00:15:27:10 - 00:15:27:16
Jennifer
Yeah.

00:15:27:17 - 00:15:28:13
Ibi
I was like.

00:15:28:15 - 00:15:32:11
Jennifer
Yeah, like my fishbowl. Don't drag me out.

00:15:32:15 - 00:15:34:16
Ibi
And Leo was he's like.

00:15:34:17 - 00:15:46:09
Jennifer
Yeah, I've been living outside. You should check it out. We should go on a date. That's why he said, okay. Yeah. So that's what they did.

00:15:46:11 - 00:15:54:01
Ibi
And how did the travels.

00:15:54:03 - 00:15:56:18
Ibi
Further your perspective?

00:15:56:20 - 00:16:15:13
Jennifer
I think it's like got back to like the same point as, like the more I travel, the more I realize how much I don't know and the more stupid I feel, but the more I want to create something that opens like people's mind and perspectives.

00:16:15:15 - 00:16:20:23
Ibi
And do you feel like you can explore that then through your new work or the work that you're doing right now? Yes.

00:16:20:23 - 00:16:22:22
Jennifer
Yes, I think I did.

00:16:22:23 - 00:16:24:11
Ibi
How can you give me an example?

00:16:24:11 - 00:16:52:06
Jennifer
So the work that I'm working right now, like so, the story happens to be humans and witches, that they live in this world, but they don't get along very well. There have a lot of like, history. They have a lot of fights in the past. There's a lot of like, manipulation between each other, like these two to kingdoms, like these two race, these two group of people.

00:16:52:08 - 00:17:08:08
Jennifer
And. But through the story progresses like these characters inside, like, learn to step into, like, each other's shoes and then understand each other more. And to.

00:17:08:10 - 00:17:11:01
Ibi
This is like meeting new people on travels.

00:17:11:02 - 00:17:26:16
Jennifer
Exactly. Yes. They do meet a lot of different people on their travels. Yeah. And they self discover on their own because they in turn reflect and ask themselves like questions that I never asked before.

00:17:26:18 - 00:17:33:08
Ibi
Like what? Like what? Like what questions do they ask themselves like. So soul searching, inner questions, that kind of stuff.

00:17:33:09 - 00:18:00:14
Jennifer
Yeah. It's like the believes that you used to believe in, like true or not. And what is the power of belief? Like, if you think you're a good person, you could actually become a good person. If you think people are trying to harm you, then they are actually harming you. Things like that. So like they ask questions as they're trying to discover themselves.

00:18:00:18 - 00:18:24:23
Jennifer
Yeah. Also like when the so for ten the main character he always like thought like which is are just like you know like evil and because like he has been like he has passed that was like haunted. And you know, he had really heartbroken stories that has to do with witches. And like, his father was eaten by the witches.

00:18:25:00 - 00:18:25:05
Ibi
Oh.

00:18:25:05 - 00:18:33:14
Jennifer
No, because his dad got turned into a sheep. And then they made it into a touching.

00:18:33:16 - 00:18:38:01
Jennifer
Of course. Why? He's mad and angry and, like, hateful. But how does he change that?

00:18:38:02 - 00:18:39:20
Ibi
I would never eat until Sina.

00:18:39:22 - 00:19:11:19
Jennifer
Yeah, but like. But like not all which is are bad and from why do they do that? There's also a question to ask, right? Like why is the villain doing that? Like what grudges does she hold? These are the questions that tan as a character, he has to dive deep into discovering and to able to do that, he has to be open minded to accept whatever answer that comes and then not get controlled by his emotions.

00:19:11:21 - 00:19:20:12
Jennifer
He was actually in the beginning. A lot of readers really didn't like ten as a character, but now a lot of people actually really liked him.

00:19:20:14 - 00:19:24:03
Ibi
Do you feel like he gained some social skills on his travels?

00:19:24:05 - 00:19:29:14
Jennifer
I do, I think so I was very I was very shy in the beginning.

00:19:29:16 - 00:19:31:12
Ibi
But then you tell.

00:19:31:14 - 00:19:39:18
Jennifer
Me, oh, are you talking about me or are you talking about that tan? Oh, yeah. His social skills definitely got better.

00:19:39:20 - 00:19:42:13
Ibi
I mean, maybe for you as well. I was for me, for.

00:19:42:13 - 00:19:44:20
Jennifer
Sure, but for ten. Yeah, definitely.

00:19:45:00 - 00:19:46:09
Ibi
Is there a connection?

00:19:46:13 - 00:19:52:22
Jennifer
I definitely think, like, I have connection with all the characters. They have a little bit of piece of me everywhere.

00:19:53:00 - 00:19:54:05
Ibi
Of course you made them.

00:19:54:06 - 00:20:03:18
Jennifer
Yeah. There are like little molecules of me. Imagine if I take my I make it into a character. That's one character.

00:20:03:20 - 00:20:07:16
Ibi
It would be cool. Jennifer.

00:20:07:18 - 00:20:11:00
Jennifer
Jennifer.

00:20:11:02 - 00:20:13:07
Jennifer
Jennifer, left, and Jennifer right.

00:20:13:08 - 00:20:17:01
Ibi
Jennifer, left. And Jennifer right. You can make a rap about that one.

00:20:17:06 - 00:20:21:13
Jennifer
Yes. I'm not good at rapping, though.

00:20:21:15 - 00:20:39:22
Ibi
Interesting. Okay. Wow. All right. And how has the Nomad perspective kind of changed the way that you.

00:20:40:00 - 00:21:02:17
Ibi
Like? Six years is a long time. Yes. That you're working on one thing. Yes. But I can see if it's a journey where you're learning things and your perspectives of changing, and that changes the characters perspectives. And as you go through that journey, the characters must also evolved with that perspective.

00:21:02:19 - 00:21:06:00
Jennifer
Yeah, I definitely I definitely see it.

00:21:06:02 - 00:21:17:07
Ibi
So how does the connection go between you learning something and the characters learning something? It's like, do you see something? And you're like, wow. And then it finds a way into your characters?

00:21:17:09 - 00:21:48:13
Jennifer
I think it often does that, like simultaneously, I think. But I don't know. I don't know exactly how to articulate this because a lot of them are in the writing itself, like in their dialogs, like the way they talk, like the way they confronted a problem. Like it's kind of like it used to be more simple. But I think, like now there are more.

00:21:48:15 - 00:21:56:13
Jennifer
They used to be more like simple like like they thought. And then they get into action. And now, like, they are more vocal about things, which.

00:21:56:13 - 00:21:58:00
Ibi
Is.

00:21:58:02 - 00:22:31:08
Jennifer
I'm not sure. Like, this is still something I'm trying to figure out, like, because it's a mystery to me that I have just I find more connections now with my characters than I had before. Maybe it's the time that we traveled together for so long, for like six years, but also it maybe it's just like I'm just a different person now than I started the whole series, because before I started a series, I think I was in a very different.

00:22:31:10 - 00:22:54:09
Jennifer
Chapter of my life. And also there's so many things I just haven't experienced yet. Like, I have not really been on like a real date and stuff, but I'm already like coming up with a story that includes romance, which I don't have much to. I don't have much idea about, like real life romance, you know, until I started, I was like, you know what?

00:22:54:10 - 00:23:18:13
Jennifer
Like I'm traveling. I became more bold and more willing to try new things, and therefore I open another, like, whole like world and angle in, like, the romance part of my life. And then I have more things to say in terms of, like the romance part of the story.

00:23:18:15 - 00:23:32:15
Ibi
Do you think that sometimes. Do you think it's sometimes the character in the story leads with something and then you follow? Or do you think sometimes you lead the story and then the character follows?

00:23:32:17 - 00:23:59:17
Jennifer
Not both. For instance, like for Leo, the previous from the previous work, like I definitely followed his footsteps. Right. He inspired me. But then, like, sometimes, like in my travel, like some people that I've met and some like things that we've done, like I was like, okay, I need to like, my character needs to play this stupid game that we just played in the bar.

00:23:59:19 - 00:24:24:09
Jennifer
And then so that happened. Yeah, there was a game about like, cups and then like cups and names, like, you take a cup and then you're like, oh, this is this is Natalia, this is Stephanie, this is a B. And so what is this? And then people are very confused about it. And I was like, and for two days we couldn't solve the mystery of like what is the rule of the game.

00:24:24:10 - 00:24:32:01
Jennifer
Eventually when we solved it was like, oh my gosh, I need to put this in the in the background of the comic, stuff like that.

00:24:32:03 - 00:24:33:06
Ibi
I love it.

00:24:33:07 - 00:24:35:06
Jennifer
Yeah.

00:24:35:08 - 00:24:42:09
Ibi
This is awesome. How does it feel to have so many worlds contained within you?

00:24:42:11 - 00:24:47:00
Jennifer
It just makes me feel like.

00:24:47:02 - 00:25:14:01
Jennifer
Like every each of us are our own, like little universe. Does that make sense? Yeah. I think is that like. Oh, that's hard to put this in words, It's like everything can be true and false at the same time in the same body. So like.

00:25:14:03 - 00:25:37:16
Jennifer
Like maybe like just like a simple statement, like, my favorite color is green and my favorite color is not green. These can these two statement can both be true in the same person in the same body. So when you have like a story there is like maybe like a core message of it, but maybe you have another story that has like a core message that kind of contradicts this core message.

00:25:37:17 - 00:26:09:12
Jennifer
But since you have like the both story, you have both perspectives. So you have both of these knowledge in you. So you are more open minded to both of these statements that are that can contradict each other, which is like you can also be, if I put it more extreme, like you can be far right and you can be far left at the same time, because you understand both of these values of why they're important for each party and why they choose that.

00:26:09:15 - 00:26:42:15
Jennifer
So once you understand these two things and then you just put yourself and you're like, well, I'm like a little universe, I the more I know, the more I can like, you know, create like space for these knowledge. And then on its own. There are their own like little worlds, but they can all coexist within me. And the more I think about this, the more I feel like this world can also coexist with different ideas and different opinions, and nobody actually has to fight.

00:26:42:17 - 00:26:45:15
Jennifer
But maybe this concept is a little bit like a vague, but I'm.

00:26:45:15 - 00:26:56:00
Ibi
Not sure. No, no, it makes sense of sense. So it gives me the question how do you.

00:26:56:02 - 00:27:03:18
Ibi
I don't even know how to phrase the question. Okay. So you.

00:27:03:20 - 00:27:09:00
Ibi
You come across this very like your heart is light.

00:27:09:01 - 00:27:26:21
Ibi
And yet you have all of these worlds inside you and these contrasting opinions which could be inside you. How do you separate yourself from it? That it doesn't overwhelm you?

00:27:26:23 - 00:27:56:11
Jennifer
I think, well, you know, there is. I really hate this line, but be true to yourself the moment except changes that comes. And don't be like I used to be a person. I'm like really stubborn. I was like, no, no, no, no. Like nobody can change my mind about like this, like believe that I have. But now I'm like starting to get into this.

00:27:56:13 - 00:28:17:19
Jennifer
This feeling which is like I kind of like my mind being changed. Like change my mind. Come change my mind. I love that because it used to be very uncomfortable. But through travel, as a nomad, I go to uncomfortable places, right? I get out of my comfort zone, do things that I wouldn't do. I try to do the things I used to hate.

00:28:17:19 - 00:28:30:21
Jennifer
But then I started to like it. Or I do the things that I wanted to like. But then I realized I hate it. Yeah. And then all these things, like, makes me so uncomfortable that now the unconfirmed has become the new comfort zone.

00:28:30:23 - 00:28:34:21
Ibi
You're comfortable being uncomfortable? Yes.

00:28:34:23 - 00:28:37:11
Jennifer
Yes. This chair is not comfortable, by the way.

00:28:37:12 - 00:28:47:11
Ibi
I know, but the other chairs like weird angles, so it looks like one person is a lot bigger than the other one. And I got told by the editor.

00:28:47:12 - 00:28:54:02
Jennifer
But I'm enjoying it anyway. My butt cheeks are saying like, but I'm like, yeah.

00:28:54:03 - 00:28:55:07
Ibi
Oh yeah.

00:28:55:09 - 00:28:56:02
Jennifer
Go for it.

00:28:56:03 - 00:28:59:08
Ibi
Oh yeah. I just lean into it, lean into it.

00:28:59:09 - 00:29:28:23
Jennifer
But I think it's because these unconfirmed brings a new experience. And that's why I started to like that. People try to change my mind or events try to change my mind. So I'm no longer saying like, I don't, I don't like I'm not settling in. One believes anymore. Like I'm craving for changes, like new things. I want to absorb new things.

00:29:28:23 - 00:29:34:12
Jennifer
And this in turn will help me in my creative journey as well.

00:29:34:14 - 00:29:38:03
Ibi
Do you feel like you have infinite capacity to absorb new things?

00:29:38:05 - 00:29:48:15
Jennifer
Probably not. I'll probably forget things as well. I'm very forgetful sometimes. Me too. I never learned my lesson. I missed my flights twice.

00:29:48:16 - 00:29:50:06
Ibi
No, Renee.

00:29:50:08 - 00:30:03:08
Jennifer
The first time I cried, it was like, oh my gosh, I missed my flight. In the second time I was like, oh, I miss my flight. That happened before. I guess I never learned time to book a flight before it's too late.

00:30:03:10 - 00:30:04:06
Ibi
There you go.

00:30:04:07 - 00:30:05:13
Jennifer
Yeah.

00:30:05:15 - 00:30:08:21
Ibi
As you can say, that ship has sailed or that plane has flown.

00:30:09:00 - 00:30:10:05
Jennifer
That plane has flown.

00:30:10:11 - 00:30:11:16
Ibi
Plane has flown.

00:30:11:16 - 00:30:19:23
Jennifer
Sometimes I'm just glad I'm not in the plane that I shouldn't be on. Maybe like the person next to me just keep farting, you know? You never know.

00:30:20:01 - 00:30:20:21
Ibi
This is true.

00:30:20:22 - 00:30:21:23
Jennifer
Yeah.

00:30:22:00 - 00:30:23:01
Ibi
Are you happy?

00:30:23:05 - 00:30:28:20
Jennifer
I'm really happy right now. Actually, I haven't been so happy for a while.

00:30:28:22 - 00:30:30:03
Ibi
Why do you think that is?

00:30:30:05 - 00:31:02:09
Jennifer
I think it's just because for the past, like, three years, I was a little bit, like, not just a little bit. I was very much bothered by my burnout. That happened three years ago. And then that created something that's like, kind of like a lingering resistant to to work, which is something that I love deeply. It's a very weird feeling that I was having for like three years.

00:31:02:15 - 00:31:23:15
Jennifer
Like, even though, like, okay, so the thing is, like I was in Greece and then I was working on season two of the which enable I was and I reached a point where, like, I feel like every time I go to my computer, I want to puke and I have a problem, like getting into work. I was have like this resistance of like wanting to work.

00:31:23:15 - 00:31:49:17
Jennifer
And I felt that was kind of scary. And apparently I was reaching to a burnout because I was chasing like weekly deadlines, because I used up all my buffer episodes and like, after Great weekly and the Wi-Fi wasn't good, and I was like going crazy. And I remember I feel like the ants are crawling in my back of my, my brain and everything was like, everything feels uncomfortable.

00:31:49:19 - 00:32:16:08
Jennifer
So I say like, oh, I need to actually go on a hiatus, you know, take a little break. And so we ended the season, and then I took a break for like nine months or so. And then but ever since that burnout happened for the next few years, I just have such a problem. Like being focused on work as if like, my work has something to do with something that's negative to me and I.

00:32:16:11 - 00:32:35:18
Jennifer
For a long time I didn't know how to solve this problem. I tried to go back to my old manga that I created. I was like, I read it and I was like, I feel the sensation, but it doesn't last long for me to go back to like a steady workflow. It's like I'm cursed or something, I don't know.

00:32:35:23 - 00:32:57:07
Jennifer
I was trying to figure out in so many ways I was like, what have I give myself? Like a very disciplined, like work time, like six hours per day from this time to time. Like it worked for a while, but it didn't work long. So it was a mystery still to date to me until like recently, I went to LA, the company our partner with webtoon.

00:32:57:08 - 00:33:29:23
Jennifer
They hosted a creator residency program for like about. So for like 9 or 10 creators and then so we all I hang out there for like about ten days or two weeks. And then being in that environment actually somehow like helped me. And I think it has to do with being around people who are passionate about storytelling like I do, people who are constantly excited about new ideas.

00:33:29:23 - 00:33:56:02
Jennifer
It's like it's contagious. And I feel like I get that again from like the passion of like other creators and also like just to see the dedicated people who works in webtoon, you know, like my editor, I went on this trip and I form a bond with her. I actually feel like I'm more like friends with her now.

00:33:56:03 - 00:34:19:17
Jennifer
I have built more trust to like the people that I work with over there and everything. Yeah. And then there's just like a lot happen. And it was just like I was just because of that trip, I became so happy with my work. Yeah, it's very interesting. I just still today I was like, this is still a mystery to me, but at least I know now.

00:34:19:19 - 00:34:26:21
Jennifer
Like, I'm more stable towards my work, with my connection with it.

00:34:26:23 - 00:34:51:06
Jennifer
This is something that I love the most to do in my life, other than travel, is to tell a story and draw. So the fact that, like, I was feeling like I might start to hate this, it's very, very scary to me. The idea because I cherish so much.

00:34:51:08 - 00:34:52:21
Ibi
My God.

00:34:52:23 - 00:34:54:14
Jennifer
My God.

00:34:54:16 - 00:34:57:18
Ibi
My God.

00:34:57:20 - 00:35:01:09
Ibi
I have so many more questions. But we're at time.

00:35:01:11 - 00:35:08:12
Jennifer
Oh really? Wow. Well, too bad you can ask me any question any time.

00:35:08:14 - 00:35:12:09
Ibi
Thank you. You're very inspiring person. Really? Yes.

00:35:12:09 - 00:35:19:00
Jennifer
Well, you are too, with your two microphones. Thank you. I don't know how you carried us.

00:35:19:01 - 00:35:23:23
Ibi
I keep them in my pockets, ready at all times to podcast.

00:35:24:00 - 00:35:25:15
Jennifer
No wonder, no wonder I see.

00:35:25:15 - 00:35:27:03
Ibi
No thanks.

00:35:27:04 - 00:35:28:04
Jennifer
Thank you so much.