Doodles in a Box

FB/Instagram: @doodlesinabox

[doodlesinabox]

This is not drawing or cartooning related. I just wanted to share my joy of having completed a year long online writing course called Short Story Collection In A Year, taught by the amazing @cynvargaswrites and run by @storystudio_chicago The aim of the course was to complete a collection of short stories over an entire year. The twelve participating writers, each writing in a different style or genre, met once a month for 3 hrs each time to discuss and critique each other's work, do writing exercises, and listen to Cyn's tips and advice. It took a lot of self discipline and many many hours of hard work but I am proud to say that I managed to finish six stories (plus a few more story outlines) over the past eleven months. The collection is far from complete of course. I plan to write at least six more stories, so it looks like it will take me another year. But before I plunge back in, I'd like to take this moment to thank my wonderful instructor and fellow writers for keeping me inspired and motivated. Hope our paths cross again in the future! Also special thanks to my wife for always being my first reader, and my dear friend @ellyfernoaks for being my second. I certainly hope to have more readers one day! #writing #writerslife #writer #creativewriting #fictionwriting #shortstories #shortfiction #shortstorywriter (at StoryStudio Chicago) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck0Bv1Oud08/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Happy Deepavali / Diwali to all my Hindu friends! May the Festival of Lights bring you and your loved ones peace and good health. Here’s a translation of the comic that was printed in yesterday’s Lianhe Zaobao (Chinese language newspaper in Singapore). You can swipe to see the original on the second panel. I used to belong to a student organisation known as Comix Fast Food back in my teens. We met every Saturday at the SPH News Centre and created comics for the newspaper together. It has been 18 years since I last contributed a comic to the newspapers. Yesterday’s piece marks my return after a really long hiatus. I want to thank my Comics Fast Food senior, Weng Tian Bao (author of the hugely popular 这一班comics series) for recommending me to the editor and also give a shout out to my old comrades @joseflee.stories @huish_wanderlust @oddlysequential.sl for keeping my passion for comics alive. Though I have replaced my Sakura ink pen with an Apple Pencil and “upgraded” my glasses with progressive lenses, the joy I felt when I saw my work in print is the same as it was two decades ago. #cartoons #comics #zaobaosg #sgcomics #Singapore #deepavali #happydeepavali #sequentialart #comicstrip #漫画 #新加坡漫画 #漫画快餐 (at Singapore / Singapura / 新加坡 / சிங்கப்பூர்) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkE21bYyrkq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Homage to Ingmar Bergman This one's for all the film buffs out there. I did this for #inktober some years ago. #throwbackthursday #tbt #theseventhseal #ingmarbergman #swedishcinema #cinema #film #blackandwhite #maxvonsydow #bengktekerot #chess #checkmate #death #knight (at Sweden) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChZ1jOBPLoj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Homage to Ingmar Bergman This one's for all the film buffs out there. I did this for #inktober some years ago. #throwbackthursday #tbt #theseventhseal #ingmarbergman #swedishcinema #cinema #film #blackandwhite #maxvonsydow #bengktekerot #chess #checkmate #death #knight (at Sweden) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChZ1jOBPLoj/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Based on a True Story I signed up for a short story writing course with @storystudio_chicago at the beginning of the year where the aim was to finish a collection of short stories in a year. I am now more than halfway through and, though my progress has been slower than I'd hoped, the collection is slowly coming together. Thanks to the encouraging support of my wonderful instructor @cynvargaswrites and my amazingly talented cohort of fellow writers, I remain strongly motivated to see this project through. I also want to give a shout-out to Singaporean writer @verenatay , who conducted an intenseive 4-session short fiction workshop at @singaporebookcouncil that I found hugely beneficial, as well as to my fellow workshop participants. May we continue to spur each other on towards our writing goals, whatever they may be. #writing #creativewriting #fiction #fictionwriter #goals #writingworkshop #shortstories #shortstory #booklaunch #bookstagram #books #bookstore #author #authorlife #writinglife #shortfiction #writersgroup (at Singapore, Singapore) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgtQ9LNrHn3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Told You So I recently discovered that I had left behind this finished cartoon in my Sketchbook Pro gallery when I switched to Procreate a year ago. Interesting to look back and see how my drawings have evolved. It’s mostly in the details — the brush I use, the way I draw noses and hair, the way I do highlights and shadows. I remember this piece being particularly tricky for me because of the car interior. I also remember picking an orange for the sky to suggest that the sun is setting and that perhaps they’ve spent too much time lost on the road. #cartoon #procreate #sketchbookpro #digitaldrawing #coupleproblems #marriedlife #marriedcouple #gps #googlemaps #lost #lostinlife #askforhelp #askingforhelp (at Route 66) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgbUqu4OI7B/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

To Mom, With Love Another #throwback to a piece I did in my old sketchbook before I started my @doodlesinabox account. #throwbackthursday #handdrawn #oldschool #cartoon #cartooning #goodoldays #london #grenadierguards #buckinghampalace #queensguard #selfie #mother #mommy #sketchbook #sketch #drawing #drawingsketch (at Buckingham Palace, London) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgQ3tR_rujw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

The Bright Side Tell me one positive thing you're looking forward to that's happening this week! For me, it's having some time to draw new cartoons. I've got a list of ideas I can't wait to turn into cartoons! Have a bright week ahead! #positivevibes #lookonthebrightside #positivethinking #optimism #happy #happiness #islandlife #marriedcouple #marriage #couplegoals #love #stranded #islander #mondayblues #motivation #singapore (at Middle Of The Ocean) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgI8g1nrf2I/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Warming Up Just trying to diversify my feed with some hand-drawn pieces from years ago. This one takes me back to the time when my kids were little and I had to carry them all the time. My advice to anyone having their first baby, strengthen your core muscles! #cartooning #cartoons #comics #comicstrip #parenting #parenting101 #workout #gymworkout #stretching #warmup #stretchingexercises #coreworkout #corestrength #dadlife (at Singapore / Singapura / 新加坡 / சிங்கப்பூர்) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf9G275vypp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…it’s… I know it’s lame but I just wanted an excuse to draw Superman on a plane. Happy Monday, y’all! #superman #airplane #airplanelovers #flight #airline #superhero #dccomics #dcuniverse #economyclass #travel #airtravel #wanderlust #inflight #singapore #sg (at Mid-Air) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf27N3kP-rZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Throwback: At the Art Gallery Haven’t done a throwback post in a while. Here’s a small selection of my old cartoons that are related to art galleries, one of my favourite places to go. Do you have a favourite gallery or art museum? If you’re a new follower, thank you for checking out my work. And if you’re an old follower, thank you for sticking around! Do drop me a comment! I do enjoy and miss the social-ness of Instagram. #artlovers #fineart #artgalleries #artmuseum #artexhibition #creativeart #singapore #cartoonart #cartoons #humor #artists #artistsoninstagram (at Singapore Art Museum) https://www.instagram.com/p/CftC2zcumtH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Fly in Soup Just a variation on the waiter-there’s-a-fly-in-my-soup trope. Hope you have a good week ahead! #sgcomics #sgcartoonist #sgartist #gagcartoon #waiterproblems #waiterlife #customerservice #restaurant #funny #frog #finedining #singapore #culinary #soup #mixup #bonappetit #humor (at Singapore, Singapore) https://www.instagram.com/p/CflFcoLL9TP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Financial Health Have you been feeling the effects of inflation? What adjustments have you been making to deal with it? A good way to save money is to buy secondhand or to look out for things that people are giving away. Check out the sharing app @olio.app (I’m not paid by them) that enables users to share things like tools, trolleys, furniture, etc, or to pass on items they no longer use/need like baby clothes, books, toys, and even food that are still good for consumption. Do you have a money saving tip? Share it with me below! #footmassage #footreflexology #accupressure #pressurepoints #health #financialhealth #healthandwealth #Singapore #inflation #money #moneymatters #finance #savingmoney #savingtips (at Singapore, Singapore) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfTgJzjO9JE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Green Green Grass of Home We bought our TV ten years ago and it's still going strong. It's a pretty large TV and was on sale because it was an old model without internet and smart TV functions. Over the years, we've often been tempted to upgrade our TV. Every time we walked past an electronics store, we would check out the latest screens and go "Woah, that looks good!" The screens have become slimmer, images have become sharper. Some have curved screens that I imagine suck you into the world on the screen and some pretend to be a picture frame when you turn it off. Then we'd go home and sit in front of our trusty old TV and go, "Nah, this is still good. There's always going to be a newer better model out there. Let's just wait for it to die a natural death..." #television #tvscreen #electronics #electronicstore #shopping #grassisalwaysgreener #cartoons #comics #singapore #instacomics (at Singapore / Singapura / 新加坡 / சிங்கப்பூர்) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfAn_VJP656/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

I don't normally post other people's work on my feed but I'm making an exception today. My 7-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy drew these for me for Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there! #happyfathersday #fathersday #childrendrawing #childrenart #fatheranddaughter #fatherandson (at Singapore / Singapura / 新加坡 / சிங்கப்பூர்) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce97JuSvcnk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

Wait For It... If you could add up all the seconds that you have spent with your thumb hovering and waiting for the skip ad button, how much time do you think they'd add up to? #comics #cartoon #cartoons #webcomic #cartoonist #instacomics #advertising #ad #youtube #crystalball #psychicreading #psychic #newage #prophecy #future (at Singapore / Singapura / 新加坡 / சிங்கப்பூர்) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cev0Imivv8r/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[doodlesinabox]

By the sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea! Long time no see, everyone! It’s World Oceans Day today, a day for us all to think about the impact of human actions on the ocean. When you were a child and asked to make a drawing of the beach, you’d draw the sand, the sun and the sea. You’d draw people, usually happy people, playing at the beach, building sandcastles, collecting seashells, having a picnic. You might include wildlife, like seabirds or crabs or a starfish. You probably never drew trash — plastic bags, empty cans, pieces of styrofoam, old rubber tyres, washed up fishing nets, etc. You didn’t include them because you knew they don’t belong there. Yet go to any beach today and you’ll have difficulty finding that pristine, unpolluted beach in our childhood drawings. Even if you could find a nice, clean stretch of beach, the sea itself is filled with our waste, including millions of tons of plastic every year. They include microplastics, which cannot be seen but get ingested by sea creatures and eventually end up in our digestive tracts when we consume seafood. There was a study some time ago that says that we ingest an average of 5 grams of plastic every week, about the size of a credit card. Imagine munching on a credit card and swallowing it. One a week! More recently, scientists have detected micro plastics in blood samples from 17 out of 22 healthy adults. Unless someone invents something that can remove the microplastics from the sea (yes, there are people working on that right now, but don’t hold your breath!), microplastics will always be in our seas. The only thing we can do now is to drastically cut down on the use of plastic, if not avoid them altogether (very difficult, I agree!). Find out 5 ways you can avoid microplastics by clicking on the article link in my bio! #worldoceansday #ocean #oceanlife #environment #mothernature #marinelitter #microplastics #sealife #marineconservation (at Under The Sea) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeiQ0C-OEbx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=