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Choco & Pancake has become a beloved comic across the internet, sharing tidbits of the daily lives of the eponymous couple. The web series, which only launched two years ago, was inspired by the creators’ own relationship, and perhaps that is what makes it so relatable– every post hits the nail on the head when it comes to having a significant other.
The creators behind the account have kept a low profile, allowing their characters, based on a chocolate bar and a pancake - hence their names, Choco and Pancake, to become stars in their own right. As their profile has grown to over 780,000 on Instagram and nearing 1 million followers on TikTok, they’ve been able to connect with their fans even more via Makeship partnerships. Choco & Pancake has launched a total of six campaigns with Makeship since 2022 (!) and each one has received more sales than the next, proving their growing and engaged fanbase.
Following their most recent campaign, Pancake and Choco in Love Plushies, we spoke with ½ of the Choco & Pancake team to find out more about their journey into creatorhood, their growth, and any advice they might have for fledgling creators on the rise. Read our Creator Catch-Up interview below.
Basically behind this account is me and my partner/fiancé. I’m working on everything that has to do with the production of comics, animations and the communication and he’s a big part of the ideas, deals and everything else that might be needed. And there are also our voice actors!
At first I opened the Instagram account 2 years ago as a surprise to my partner after a long day at work. It was something we were discussing and wanted to do but couldn’t find the right time for it. We are in a long distance relationship and this was our way to feel closer with each other by making something creative together and also our effort to build our dream.
“I opened the Instagram account 2 years ago as a surprise to my partner after a long day at work. It was something we were discussing and wanted to do but couldn’t find the right time for it.”
Yes, Choco and Pancake was our first idea even though my art style has been through some changes and evolution-- if you check our first comics you’ll understand– the characters and concept remains the same as it’s based on our lives and emotions.
Keep posting regularly and being active on communication. It demands a lot of work and dedication, but I feel very blessed for the audience we have because they are all so understanding and encouraging. All this love and support we receive from so many sweet people around the world is truly amazing and helps us keep going with joy!
“Keep posting regularly and being active on communication. It demands a lot of work and dedication”
Actually there is, it’s our reel series of ‘alternative uses of a boyfriend/girlfriend’!
We emphasize both platforms the same, maybe a bit more on Instagram because we feel more engaged with our followers and we can communicate directly with them through stories and DMs.
Makeship has been one of the best deals for us! We’ve been able to bring our characters to life, engage more with our supporters and also it was the first big step to turn this account into a full time job!
Don’t give up on what you believe. If you don’t get the results you want, maybe you need to make some changes, but keep fighting for your dreams! If you love what you do, people will love it too, you just need to find your audience.
Tarantula Kat is verging on OG territory when it comes to content creators, as she first created her YouTube back in 2012. She spoke with us recently for our Creator Catch-Up interview series, where she revealed that, at the time, she had no real intention of being a creator, let alone turning her passion into a career.
After graduating with a degree in fine arts, she ended up working a retail gig while attempting to pursue her YouTube side gig, which evolved from videos of her pets to a more specific niche of spiders. Her determination to make YouTube a viable source of income eventually paid off - although it wasn’t without risk, as she reveals she was at first funneling more money into her channel than she was actually making from it.
These days, Kat is known for her tarantulas, as well as other creepy, crawly things. She’s also branched off from YouTube to cultivate a mix of a short-form and long-form video content, whether it be on Instagram Reels or as YouTube Shorts.
I originally made my YouTube in 2012 with no intention to be a creator. I posted a few random videos of my pets around 2014, but it wasn’t until early 2017 I began keeping spiders. I found a few tarantula keepers on YouTube I would watch and that’s when I felt inspired to join them in sharing my experience. It felt nice to become a part of a community of people interested in these types of pets, who wouldn’t roll their eyes everytime you started talking about your pet spiders or look at you funny when you used scientific names of different species.
I started on YouTube, and would originally just post pictures of my spiders on my personal Instagram as well. Once I noticed more and more people began to follow my Instagram too, I decided it was best to separate that type of content and make dedicated social medias. I never expected it to become what it has, although ever since I made my first MySpace I definitely had dreams of working in social media. I just never felt inspired or knew what kind of content I wanted to make until I became really interested in tarantula keeping and the pet side of YouTube. After that, it all just came organically and I began growing as a content creator and a tarantula keeper.
“I just never felt inspired or knew what kind of content I wanted to make until I became really interested in tarantula keeping and the pet side of YouTube.”
When I started YouTube, I had just graduated college in fine arts and also just had a baby. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do for a career yet, and I also wanted to stay home with my baby. I ended up getting a retail job to work a few nights a week. Pretty much everything I made there went into my pets and growing my channel, so it was a long time before I actually made any kind of income. In fact, I was probably putting in more than I was making. Eventually, there was a combination of events that happened where I started thinking of leaving the retail job and just throwing everything I could into making YouTube a career. It was a huge risk, but I remember thinking “I need this to happen” so badly and just submerged myself into content creation completely with hopes it would work. It wasn’t easy, but it’s where my heart was and what my family also needed at the time.
“Pretty much everything I made there went into my pets and growing my channel, so it was a long time before I actually made any kind of income. In fact, I was probably putting in more than I was making.”
I like to get people’s attention by presenting these “big scary spiders” but by the time they finish a video, leave them thinking “wait, that wasn’t scary it was actually pretty cute.”
I feel like as long as you are creating interesting, consistent content that you're passionate about, and keep finding new and unique ways to present it, growth is almost always inevitable and your community will find you, and grow!
Filming the YouTube videos are usually the easy part, and I try to film twice a week. It usually takes me 1-2 hours to actually film, but then 5-8 hours to edit a 10-15 minute video. Add a few hours here and there for fighting with technology, because that’s a big part of the job too.
I am loving the short form content on Instagram too now though. I can film and post a reel in under an hour and the reach on Instagram is different from YouTube.
Definitely YouTube. I enjoy consuming content there and also creating it. I am someone who likes to put on a longer video for background noise while I’m feeding inverts or cleaning enclosures. It’s like hanging out with a friend! It’s really cool and flattering that people do the same with my videos.
Make sure you find a niche you enjoy, that you could talk about forever, and focus on making that kind of content. Evolve that content to keep it interesting for the viewer as well.
It’s really important that you love what you’re making, connecting with it and connecting with your viewers.
Be your genuine self and be transparent. Don’t worry about what other people think. You won’t be able to find your people or create your community if you don’t put your whole self out there honestly.
And be consistent!
Swords Comic, helmed by creator Matthew J. Willis, became a popular webcomic seemingly overnight. As Matthew tells us, the first episode was shared unsuspectingly on Reddit back in 2018, only to blow up overnight, fueling the creator to turn it into a full-fledged series.
Since its Reddit debut, Matthew has brought the comic to a variety of platforms, including Webtoon, Instagram and Twitter. He’s proven how content creation can also exist with a bit of chance and good timing - sometimes it’s a matter of consistency, and sometimes it only takes a single post to really jumpstart things. That’s not to say Matthew didn’t work hard at turning into a viable series, because of course, he did - including churning out 40 episodes in a 40-day period.
Amid the comic’s growth and popularity, Matthew has collaborated with Makeship a handful of times as well, bringing some of his fans’ favorites characters to life, including Quest Sprout, Pest Sprout and Travel Goblin.
Matthew chatted with us for a Creator Catch-Up interview, where he speaks on the success of Swords Comic, introducing Quest Sprout back in 2020 and much more.
Swords the webcomic began as a single episode in 2018 with no plans to make more. I posted it on Reddit, went to bed, and when I woke up it had blown up! If I’d called it “Knights” or “Bread Comics” it might have ended up an entirely different series! It really was a combination of luck, good timing and having the ability to recognize I was tapping into something really fun and great. Then acting on it, of course.
“Swords the webcomic began as a single episode in 2018 with no plans to make more. I posted it on Reddit, went to bed, and when I woke up it had blown up!”
Reddit is where the comic began, but it quickly moved to Webtoon, Tapas, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and a few more places. It took about 80 episodes before we made a website and a Discord.
That’s a tricky one with the way the digital landscape has changed already in 2023. Instagram is my biggest audience, Webtoon is my fastest growing audience, but Twitter is probably where I form the tightest bonds. For now.
I have a bit of a history of starting other comics and then letting them fizzle out, so when Swords #1 got popular, I knuckled down and made the first 40 episodes over the next 40 days. Getting the ball rolling, frankly, took grit. I feel like if I had stopped at any point, the project would have dried up. I actually injured my arm in that first month and kept going. So that was the first burst.
I was lucky to get in before Instagram pivoted to video. Growing on that platform, as a comic artist, is super hard now. I only know a handful of people doing it right, and that’s because they’re doing video.
Working for a video game company also gave me some good insights on how to look at my own metrics and understand where the pain points were. I tracked things, posted at better times, listened to feedback and made the series better. If something isn’t working, take the time to fix it.
“I have a bit of a history of starting other comics and then letting them fizzle out, so when Swords #1 got popular, I knuckled down and made the first 40 episodes over the next 40 days. Getting the ball rolling, frankly, took grit.”
Swords is maybe a bit unique in the world of webcomics in that it is simultaneously an ongoing saga, and also a random clip show. It gives me the freedom to stop working on a storyline if I get stuck and just tell dumb jokes instead. I like having cool characters, and cute characters, and funny characters and sexy characters and I don’t want any particular group to overshadow the rest.
I don’t have to spend months carefully lining up the plot for a cool new guy to appear before the main characters - we can just go see what he’s up to. And I think my fans know when I’m having fun, which makes it more fun for them too.
Quest Sprout jumping straight to being the 15th most popular plushie of all time when it first launched was CRAZY. This little webcomic from New Zealand was out-pacing some characters and brands that I consider household names! Really I’m just grateful that people got to take a Quest Sprout home and make him part of the family. That’s the kind of brand loyalty that will keep this series going.
It is better to have 30 finished pages that each taught you a lesson, than 1 page you still can’t get right.
If your Instagram algorithm knows you love funny animal videos, then chances are you’ve encountered Chunk the Groundhog’s page. While the page is named after the OG groundhog Chunk, there is an entire family of groundhogs documented across the infamous Instagram, entertaining half a million people daily. Jeff the Gardener, as he's known, noticed that his veggies were going missing back in 2019 and decided to set up some cameras to see what was happening - lo and behold, he discovered the now-beloved Chunk, munching away.
What started as Jeff’s personal IG account soon became a public figure in Chunk’s page, after sharing his very first video of the groundhog chewing snacks from his garden. Since Chunk’s first taste of viral fame via a Reddit post, the account has seen the birth of new groundhog family members, with a few of them even receiving Makeship Plushies (including Chunk, of course).
Jeff spoke with us for Creator Catch-Up about how he manages the account, and obtains all his quirky groundhog footage.
It was at first my personal account that I switched over to Chunk the Groundhog after I posted a video of a groundhog eating from my garden. Chunk became so dear to my heart that I decided to keep it going and set a goal to do a daily post every day! To this day my streak is over 3 years without missing a daily Instagram post!
Not much. I had a personal account and a music account for my band. But nothing like the Chunks before.
Our first viral video was posted on Reddit. I posted a link to Chunk’s Youtube Channel and it went viral. From there we worked with The Dodo, Kelly Clarkson and various new platforms that spread our channel around the world.
“Our first viral video was posted on Reddit. I posted a link to Chunk’s Youtube Channel and it went viral.”
It is something I like to do on the side. My real job is an IT Professional. I have my girlfriend and family and friends to help out too.
I have a motion detection camera system that is running 24x7. I look at videos everyday (0-500+) and scrub the good footage. Then compile that into a huge repo where I pick daily posts from. When the Chunks’ are not in hibernation, footage is upwards of 500+ clips a day!
It gave me an opportunity to bring the Chunks into the fans' households. Fans travel with Chunk. They snuggle with Chunk. It is a win-win situation.
“Learn your fanbase. Learn what brought them to you. Focus on what works for you and them. Grow organically. Those are the fans that will follow you and support you and want to have that super special limited release Plushie.”
Stay true to your mission. Have a plan and stick with it. Do not worry about the negative side of being a creator. Focus your energy on the positive side. Like fans' reactions, accomplishing goals and what makes “You” feel good. Afterall, your creativity is an extension of you so embrace that and do what makes you feel good. But learn your fanbase. Learn what brought them to you. Focus on what works for you and them. Grow organically. Those are the fans that will follow you and support you and want to have that super special limited release Plushie. Do not pay for fans. Avoid scams. Definitely use 2-factor authentication. Do not be quick to jump on things without checking them out completely. One hack and all your hard work is gone! Be smart. Take two to think it through. If it sounds too good to be true it most likely is. Remember nothing is gained without your efforts! It is not going to be easy. It is a lot of work but you get in what you put in. Don’t hang your head on trying to keep up with the trends that really have nothing to do with you. Set your own trend. If it's meant to happen it will in time. Stay true. Your real fans will appreciate you for that! Build trust. Be engaged. Engagement is key. Fans will feel so special if you take the extra time to engage with them and make them feel special. And do not pour from an empty cup. Remember to try to keep a balance between creating and life. What really helps me now is not dropping everything to do this IDEA I have in my head. I now write it down and make plans to do it later. And remember this Golden 6 P’s Rule: “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance” You got this!!
Miranda Zimmerman, better known as Faunwood to her 550,000 followers, has clearly been at the forefront of online community creation since its heyday, having been a part of a Neopets (the nostalgia) forum back in the early 2000s. Beyond her love for virtual spaces though, is clearly her love for art - because what else was she doing in the internet’s youth besides for sharing her own artwork and being surrounded by fellow artists?
Since her Instagram debut in 2016, Miranda has not only been able to create a substantial following, she’s turned her passion into a career as a full-time creator - of course, Makeship Plushies have helped along the way. Miranda has designed two extremely successful Plushies with Makeship based on her whimsical and nature-inspired art, as well as a re-release of her OG Salamandra Longboi.
In our Creator Catch-Up interview with Miranda, the artist tells us about how she transitioned from Devianart to Tumblr to Instagram and beyond, finding her creative niche, as well as some fun technical questions like if she finds hashtags are useful and her favorite social platform.
Hi hi! Thanks so much for letting me answer your questions! Being a fulltime artist looks so different for everyone, and the landscape is constantly changing. I hope I’m able to help some folks find their footing in this weird fast world.
I’ve always been kind of obsessed with online communities that go hand-in-hand with art and creative work. The first one I can remember being a part of was Neopets, back in the early 2000s. I loved designing my characters, drawing other peoples’ designs, and just being surrounded by artistic people. From there, I remember posting frequently on Deviantart in highschool (circa 2008-ish) (yes, I did have a fursona), and then migrating to Tumblr around 2012. I just wanted to be where people were discussing and sharing their art online! Around 2016, I started posting my work on Instagram and that is where I found the audience that I have today. My motivation never really changed and I didn’t really have any real goals– I was in school for undergraduate biology and thought I’d be working in a lab for the rest of my life!
“Around 2016, I started posting my work on Instagram and that is where I found the audience that I have today.”
I think one thing I was really drawn to on Instagram in 2016-2017 was how many artists were turning their work into things like pins and shirts. Manufacturing your own products seemed like something only the “big companies” could do, so it felt like a whole new landscape to me. I just loved making art for the sake of art, but it’s also super exciting to think that someone may like your work enough to buy it and wear it! I was in school (and working at a pet store!) at the time, and didn’t really have the money to fund a whole order of 100 pins. I pretty much relied on my Instagram reach (~2-3k followers at the time?) to help me fund my very first pin via a preorder on Etsy. It was a lot of trial and error, but once I was able to sell through that batch of pins, I was able to afford the next one on my own. And then I could afford two batches at a time, and so on!
“I pretty much relied on my Instagram reach (~2-3k followers at the time?) to help me fund my very first pin via a preorder on Etsy. It was a lot of trial and error, but once I was able to sell through that batch of pins, I was able to afford the next one on my own.”
This is a tough one-- I think my niche has always been “me” and I’m not sure I could escape it if I tried. Or so I like to think!
I try not to think too hard about them. I still include them on my posts, but whether or not they help seems to be a gamble. It’s good to know how the different platforms use hashtags. They may be more important on Twitter than on IG, for example!
I am fortunate enough to be a full-time creator now! I graduated with my BS in Biology in 2016, and then got accepted into a Science Illustration program (which I graduated from in 2017). I was living in Monterey, CA at the time and I could definitely not afford to stay there after graduation. I took a big risk and moved with my partner to (the more-affordable-at-the-time) beautiful Eugene, OR without any real plan other than selling art. I believe I’ve been very lucky in life– my parents helped me a bit through college, and my partner had a job lined up in Oregon. I would be remiss to not mention the effect that having those safety nets has on making those kinds of life-changing decisions.
That said, I was able to be financially independent as soon as we moved thanks to the lower cost of living and the fact that I had been working on my art for some time prior to the move!
I think it’s a good idea to pick two or three. Any more than that, and I think you run the risk of burning yourself out.
For example, Instagram has been my primary platform since around 2016. However, I also have a Patreon which is great for people who are big fans of your work and want to make sure they never miss anything! I’ve recently started posting on Twitter (I know, I know) just due to the fact that Instagram seems to be focusing more on shops and less on the artist community. Each platform has its own “vibe” (for lack of a better word)– you shouldn’t force yourself to do anything that is ruining your relationship with your art! If posting on Twitter is crushing your soul, there are plenty of other options to choose from.
Also, I highly recommend setting up a mailing list! If any of the social media algorithms take a tumble (looking at you, Instagram), you have a list of people who have specifically signed up to not miss anything you do. That’s priceless.
“I highly recommend setting up a mailing list! If any of the social media algorithms take a tumble (looking at you, Instagram), you have a list of people who have specifically signed up to not miss anything you do. That’s priceless.”
People might be tired of hearing this, but you have to put in the work. I would work 10-hour shifts at the pet store, studying for finals, but still be doodling in the margins of my math notes. There were a lot of times where I was REALLY REALLY not in the mood to make art, but if you can just sit down and start, you can get into a very therapeutic flow state (kinda like trying to start a “working-out” habit, I think). There will always be aspects to it that are “work”. Answering emails, studying fundamentals (something I should probably be doing more often), unexciting commission work, etc. But as you build your portfolio, you can focus on the things that bring you the most joy– when you love what you’re making, I truly believe that that shines through in your finished work.
Chris, who often goes by Chris (Simpsons artists) - more on that later - is a rather unique case in the world of content creation and online illustration, as he’s been at this for a while. He first started sharing his quirky drawings in 2011 on Facebook, aka when Facebook was in its prime, with his FB page now sitting at 1.4 million Likes. Of course, he didn’t stay on Facebook, he’s now also found a large audience on Instagram, with 1 million followers, as well as Twitter, where he has over 250,000.
Chris first created his name with his love for The Simpsons’ characters in mind, and has clearly refused to let the affix go. He exemplifies the idea of an “internet artist” in the sense that no one actually knows his real name, or where he lives (beyond the fact that it’s in Scotland), with artwork that is at once low-brow, sarcastic, and hilarious. The captions that accompany his art are equally internet-y, with lowercase stream of conscious musings that are often just as funny as the drawings themselves, while adding even more to the picture.
We’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with Chris on three different Plushie designs for some of his oddly appealing characters, all of which have been extremely successful at over 1000% funded.
When we spoke with Chris for our Creator Catch-Up interview, he, perhaps expectedly, answered all our questions in his typical style, as he elaborated on starting his account over a decade ago, specific posts that helped him grow his reach and much more.
i first started putting my pictures on the internet for people to have a look at when it was 2011 on my facebook page that is called simpsons pictures that i gone and done and my facebook page is 12 years old now so he is nearly a teenager and his body has started to change and he feels quite awkward about it but i will always be there to guide him through the changes that life will bring him because that is what being a good dad is all about.
i have always had a draw of pictures and wrote stories about the people or the creatures that are in my pictures since i was a little boy so i think that it took me about 3 years to find my unique style since the day that i was born.
i just showed people my pictures and my stories when i feeled like it and loads of people liked to have a look and a read of them and have a share of them with their friends and their family or their wife and i cant really remember for myself because it was such a long time ago but i think that my facebook page got a half of a million followers in the first few months of me starting it so that was quite nice for me to have so many new friends in my life so quickly.
“i think that my facebook page got a half of a million followers in the first few months of me starting it so that was quite nice for me to have so many new friends in my life so quickly”
there has been a lot of my pictures and stories that people have really liked for themselfs but i think that one of my best ones is my picture and story of winnie the poo and his cousin piglet and here is the story for you to have a read of for yourself if you feel like it:
it is everyones favourite film about a syrup addicted bear that is right it is winnie the poo and his cousin piglet from the hit family film that is called winnie the poo and the chamber of syrup. if you havent seen winnie the poo and the chamber of syrup before then you might as well just be blind or deaf or both because you are missing out on a action packed adventure that will haunt you for the rest of your life and my best bit in the whole of the film is when winnie the poo is standing outside of his college in his red coloured crop top with his traditional no trousers on and he is making loads of people laugh by sucking syrup off the top of a teachers car and then gargling with it to the theme tune of mtvs sweet sixteen and all of his friends was saying that it was so funny and his friend ross even said that it was probably one of the best things that he has seen in about half a year and then tigger who is the main idiot at the college was going around telling everyone that he is going to punch winnie the poo in the back of his head after college when he is not looking because he hates him so much but it was so obvious that he is just jealous of winnie the poo for getting all of the attention from everyone and then after college tigger goes to punch him but winnie the poo senses his presence and he instantly turns around and slices tiggers spine with a bit of plastic that he found next to a fence and then winnie the poo goes on top of tigger on the ground and he does a massive screaming laugh right in tiggers face that sounded like a train full of bees smashing into a school and then before tigger could even say why cant i move my legs winnie the poo had completely vanished and then when it was at night time winnie the poo goes over to piglets house and he says for piglet to give him all of the syrup that he has got and piglet says you cant have it because my wife is pregnant and it is all that she can eat right now and winnie the poo says pregnant shmegnant i dont give a flying hell if she is pregnant or if she is just fat i just want to have all of your delicious golden bee juice inside of myself and then he slowly walks over to piglet and he kisses him on his forehead and he says my sweet cousin in a really light voice and then he looks at him for about 5 seconds and he does a half smile and then he slaps him right across his face and he bends forward and he licks piglets face where he was just slapped and he says give me your bee syrup now you salmon coloured dwarf and piglet says you need help mate you have got a serious syrup problem and winnie the poo says shut up no i do not and piglet says eh you do realise the reason everyone calls you winnie the poo is because you actually stink of poo because you never wash because all that you do is drink bee syrup all day and tigger said he actually saw you eating your own poo out of a napkin in the college car park as well and then winnie the poo just grabs the jar of syrup out of piglets pale pink palms and he runs out of the house and as he is running away he screams jumanji and then right at the end of the film there is a shot of winnie the poo sitting in the woods looking at a photograph of him and christopher robin in italy next to the eiffel tower and the camera goes really close up on winnie the poos face and he starts laughing and loads of bees fly out of his mouth and it lasts for about 5 minutes and then the screen just goes completely black and writing comes up that says winnie the poo hasnt been seen for nearly 2 and a half years and then a lightning bolt goes across the screen and it smashes the writing up into loads of little pieces and then the film just ends really suddenly and it really is one of the most action packed films that has ever been made about syrup and if you have children of your very own or if you can find a child just for a day then you should definitely have a watch of it with them when it is the summer holidays because trust me you will not regret it not even a slice.
i dont think that art should be a thing that is rushed or forced just to please a algorithm on facebook or instagram or twitter and art is something that should be given time to grow and develop into something beautiful and meaningful and fun and not something that is just quickly birthed on to a page just to keep mack zuckemberg or elom muffk happy because i dont care about them types of people because all that they want is to be richer and richer and they dont care about artists unless the artists can make them more and more money but i dont care about making them money and i only care about creating things that make me happy and if the people i truly care about like my friends on my instagram and my facebook and the people who read my books are also made happy by my pictures and my stories then that is all that truly matters to me
the cutest lamb in the world is my third plushie that i have made with makeship and i think that my best part is always seeing my picture that i have had a draw of come to real life and it always makes me feel like i am geppetto from the film that is called pinocho but instead of a little wooden boy loudly waking me up in the morning time by tap dancing into my bedroom with his little wooden clogs i am quietly awoken by the cutest lamb in the world gently stroking my face with his tiny flesh hoofs i love him so much i actually just burst out crying writing this oh my god i love him so much.
“the cutest lamb in the world is my third plushie that i have made with makeship and i think that my best part is always seeing my picture that i have had a draw of come to real life and it always makes me feel like i am geppetto from the film that is called pinocho”
be who you want to be and all that is good will happen
love from your friend Chris (Simpsons artist) xox
Abi, often known as the Mushling Mama thanks to her slate of original Mushling characters, is an illustrator and artist who has found success online by sharing her love for all things forest-related with the world.
Abi’s first Makeship Plushie creation was for her well-known Fly Agaric Mushling– at the time, February 2022, Abi had 70,000 followers on Instagram, a number which has since exploded to over 450,000. Her success on IG has also allowed Abi to launch her own Esty shop, as well as branch off on other social platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. In fact her TikTok following is quickly rivaling that of her Instagram!
Abi clearly knows something about how to become a successful content creator, and turn one’s passion into a career– she is now a full-time artist and content creator, and relies on platforms such as Makeship to help her maintain this endeavor.
We spoke with Abi for our interview series Creator Catch-Up, where she talks to us about the launch of her artistic journey online, how she was able to grow her account, transitioning to content creation full-time and more.
Hi Makeship! I started posting my art around May of 2021. I wanted to tell the story of a little toad named Mort, in hopes of one day making a children’s book about him! However, I quickly moved to drawing the mushlings, and once I started doing that I did not want to draw anything else!
My following grew pretty steadily from the beginning, and I believe a lot of my followers initially came from Reddit. I would post my illustrations and paintings on r/art, and I think it is a little easier to not get lost in a sea of posts over there since a greater number of people will sort by “new” posts. The feedback was incredible, and thankfully the things I loved drawing the most gained the most attention. A lot people said wonderful things about the mushlings, and I couldn’t help but keep drawing them.
“My following grew pretty steadily from the beginning, and I believe a lot of my followers initially came from Reddit. I would post my illustrations and paintings on r/art, and I think it is a little easier to not get lost in a sea of posts over there since a greater number of people will sort by “new” posts.”
Eventually, I moved on to animating so I could make the mushling world come more to life, and the animations gained even more love! It was the most rewarding feeling seeing my first animation get the support it did, since it was such a new and difficult thing for me to learn (and I am still learning today!). The animations definitely gained the most attention, and are ultimately what grew my account to numbers I never thought possible.
I definitely think posting frequently and consistently is important to growing your account initially. For a while, I would post 3-5 times a week around the same time each morning. I also posted to both Instagram and Reddit, and having multiple social media accounts helped bring followers from one platform to the other. However, I never tried to post whatever just so I had content to push out.
At this time, I was lucky, constantly drawing, and a bit sleep-deprived because there were so many ideas in my head that I was motivated to create. It was easy to keep sharing drawings I loved and was passionate about. I think the true key here is that I was posting frequently and it was something I loved making. Forcing yourself to create something when the passion isn’t there is only going to hurt and isn’t healthy, and breaks are necessary for tired, creative brains.
“Forcing yourself to create something when the passion isn’t there is only going to hurt and isn’t healthy, and breaks are necessary for tired, creative brains.”
I am a full-time artist! My new current goal in life is to let my Bachelor’s in Mathematics collect dust while I draw Penny Bun blinking silly. I made the transition to being a full-time artist right around the time I hit 1,000 followers (about three months after I started my Etsy Store and sharing my art). My job at the time was transitioning into a position where I would have far less time to draw and create, so I quit and chose the mushlings! I am incredibly lucky and so thankful because my parents were fully supportive and told me the best time to go for it would be that moment, so it just made sense to take a shot at the more “risky” path.
It was the best decision I ever made, and being able to work on this full-time opened up so many new opportunities like learning to animate and reaching out to wonderful companies for collaborations (especially the plushies c; ). Being able to put all your energy into something you love is bound to give you success and/or fulfillment!!
I think having a niche is pretty important, so long as you truly want to make whatever it is in that niche. It is much easier to follow an account with consistent content, rather than stuff that is all over the place. For example, if you like one thing from an account, and the rest of their content is similar to that piece you liked, you are more likely to follow them! That is not to say that people shouldn’t experiment with different styles/media however.
You can only “find your niche” once you find out what you are passionate about making. The following and account growth will come after. In order to do this, I suggest creating whatever you feel the desire to create! Don’t try to follow trends or make something because it’s popular, do it because you want to. All my most successful pieces were things I either wanted to hang up in my own room or have as a wallpaper on my phone, and plushies I wanted to give a hug to. I think it is a mix of a little luck and the result of doing what I loved that my audience found me and loved what I created just as much as I did. If you somehow built an audience doing something you didn’t care for, then what is the point in having a creative career?
“You can only “find your niche” once you find out what you are passionate about making. The following and account growth will come after. In order to do this, I suggest creating whatever you feel the desire to create!”
Experiment with making stuff you love, until you find something that you can’t help but think about and want to build upon. For me, it became a near obsession with the mushlings in how much I think about their little world, their personalities, and what I want to draw next, but I absolutely love it and couldn’t imagine a life without them!
Pour as much of your heart into it as you can! That is the best thing you can do, because regardless of what external feedback you receive on it, you can be proud that you made something you wanted. The more you do it, the better it will get too! No one is born with innate talent to be a master of any creative field, but they can be born with the drive to become great through the countless hours of practice and hard work that is required. And through it all, make sure to have fun with it because that’s why you’re doing it in the first place :)
