KaKao

Who speak to the world with creative works.

 

We often use emoticons in a KakaoTalk chatroom when it seems hard to put into words the way we feel or when we want to make conversations more touching and engaging. As of September 2020, 130,000 images uploaded by 2,000 creators have formed a microcosm called Kakao Emoticon Store. Two celebrity creators and two Kakao Krews had an online conversazione on September 7 when the Seoul government announced to raise distancing regulations to Level 2.5, the second-highest in the country's five-tier COVID-19 alert system.

 

Kakao Emoticon has cemented its position as a 'new mobile language' for the past 9 years after its commencement in November 2011. We talked about the Kakao Emoticon universe, a new type of creator ecosystem where experts and ordinary users coexist.

 

#Motive

Alice _ Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Alice at the Kakao Emoticon Business Partnership Team. Would you please introduce yourselves to our users?

 

Creator Apoi (hereinafter, 'Apoi')_  Hi, my name is Apoi. I've been working with Kakao as an independent character designer since 2012, the very early days of Kakao Emoticon. I've created 'Baby Mole DURURU,' 'Bow Cut YOHA,' 'Ah My Goddess,' 'Plain Bunny' and many other characters.

 

Creator Kkomam (hereinafter, Kkomam) _  Good afternoon. I am Kkomam, who created 'ANKKO,' and I've been working on the character since 2019.

 

 

Jennifer_ Hi, nice to meet you all. I'm Jennifer, who is in charge of operating Kakao Emoticon merchandise. I'm wondering how you made your artist names. Please share your stories first before we start a discussion.

 

Apoi _I set up a production company for character IPs in 2009. At that time, my kid was young and often said, whenever he felt sick, "apoi ― which is a lisp meaning 'I'm sick' in Korean." I thought, 'Apoi sounds well enough to go viral online if I use it as my company name.'

 

Kkomam_ Mine is quite simple, too. Kkomam is the abbreviation of ANKKO's Mom, and my doggy name is ANKKO.

 

Alice _What did you do for a living before emoticon creator? I also wanted to ask you all, what inspired you to create emoticons? 

 

Apoi_ I always wanted to become an animator throughout my school years, but I couldn't even try it due to my parents' opposition. So I had to give up majoring in animation and got a job at an e-learning company after graduation. I drew short animations and illustrations there. After ten years as an animator, I was promoted to take charge of managerial work. Since then, my agony started. As I said, what I really wanted to do was to draw animations of my own. At the end of 2009, when I was in the mid-30s, I was married and had two children. I thought time would only place more burdens on the pursuit of my dream, and I got to make a decision. I had already stepped back from the company's drawing work, but I could get up my nerve thanks to being awarded at a contest exhibit. With retirement grants, I set up my company, Apoi.

 

'Baby Mole DURURU,' and 'Three Egg Ghosts' were my first characters, and I made them as character merchandise to target well-known design shopping malls and large book stores' stationery sections. These channels were the two biggest character markets worth challenging. Along the way, I rolled out my first Kakao emoticons in 2012, when smartphones started to prevail. Emoticon seemed helpful to publicize my characters. Then, I launched 'YOHA' and have actively created other characters by far. Ruminating on my past traces, I have swum with the tide of changing trends from offline to web and finally to mobile. I think I was quite lucky to enter the mobile market because smartphone prevalence reduced the number of bookstore goers and adversely affected the stationery market. We all had trouble staying in business then.  

 

Kkomam _I majored in visual design and was in charge of producing motion graphics at an IT company. I read some news articles covering the rise of emoticons, which half inspired me to draw emoticons. But I was too chained to my desk to start something new and just neglected to live a dream. One day, I bumped into a friend of mine, who showed me emoticons she had created. She looked so cool, and I found myself envious of her. She was the direct impetus for me to draw 'ANKKO,' the character of my own.

 

#Creation

Jennifer _  Please give us more detailed stories about how to create your own character ANKKO. 

 

Kkomam _Well, I was planning to draw my emoticons, but I didn't have any idea on a character first. "What should I draw?" I was so torn about what I should do. Just at that moment, my dog ANKKO jumped into my eyes. I infused my showmantic personality into the character. Generally, I list fragments of a message that I wish to express and then sketch ideas on animated motions. I have to submit a set of 24 image types at a time, but I usually draw more and then select the final cuts after hearing many opinions from others.

 

 

Alice_ Apoi, all your characters have unique and different individuality, which fascinates customers whenever they're introduced to the market. I think it's phenomenal. What is your source of inspiration?

 

Apoi _ Most characters are specimens of my college years' attempts. For example, my daughter has a conspicuously brusque way of speaking. I drew or kept it a record in baby book, which became a central motif of YOHA. DURURU was born from a country mole idea when our family took seriously moving from Seoul to the countryside due to my son's atopic dermatitis. Usually, I take a memo of basic ideas while observing friends or acquaintenances who have unique facial expressions or behavioral habits. Sketching such long accumulating ideas helps reduce time in planning.

 

Jennifer _ Well, you two seem to have a common ground for obtaining ideas from what makes you feel comfortable.

 

Jennifer _ It seems natural that you, as a creator, should have your own world of characters. But it may be interpreted differently among users for some reasons. How do you bridge the gap?

 

Apoi _ Let's take an example of YOHA. I often receive feedback, "YOHA resembles my nephew," or "YOHA and my granddaughter are spit and image." I guess users like to find in my picture what they think they can experience easily in their daily lives. Therefore, I spend much time to find common grounds that help me communicate with users. Also, I put effort into expressing motion in detail. Nowadays, image frames are fixed to 24, but I used to draw 60 frames in the past. I guess users seem to be rather fond of my details.

 

Kkomam _ ANKKO's extreme cuteness, I guess, was received as being unprecedented and unparalleled and differentiated itself from other characters. Like Apoi, I tried to find ways to express motions in detailed and attractive manner, focusing on ANKKO's ears' or cheeks' movement. It's never easy to portrait all the details within the fixed 24 frames, but I'm now accustomed to drawing off what I have to give up.

 

Alice _ Apoi, you're different in that each of your characters targets different age groups, respectively. Unlike you, most of other creators make all of their emoticons fixedly aiming at one specific age group.

 

Apoi _ Not all characters I released have gained popularity. Some just vanished into thin air (Laugh). To tell you my secret, I work on characters targeting different age groups on a monthly basis. For example, I draw "Madame. OH" targeting the middle-aged users first and "A Plain Bunny" targeting youngsters next month, and then "YOHA" the month after next. In other words, it usually takes three months to go through a cycle of drawing new episodes for each character, which helps me pause for breath at the appropriate time. Repetitive drawings aiming at the same age group are oviously prone to fresh out of ideas.

 

Jennifer_ Mostly, creators draw emotions by themselves. You may also feel lonely while working alone. Do you have any routine or ritual of drawing emotions? Like Haruki, who makes it a rule to write predetermined pages and then run predetermined miles. 

  

Kkomam _ I don't follow any fixed routine but try to go to bed not too late and wake up early not to get tired. Unless exceptional circumstances arise, I try to adhere to predetermined work plans. I tried working 9 to 6 every day, but it didn't work out since I found it hard to shut off my brain. So I set a principle not to work overnight at the least.

 

Apoi _ I have my office room but often find myself working at home. That's because I can't stop thinking what my characters look like all day long. I always carry a notepad, pencil, ballpoint pen, and smartphone with a touch pen so that I can sketch ideas anytime, anywhere. In the case of motions that are difficult to express, I do a dance myself and take pictures of it. If someone hacks into my smartphone, then my whole career will be soon over, over so many skeletons in the closet. I dance in my undies when time presses. Those routines for keeping idea journals are my precious assets. I have piled up ideas to sketch out for years to come.

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We could find something in common between the two creators with different career paths and generational experiences -- a clear sense of goal and a concrete will to practice. Many strong-willed creators like these two have joined the world of Kakao Emoticon to result in literally explosive growth for the past nine years. Now that educational institutions have a specialized curriculum, emoticon creators have become a profession incontestably. Here's a summary of achievements and changes the two have experienced and their advice to aspirants.

 

#Accomplishements

Alice _What was your most thrilling experience while working as an emoticon creator?

 

Kkomam _ I started working under my name only last year, so my career as a professional creator is relatively short. However, I'm the happiest when I get affectionate feedbacks on social media. I like to communicate with people through social networking services. I receive very petit questions like, "Is ANKKO a puppy or a bunny?" "Is the one next to ANKKO a blueberry or a ball?"

 

Apoi _  The same case may apply to me. Recently, I was surprised to get a tip-off that my 'Plain Bunny' is being utilized to make animated GIFs. What a unique combo! I couldn't even think of it. Also, I feel happy when I see someone drive a car with my character stickers on - "Baby In Car," or when I discover a subway commuter wearing a YOHA eco-bag.   

 

 

Alice _  Come to think of it, Apoi, you have worked together with various brands offline. Why don't you tell us that story?

  

Apoi _ I should admit that without Kakao Emoticon, I couldn't have caught the opportunity. Emoticons widely used in chatrooms would have reminded product developers and marketers of a thought, "who created them?" The most recent work was wrapping sparkling water bottles of a drugstore brand with "Plain Bunny." I've also produced merchandise like a blanket, tissue case, eco-bag, and the like with a giant superstore. 

 

Alice _  I am proud of Kakao Emoticon characters that are so popular among shopgoers. I guess you got used to an appellation, "Successful Emoticon Creator." I'm curious about how economically free you are.

 

Apoi _ In the early days of living on my own, I suffered from the lack of monthly expenses for a long time. Every month, I had to check a bank account balance. I went through tough times for quite some time. Now I've freed myself from such anxiety. As long as I'm all up to my work, I can afford to maintain a comfortable life.

 

Kkomam _ It's a tough question to answer. Will it be the answer if I say, I am comfortably off to focus on my work at the least or to buy something for my parents without financial problems whenever I feel like. It's far better than when I was an office worker.

 

#To Those Who Want To Start

Jennifer _  Are you often asked about how to become an emoticon creator?

 

Apoi _  Most often. The age range of questioners varies from middle school students to office workers. I give them a sincere answer so that they could cope with worries and concerns wisely. I don't have any friends drawing pictures since I didn't major in art. I started from scratch alone and often felt forlorn and at a loss while I've kept my eyes on the production process in Euljiro (a print shot cluster area in Korea).

 

Alice _ As you know, Kakao opened up its Emoticon Studio (Hyperlink) in April 2017. Now that there are middle and high school students, ordinary people challenge to draw emoticons. A new competition arena has been formed, so to speak. How do you feel about that?

 

Apoi_  There are many emoticons with a whimsical sense of humor. The more quality content, the more comprehensive the range of users' choices. However, from the creator's perspective, competition is getting more fierce than ever. Popularity fluctuation or changes in the trend are much faster than before. It seems to be a huge burden and stress to ride the flow. Let me put it this way. I can bring up my ideas at the speed of 50, but I feel that the trend changes at 70~80. That's why I've always been worried about how long I can hang tough. But as several years passed that way, there have been some signs of progress before I realize it. 

 

Kkomam _  I could stanch out to work independently, thanks to Kakao Emoticon Studio. When I worked at the IT company, I was well treated and had such good colleagues. But there had always been a drive, deep inside of me, to stand alone someday. Luckily, I was able to make a difference on the first try. It is pretty fascinating to get people's reactions to my creations, not the work of a company or client. I hope more people to feel this kind of attractiveness.

 

Alice _  You are conducting character business on other mobile platforms such as "YOHA" or "Ah My Goddess." What's the difference between Kakao Emoticon and other media?

 

Apoi _ I think Kakao differs from other platforms in terms of its vast number of users and the ripple power resulting from its network effect. After gaining popularity in Kakao Emoticon, I've received quite a few collaboration offers. Some came from overseas messenger platforms, and I could work with them thanks to machine translation. On one occasion, the producer of a blind date TV show contacted me without knowing that I was married. I think all the activities that pushed me beyond the bounds of possibility as a creator were possible thanks to Kakao Emoticon. Kakao has been a great help for me to communicate with the world continuously while focusing on my work.

 

Jennifer _ What advice can you give to those who start creating emoticons?

 

Kkomam _ It seems presumptuous to give advice because I have just started this job myself, and I'm not a Character Design major. But I can say that it is important to just try it. For me, several years passed between when I first came up with an idea, "I want to do it!" and when I actually put the idea into action. So my advice is to just try sketching first when you feel like doing it.

   

#Future

Jennifer_ Could you tell us your role model or orientation as a creator?

 

Apoi_ In my middle and high school days, I liked to watch Studio Ghibli animations due to their unique warm vibes. I watched my favorite works more than 100 times. I like Hayao Miyazaki. When he concentrates on his work, his white beard looks particularly fascinating. Drawing seems to age beautifully as we got experienced. This job is attractive in that we can project deepening thoughts into our works. I want to keep working as long as I wish without falling behind.

 

Kkomam _  I began with emoticons but now want to develop them into characters that have stories of their own. I have to make up more stories while using my expertise, graphic design skills, and meet with more users on more platforms. I should be very diligent, right?

 

Jennifer _ What kind of characters do you want to make in the future?

 

 

Kkomam _Recently, I've worked on developing DDUNKO, ANKKO's little brother, into one of the main characters. I want to make a well-knit plot with more characters that could share the same world view.

 

Apoi_ Rather than determining what kind of character it will be, I want to introduce what I have sketched so far one by one. I have no choice but to care for revenue now, so I should put off until someday telling the stories that I originally dreamed of or wished to express. I hope that I could have opportunities to bring those stories out soon.

 

Alice _ Do you have any wishes for Kakao or anything else that you like to achieve through Kakao Emoticon?

 

Kkomam _  It's not easy to seize an opportunity to become known as a creator. I am grateful for Kakao to open up a platform the whole people can use. I, as a creator, have a desire for Kakao to further expand the area where creators can show their competence. Kakao Emoticon is a platform that has already matured, so I'm wondering how the Company will develop it further in the future.

 

Apoi _  The character industry has been struggling to stay in business, coupled with hardship to advance into overseas markets. I hope Kakao would be a trigger for further developments of the character industry.

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Kakao emoticon, born in a chatroom, has branched out into various online and offline areas. The number of creators and emotional expressions have increased exponentially. This diverse ecosystem is now transforming into a reliable partner in every aspect of our lives, beyond a mere chat assistant.