69th - Thank You My Heroes

My heartfelt thanks to these wonderful people who have helped to make it possible:

Kwang Wei and LS - my ever supportive siblings who not only stand by me but also contributed their creative talents.

David Kwok - producer and good friend who happens to be the source of other great talents; who puts together the team of animators and keeps everything in check.

Alison Lester - the great improv actor-comedian-writer and good friend who speaks so many different languages, including "mine".

Dominic, Pauline, Chwee Hock, Maureen, Winnie - you guys are the super-sweet and ultra- skilled animators who will have a great future.

Terence and Shu Yan - for without you, my characters would be a cast of silent-movie actors.

And all the others who believe and support:
Melly, Kelly, Alan, Dolly, Paige, Iza, Linda, Geogette, Kitty, Hamzah, Erica, Joan, Bea Fung, Jit, Oli, Terry, Pei Fen, ViVi, Aaron and Caroline.

Last but not least, Media Development Authority Singapore - for giving us a job and a chance to make this a reality.

69th - The Block

Here's a peek at the apartment 69th. There's Mrs Soo, Stripe's nosey neighbor looking over the street for a scoop, or rather, something worth gossiping. She gets totally blissed out chewing the fat all the time. Downstairs, by the entrance of the building, is where you find Mr Alsagoff's Laundromat. And he has a grand-daughter, Ziggy, who's quite a cupcake who dreams of "burning up" the catwalk.

69th - Master Jack-of-all-trade

This is Stripe trying to do so many things, though not necessarily good at any. A "Master" Jack-of-all-trade in the making.

People Who Love Kids Are Really Nice People

A new friend I met recently has this dream of opening a "house" for toys where she can invite kids over and have fun every Children's Day. Which I think is really cool, cos I'm such a big fan of toys myself. Another good friend wants to set up an art school for kids. Then I told her I want to join her in messing up the kids' brains...haha, I mean I want to hang out with them when they paint. Phew!

I think all these people who love children and want to do things for them are really sweet. And I bet the kids will love them back a million times.

The Cheer Leaders of Your Dreams

Life is sweet when you meet people who share and understand your dreams. Of course there are also some who don't but still support you anyhow. I call that REALLY sweet.

I never grew up having specific dreams. For some reasons, my aspirations seemed vague. It's always something this or something that, never "A" doctor, "A" scientist or "An" artist. I wanted to do a lot of things, but never exactly wanted to BE them. I guess there is this big part of me that fears the responsiblity of matching the high standards of what I say I want to be. So I tell people, this is what I do, like "I'm in fashion","I do designs","I'm working on an animation project".

And I've come to a conclusion that most of the things I have done or moved on to do, are in fact different expressions of the same thing - my love for art, people and everyday life.

Why you do what you do?

A friend asked what made me do this (animation). Actually, i don't quite remember... one thing just led to another. Just like how I ended up in the fashion industry. Like a "natural progression". Stripe was initially just some loose drawings of a quirky character who tried very hard at everything. A Jack-of-all-trades. She believes every dream is possible. And it also helps that her personality is such that she doesn't get her nose out of joint so easily about anything people say. Stripe was created some 5 years ago, when I was spending a lot of time at my old shop, with my buddy, Melly. We shared a lot of our crazy ideas and antics so maybe all those talks and play had inspired the drawings and personality of Stripe and given the character a life of her own.

The Beginning of It All - Dreams to Remember

I'm dedicating this blog to my dreams and things and people that inspire me in so many ways.

Also, this will be the place I find myself talking about a very precious project I'm working on - Stripe on 69th, a 2D animation story about a place where big-hearted and quirky characters nurse their private hopes, where some dreams are kept secret and others are made real with unexpected heroes.

A 7 minute pilot in DVD has been made, with its stint in LA based NATPE Nextgenfestival and a soon-to-be screening in the Austrailian International Film Festival in October.

The bigger hope is - Stripe on 69th can some day be extended and expanded. Fingers crossed.

2006 all copy rights reserved for story and illustrations