Drawing the line

Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb and courtesy of Line Company (Thailand) Limited

Enter the fun, creative world of Line stickers.

Line is now by far the most popular messenger app in Thailand. The key to its popularity is its fun stickers, which can show all kinds of emotions and ideas. There are more than 73,600 stickers currently available. And thanks to the Line Creators Market, where users worldwide can design and sell their own stickers, that number is growing all the time.

Creators Aphichat Thirawitayaniphon (Sun), 25, and Phornwarin Rianrungrot (Mod), 35, made it into the top five bestselling stickers list in December. Sun, a graphic designer, saw his creation DuebDueb top the chart. Mod, meanwhile, is a full-time sticker creator, who has designed 25 collections so far. Her creation, Gyoza, remained in the top five for many weeks.

S Weekly met up with the two designers at the Line office where they told us about their latest and most successful collections.

What inspired you to become a creator?

Sun: I really wanted to have my own stickers to use. And I thought that if people enjoyed using them, I could make some extra money.

Mod:My colleague had 300 or 400 sets of stickers. I thought that, since I really enjoy drawing, I could design something and earn money from it.

How did it feel to make it into the top five bestselling stickers list?

Sun: It felt great. I was awarded Rising Star of December, which is for the most downloaded sticker set. It was unexpected.

Mod:The day I released Gyoza I was so nervous, I couldn’t sleep. I just scrolled through the rankings all night. When I saw it in the top five, I felt relieved and happy.

How did you come up with your characters?

Sun: DuebDueb was inspired by the way young people dance at mor lam shows. Some of the dancing is hilarious.

Mod:Gyoza was adapted from my previous character, Gypso. My friends wanted to have a new version of Gypso. So I redesigned her hair and clothes to make her cuter, funnier and more casual.

Why did you decide to draw your stickers the way you did?

Sun: I decided to make DuebDueb black and white because adding certain colours can limit its popularity with different genders. I wanted to attract both men and women.

Mod:My favourite thing to draw is a girl with big, long, shiny hair.

Did you have any difficulties while making the stickers?

Sun: The original collection had some teasing gestures and language. Line sent the stickers back to me so I decided to change them to make them more appropriate.

What’s the best way to promote stickers?

Mod:Having an interesting character is the best way to attract users.

Mod, why did you decide to become a full-time sticker creator?

Mod:This career has great potential for two reasons. Firstly, creators are like partners of Line because the revenue is split between them. Secondly, Line offers a huge market to creators, both local and international.

What kind of qualifications should a sticker creator have?

Mod:You must have discipline. I work on stickers during office hours. And I concentrate very hard while I work. You also have to love drawing and creating, so you’re happy making characters. For inspiration, I look at the sticker shop in Line and chat with others to see what kind of stickers people are using.

What are you planning to do next?

Sun: DuebDueb is teasing and funny, but I will try other styles so users don’t get bored with my designs.

Mod:I’m working on a black and white set which can be animated. I also plan to develop a new version of one of my old characters, Sakura Saki.

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