Doodling Away And Finding Oodles of Joy by Eva Wong Nava

I took a break from writing recently. On a whim, I decided to register for Jane Porter’s Comics making online course. It was another children’s author, the award-winning Candy Gourlay, who inspired me with her Substack blog, where she shares snippets of her life in comics — comics that she’d learned to make from Jane’s class — that I thought I’d give it a try. That Candy calls her blog, House of Procrastination, is no coincidence. I was literally procrastinating from doing the writing I was meant to be doing when I thought why don’t I try to do some sketching instead… but before this, I need some lessons, and lucky me, Jane was just about to start her next 10-week online course. It was all meant to be. Sometimes, procrastination does do some good. Writers are well known for procrastinating, as we all know. If there were to be a collective noun for writers, we would be ‘a procrastination of writers’. 

I digress… 

Everyone who knows me, knows that I can’t draw to save my life. What I see and what my hand comes up with is rarely in the same likeness. For example, take a look at this drawing (I hesitate to call it an illustration) from a photo I’d taken at a book launch recently. Here we are — Shireen, Alex and me. Shireen Lalji is the author of So Devin Wore A Skirt (Quarto, 2025) and Alex Falase-Koya needs no introduction — he’s the author of OUP’s award-winning Marv series. 

I wish I could say this sketch was ‘in our likeness’, but as you can see, it’s, sadly, not. But what’s important is that I had FUN! I had fun colouring in my doodles. I love the cross-hatching (I think that’s what they’re called) of colouring in comic Alex’s shirt. I did try to give him a faux sheepskin coat like the one he’s wearing IRL, but the hand just wouldn’t yield to what the eye is seeing. (If they reading this, I apologise, Shireen and Alex for using you both as guinea pigs.) 

As a picture book author, I get to work with some very talented illustrators. I feel honoured and privileged that they are translating my words into visuals that inspire imagination and make the heart sing with joy. Xin Li captured and blended the contemporary and fantastical worlds in I LOVE CHINESE NEW YEAR (Scholastic, 2022) that it captivates every child I’ve ever read this book to during school visits. Natelle Quek made dumplings dancing in the hot bubble bath so deliciously alluring in DANCING DUMPLINGS FOR MY ONE AND ONLY (Walker Books, 2025) that stomachs rumble during story time at book tours. I love how Holly Sterling's cutie patootie illustrations of small people and their adults in WEDNESDAY IS FOR WIGGLING (Walker Books, 2025) truly capture how children see themselves.  

A couple of weeks ago, I learned to sketch penguins. I can’t say penguins are my favourite birds. They waddle. They look like waiters. And, their feet are NOT EASY to draw. And I won’t even begin with how I couldn’t draw their beaks. But hey ho, the point of the exercise was understanding that function is more important than perfection. That if your penguin’s form resembles a penguin, the eye will tell the brain that it’s a penguin. And penguins make great characters in comics and children’s’ stories, and they don’t even have to look like real penguins. If you don’t believe me, click on this link. 

After a couple of attempts at penguins, which I think Oliver Jeffers does so well, as this Guardian article shows — and mind you, his is a funny comic/comical one — I thought I’d try a kingfisher. Why not? They old saying goes, if you don’t fish, you’ll go hungry; if you don't try, you'll never know. I’ve never done a bird before, and at the end of it, it wasn’t the form but the colouring-in that did wonders for my mental health. I even learned how to make its feathers fluffy. So proud of myself! 

Here’s one of my versions à la  Oliver Jeffers. Caveat: This is not AI-generated. I drew this cute little thing by hand and added the Marine Bay Sands as a surf board for a bit of fun! You can read about my thoughts on AI here. 

So, readers and writers, if you’re ever in doubt about your sketching skills, take heart! If I can do it so imperfectly and still make a penguin and a kingfisher look somewhat like what they’re meant to look like, you can too!