Career in comics

Two pieces from his popular work, Wuloom Family. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Cartoonist Ao Yo-siang plans to help young aspirants. Zhang Zefeng reports.     

Cartoons have been an indispensable part of Ao Yo-siang's childhood since he can remember. In primary school, Ao created fictional storylines to sketch four-panel comics on workbooks entertaining classmates. Teachers often assigned him to draw blackboard posters.

"I get a sense of fulfillment from drawing cartoons," says the 61-year-old renowned Taiwan cartoonist. "I was weak in athletics. Cartoons were something that I can use to draw people's attention to me."

Ao's interest in cartoons altered his career path.

At the age of 25, his four-frame kung fu humor comic series, Wuloom Family, that tells stories about four monks, brought him fame. So, he quit his job in an animation company and started working as a full-time cartoonist.

Since its release in 1980, the series has sold 120 million copies and gained an enduring appeal among young readers.

"Wuloom Family is a comic cartoon that everyone can accept," says Ao.

Between 2004 and 2007, Ao won awards in the Golden Dragon Award Original Animation and Comic Competition, one of the most significant awards in the cartoon industry on the Chinese mainland.

This year, Wuloom Family will take another monumental step.

Its motion comic adaptation, Wuloom Family: Save the Elf, which combines elements from comic books and animation, is released on Tencent video on Nov 1.

However, the process comes with many challenges.