Pinpin Turns One!

One year ago, Pinpin was born out of a kanji mistake. Now, this little ghost is slowly winning hearts and making more appearances in magazines and at art events. I could say that Pinpin's existence has helped me grow as an artist and pushed me to create more art.

Who is Pinpin? A silly alchemist ghost who spends their days foraging, making potions and other magical items, and admiring flowers whenever they can. Pinpin also has no idea what they are actually doing. The inhabitants of the forest have many theories and guesses. For example, some believe that Pinpin might just be a lost ghost who does nonsensical things, and therefore avoid Pinpin's shop whenever they appear to sell their goods. Others have bought from Pinpin and say that what Pinpin sells is not just gibberish, but somehow actually good stuff. Other inhabitants simply acknowledge Pinpin as an ordinary, slightly confused ghost and ignore their existence completely. But there are also other rumors, and those who spread them swear they have heard them from the ancient creatures of the deep forest or from another reliable source. For example, some say that Pinpin might have been a legendary alchemist back in their living days, and that Pinpin's current form is all that remains of their former self. That their soul can never truly find rest, and so they clumsily continue their work. Others say Pinpin's soul is trapped in the forest because of forbidden magic they engaged with in their past life. But who knows? It's all just rumors. And what we have now is a cute ghost doing their thing and casually stopping whatever they were doing to smell flowers.

To celebrate Pinpin's first birthday, I made a special zine, telling a bit more about Pinpin and how their lore has expanded over the past year. Illustrations and sketches are also included. It was my first time doing editorial design, but it's only one of the many things I have done for the first time. Designing, printing, assembling, and cutting were also done in my tiny studio. I would say the biggest challenge was dealing with my printer leaving black spots on some pages and having to troubleshoot, go through multiple print head cleanings, and reprint pages in order to finish enough zines for the next event.

I had the amazing opportunity to present and sell this zine at a zine event held in none other than Miyako Messe, in Kyoto. Only when I arrived at the venue did I realise that I was exhibiting in the same building as the Kyoto Museum of Art and Crafts. A place I stumbled upon during my first trip to Japan. And there I was, exhibiting next to historic kimonos two years later.

Pinpin is the first original character I have developed within their own universe, which is a challenge of its own. Whenever I showed random illustrations of mine to people, they always said, "It looks like something from a children's picture book. You should try making one." But I always deemed myself not creative enough to create my own stories. I guess I was proven wrong by myself. Somehow, Pinpin's universe is slowly growing, and new characters are being born as well.

I tell fragments of Pinpin's stories through comics drawn in ink, but my next big goal is to eventually portray Pinpin in a bigger format: a picture book. The story is already in progress, and as much as part of me is saying that it is too big of a dream and that I cannot do it, I know I will eventually prove myself wrong again. Even if it takes some time. In the meantime, thanks to all the love Pinpin has been receiving, Pinpin's world will continue to grow slowly and beautifully, like all the flowers that Pinpin loves so much.