During this pandemic, most people would do anything to earn money at home and online since we are all required to stay indoors during the lockdown. People have grown fond of surfing the web for career opportunities, and some of them have come across a very unusual page on a popular online store.
20-year-old college undergrad student, Laura Jiang, set up her online store on Shopee three months ago to sell her drawings online. What happened next was something she did not expect.
Starting from $2.50, customers who have ordered in advance will receive an “uglified” drawing of themselves or their loved ones in digital copy that they will download and save on their computers or mobile phones. The drawings will have exaggerated features such as long nose hair and extra wrinkles.
Suspend orders temporarily
In response to customers inquiring about her drawings through Mothership, according to Jiang, she has sold more than 42 drawings of her customers’ photos, and she is currently preparing to sketch another set of orders.
Recently, she had to temporarily stop taking new orders on her store since she worries that she may not be able to keep up with all the demand.
“I’m still studying, so when the orders suddenly came, it was quite a shock. I realized that I had to start managing my time to finish the orders,” she said.
Jiang is currently in college studying communications at the Nanyang Technological University. She usually works on her drawings during her free time at night after her classes.
“The drawings are also a way for me to relieve stress, it’s a little therapeutic in some ways,” she added.
Jiang has extended the waiting period for orders to two weeks, but the customers can pre-order online on Shopee.
She said that she has come up with this idea upon coming across a Malaysian TikToker who had the same hobby.
“I went to search on Singapore’s Shopee, and surprisingly, I didn’t find anyone who did the same thing locally. I decided why not just try and sell them for fun,” she said.
“Oddly detailed,” they say…
Jiang’s drawings on her Shoppee account have received positive reviews, with customers satisfied and leaving a 5-star rating on the comments section.
One customer commented that the portraits were “oddly detailed” while another said, “It’s so ugly I love it!”
The most prominent features are exaggerated
Jiang shared the reason behind her “unique” talent and “hilarious” drawings:
“Usually, I would see what are the prominent features that I first notice when I see the photo then I will try to exaggerate them. After that, I will ‘uglify’ it by adding nose hairs, wrinkles, stuff like that.”
She admits that she is not an artist.
“The whole appeal is to make it ugly, but for me, it is effortless because I’m not a good artist,” she added.
A portrait takes her around 20 minutes to draw, but when she finally feels at ease, she can finish one for only 10 minutes using an A4 size bond paper and a permanent marker.
Anything with a face is possible to draw
Jiang decided to continue with her small business as long as the orders still keep on growing.
“As long as it’s a face, I’m ok with drawing it,” she added.
When asked why people have come to like her portraits, she answered:
“Nowadays, it’s all about trying to catfish people and making yourself look good. But this is the opposite, it’s not what people expect.”
Jiang has an updated Instagram account where she shared all her “uglified” drawings and inform interested customers on where to order and buy her portraits.
You may follow her on Instagram and visit her online store on Shopee to view her portraits and perhaps, order a drawing.
Source Credits to: Mothership.SG
