Rejuvenate your soul

You'll recognise Pratchaya "Poysian" Mahapauraya better as "Sundae Kids", the mind behind the lovable yet hard-hitting comic strips some 57,000 people are following on Facebook. Guru catches up with the 23-year-old independent illustrator as her work goes offline for the first time with her first solo exhibition, "The Kid Within".

How did Sundae Kids get started?

It began as a collection of ideas I had during my senior year of university. I would post ideas I liked but felt were not good enough to submit in my classes. I also enjoyed posting them as comics because they are a combination of words and vivid images people can easily relate to. When that happens, people are likely to share the comics with others.

Where do you find inspiration for your comics?

My comics are mostly based on real life situations. Some scenarios happened to me myself and some happened to my friends. You know how girls are, we like to share whatever we're going through to give and receive advice from our circle of friends. I take inspiration from that. Apart from real life situations, I get inspiration from quotes from movies I watch. If I hear a quote that I really like, I'll extend the words into a scene as a drawing inspiration.

What's your favourite movie?

Even though I watch a lot of movies, I don't really have a favourite because I enjoy them in different ways. I really like American series as well. I can tell you that one of my all-time favourites is the show Friends. I've watched the whole series more than ten times and am still not bored of it. The humour is something that I find more enjoyable than the humour I see in Thai films. It's also where I get the humour in my comics from. Other than that, I also enjoy Sex and the City.

What else do you do when you're not illustrating and watching movies and series?

I'm just like any other person my age. I go shopping and hang out with my friends, but one trait I think is really distinct about me is that I'm a very spontaneous person. Whenever I want to do something, I do it. If I want to dance, I'll dance. If I want to sing, I'll sing. One day I went to an ice cream stand and decided to use the brand Sundae Kids for myself.

How do you feel about the exhibition?

I'm very shocked and excited about it. It hasn't even been two years since I started Sundae Kids and to already have the opportunity to hold something like this renders me speechless.

What's next for you?

I have a lot of things planned. I want to start a graphic novel -- maybe even a series of them. Or I might want to set up a cafe, or sell clothes. There are lots and lots of ideas! We'll just have to see what unfolds. g