Meet the Creators: Adriena Fong and Yashika Mody
What three words would you use to describe Funcles?
Author, Yashika: Warm, funny and joyful!
Illustrator, Adriena: Community, family and vibrancy! The story feels like a real celebration of what family can mean to different people through the lens of innocence and sparks of humour. That ‘family' doesn’t just mean blood relations but rather what it stands for - emotional support, personal growth and connections to culture or a sense of belonging. I feel that the idea of family can also change over time (like how early misunderstandings in Funcles allow the main character to grow), that cultivating this sense early in children can be vital for their self-identity as they grow up. It’s so important that children feel supported and seen, unconditionally loved by those around them.
Funcles really shows that they can find this in daily life - in seemingly insignificant interactions.
Yashika, what inspired you to create Funcles?
This story is inspired by (and dedicated to!) my oldest son and his love for his community uncles and aunties in Singapore. In Singapore (and in fact, in many other countries and cultures too), it is a cultural norm to call elders in your community with respectful terms such as “uncle” and “aunty.” So, when my son was beginning to learn and understand language, he would hear me and my husband call the elders in our community uncle and aunty and he quickly picked up on this cultural practice. Everyone he met became his uncle or aunty and became a part of his own community. It was so cute to watch him take this love for his community across the world – on a trip to London, even the guards at Buckingham Palace lovingly became known as “Red Guard Uncles!” Inspired by how community can have such a strong impact on a child, I wrote Funcles as my personal ode to culture, community connection, and joyful storytelling.
Do you have a favourite scene or line from Funcles? What makes it especially meaningful to you?
Yashika: Adriena has done SUCH a fantastic job with the illustrations. Each page and each scene is so vibrant, charming, and heartfelt – it’s so hard to pick just one! If I had to choose, I love the scene of the main character being embraced by all his uncles with the line “My FUNCLES love and take care of me, just like a real family.” The way Adriena has so emphatically drawn the expressions on the 3 uncles and the boy just fills my heart with so much love – their sweet smiles, the way they’re so tenderly looking at the boy, the little boy’s big doe eyes that are filled with gratitude! That scene always makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.
Adriena: My favourite is probably spread 4 - not only did I spend the most time planning this one, but I feel like it is a great snapshot of the main character’s story/journey. I also had a lot of fun adding colourful hints of Singaporean daily life, and tidbits of our culture.
The final cinema drawing was inspired by The Cathay, an iconic historic cinema building in Singapore which I passed by everyday on the way to school. I also included Singaporean sights from daily life like classic shophouses, planters growing bougainvillea flowers, and uniquely designed playgrounds like the bumboat ‘sampan’ in the upper part of the spread. And of course, surrounded by the nature that makes the city lush (I even added the big Angsana tree that is featured on our five dollar bill!).
The detailed look of a few characters did change over time, and it was important for there to be space for the text to breathe even if it’s a more complex image. It was a matter of nudging things here and there for the whole composition to look balanced and the narrative to flow naturally.
What was your process for creating the characters in Funcles? How did you make them feel authentic and relatable to children?
Yashika: All the characters are based on the types of uncles that I have met in my life and I was able to build out their personalities and the ways that they care for their community from my own interactions with similar uncles. For example, barbershop uncle is based on my son’s actual barber who has been cutting his hair since he was a baby! When it came to selecting the uncles, the roles of each of the uncles (like taxi uncle, fried rice uncle, supermarket uncle) are very familiar to those of us that live in Singapore so I’m glad I got to pay tribute to these important community members!
Adriena:
The characters came to me fairly easily, having grown up in Singapore. It felt natural to draw from my own experiences and the kids who were around me when I was in school. I drew him with a simple t-shirt and shorts (very often worn in our tropical climate), and decided on bright colours that would contrast well with the backgrounds I’d already planned so he’d stand out. I was inspired by the part of his character that was imaginative, playful and excitable, and leaned on those attributes when coming up with poses/compositions, even the layout of his bedroom. I wanted to highlight his active, creative nature with curly tousled hair and expressive eyes.
Yashika, where do you usually write, and are there any essentials in your workspace or in your routine that you couldn’t do without?
I usually need a quiet place to focus when I’m writing or revising, so I often write at my neighbourhood library or at home. I definitely need a hot cup of chai first to get my creative juices flowing!
6. What mediums and styles do you enjoy working with the most Adriena?
I love both digital and traditional mediums when illustrating books - and often mix them. I enjoy recreating the organic textures of traditional media in Procreate when I illustrate digitally. Procreate has a great selection of brushes that replicate this look, I especially love the new gouache and pencil brushes. For sketching though, I do like to experiment traditionally on paper when brainstorming compositions. In my traditional work, gouache, colour pencils and neocolor II pastels are my go-to.
What do you hope readers feel, or take away when they read Funcles?
Yashika: I hope first and foremost, readers appreciate the central role community can play in a child’s life and how important it is to belong to something greater than oneself. I think we need the reminder now more than ever that the need for connection and community is fundamental!
Secondly, I hope they get to experience the joy of either seeing themselves and their culture represented on the page, or get to learn about other cultures and communities around the world. I believe so strongly in Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphor that books are windows, mirrors, and sliding doors and the reason I write children’s books is to bring more diversity and representation to kids who have not had the pleasure of being reflected on the page!
