Zen Pencils

Zen Pencils is an English-language webcomic by Australian cartoonist Gavin Aung Than. Each comic strip adapts the text of an inspirational quote, poem, or book passage.[1]

History

Between 2003 and 2011,[2] Australian cartoonist Gavin Aung Than worked as a full-time graphic designer for Perth's The Sunday Times and Melbourne's Herald Sun.[3] He also created two weekly comic strips: the superhero comedy Dan and Pete and the dating comedy Boys Will Be Boys.[3] Seeking more meaningful creative work, Aung Than left newspaper design, sold his house, and pursued cartooning full-time.[4]

While still working in newspapers, Aung Than began reading biographies for inspiration and questioning his career direction. He later said that his work felt creatively unfulfilling and drew little readership.[5] During this period, he collected quotations from public figures such as Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, Carl Sagan, and George Carlin. Soon afterward, he began adapting the quotations into online comic strips as Zen Pencils.[5][6]

By 2013, Zen Pencils had gained widespread attention, following the publication of A Cartoonists' Advice, an adaptation of a college commencement speech[7] by Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin and Hobbes.[8] The comic was partly autobiographical, depicting a man leaving corporate work to become a cartoonist and a stay-at-home father. Aung Than drew the comic in a style inspired by his favorite childhood comic, Calvin and Hobbes.[8][6] The strip became the most widely read Zen Pencils comic.[6]

Over time, selected Zen Pencils comics were translated by readers into Turkish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Polish, French, Persian, Hindi, Kannada, and Telugu.[9] In 2013, Zen Pencils was named one of the internet's "Top 100 Websites" by PCMag.[10]

In 2014, Aung Than attended the New York Comic Con to promote the first two Zen Pencils collections, describing the experience as "a dream come true."[11] He also attended the Mumbai Film and Comics Convention in India in 2015.[12] Zen Pencils has been featured in international media including The Washington Post,[13] HuffPost,[14] BuzzFeed,[15] Slate,[16][17] and Gawker.[18]

After more than a decade working on Zen Pencils, Aung Than placed the project on hiatus in 2018 to focus on writing and illustrating children's books.[19]

Influences

Aung Than cites Bill Watterson, Jack Kirby, and Chuck Jones' Looney Tunes cartoons as major influences on the visual style of Zen Pencils.[20]

Over time, the Zen Pencils audience became a valuable influence, both sending in quotes[21] and providing useful feedback. Readers noted that early Zen Pencils strips tended to focus on white male writers, something Aung Than hadn't noticed himself: "Growing up in a Western country, that's how you're brought up. All my characters were white. And then a lot of people were saying, ‘Why don't you do more women? Why don't you do more people of colour?’ I was like, ‘That's a good point. I'm a person of colour. Why don't I do more people of colour?’ So that was a good eye-opening experience for me. They taught me what to work on."[20]

References

  1. ↑ Gav. "ZEN PENCILS – Cartoon quotes from inspirational folks". www.zenpencils.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  2. ↑ Hill, Carlyn (2016-08-03). "Case Study: Zen Pencils". Creative Resources. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  3. 1 2 "Gavin Aung Than on Breaking into and Burning Out in Newspaper Comic Strips". foliocomics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  4. ↑ "Melbourne man trades in day job for internet comic stardom". ABC News. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  5. 1 2 "Gavin Aung Than on Making 'Zen Pencils', a Webcomic Around Inspirational Quotes". foliocomics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  6. 1 2 3 Sreekandan, Nikhil (2018-01-10). "Zen Pencils: Illustrated advice on leading a creative life". INKLINE. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  7. ↑ "Calvin and Hobbes at Martijn's - Bill Watterson". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  8. 1 2 "Gavin Aung Than on The Bill Watterson Comic that Went Viral". foliocomics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  9. ↑ "Translations". www.zenpencils.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  10. ↑ Griffith, Eric; Team, The PCMag Editorial (2014-01-02). "The Top 100 Websites of 2013". PCMAG. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  11. ↑ "Gavin Aung Than on The Hustle Then and the Hustle Now". foliocomics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  12. ↑ "Upcoming Mumbai visit + Reader of the Month". www.zenpencils.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  13. ↑ "#Draw4Atena: See how artists support Iranian woman sentenced to 12 years for cartoon". The Washington Post. 2016-02-27. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  14. ↑ Madhukalya, Anwesha (2016-08-16). "The Man Behind Viral Comics 'Zen Pencils' Has Brilliant Advice On Following Your Dreams". HuffPost. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  15. ↑ Broderick, Ryan (2012-07-27). "The most inspirational comics you'll ever read". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  16. ↑ Plait, Phil (2012-02-27). "Zen Pencils and words of wisdom". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  17. ↑ Plait, Phil (2016-11-18). "Zen Pencils Takes on Science, Religion, and Relativity". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  18. ↑ Zimmerman, Neetzan (2013-08-28). "Inspirational Bill Watterson Speech Turned Into Watterson-Style Comic". Gawker. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  19. ↑ "Zen Pencils". Gavin Aung Than/Zen Pencils. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  20. 1 2 "Gavin Aung Than on Visual Influences and Audience Feedback". foliocomics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  21. ↑ "Gavin Aung Than on Making 'Zen Pencils', a Webcomic Around Inspirational Quotes". foliocomics.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
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