Author: Laura Yang
Don’t Shoot
One of my friends is a very talented photographer and an amazing mother of two. We have a lot to laugh about when we’re together so it’s no surprise that she supplies me with good cartoon fodder. She is a strong and independent woman through and through even when Life hands her lemons — she…
The Pants Test
Well this pretty much sums up the current mood.
Holiday Eating
Well if your Christmas holidays have been anything like mine, it’s full of feast and family. It’s practically non-stop eating!!!!
Christmas 2017
May your Christmas be simple, peaceful, inclusive and full of humility as it was that first Christmas.
Kid Named Bean
I have a threenager… The drawing of this cartoon was cathartic. That is all.
Marking Blues
End of term 1 is upon us… which means teachers are frantically marking and busy preparing report cards. Me? Oh, I just decided to draw this up to encourage my fellow colleagues. đ
Homework Check
Inspired by true events….
Lest We Forget
Thank you to those who have bravely served, past and present. <3
Rainy Day?
In trying to keep up my weekly quota of a whopping ONE cartoon, here’s the latest. Too bad it doesn’t coincide with a rainy day… just happens to be snowy. Urgh…
Halloween 2017
I was waiting for rainier weather to post a cartoon I had drawn up on the topic but it’s been gorgeous out ever since! Guess I’ll have to save it for a rainy day. *Hyuk hyuk* Anyway, I decided to draw a Halloween cartoon instead. Boy sure feels good to draw again.
Rapunzel Problems
Oh just a cartoon I drew in the summer saved for such a (busy) time as this.
Thanksgiving 2017
So I’m just not with it enough to crank out a cartoon a day for #inktober. I didn’t even know there were themes to abide by! Whoops! I guess I’ll just keep with the regularly scheduled program… It’s Thanksgiving in Canada today… I’m very thankful for God, good health, supportive family and awesome friends! đ…
How Toddlers Eat
Anyone who has contact with a toddler during mealtime knows my pain… at least my child and my friends with kids seem to eat at the same rate. I wonder if they all band together and conspire to test their parents’ patience one painfully slow bite at a time.
Login Password
Well I managed to fall asleep what, 3 times while drawing this cartoon on 3 different evenings. I’m happy to say I finally completed it! đ After not teaching for 2 months in the summer, I came back to work on the first day with this problem. I had completely forgotten my passwords and thus,…
Introducing Bean
Today is my daughter’s birthday so what better way to celebrate than to introduce her into the strip? She has provided us with so much laughter it’s only fair for me to share. Happy 3rd Birthday, Bean!
Vancouver Weather
Well, we’ve had a very hot and dry summer in Vancouver the past two months with temperatures reaching 34C (in land) which unfortunately has resulted in an unprecedented wildfire season. Then BAM! Rainfall!!! And the temperature drops 10C. And if there’s anything I’ve learned, us Vancouverites (and surrounding regions) love to complain about the weather. Or maybe…
Back 2 School
Commemorating the end of summer holidays of freedom, relaxation and late night sleeps to even later morning, er… afternoon wake-ups transitioning into regimented school schedules and the demanding work that ensues, I present you…. Good luck to all staff and students going back!! đ
Wrong Feet
So sometimes my mind just wanders…
Canada 150
Happy 150th Birthday, Canada!!! đ
School’s Out
So this is about as cool of a teacher I am in real life… or try to be! đ Have an adventurous, fun-filled and safe summer everyone!! đ Keep on learning!!! Ms. Yang
Desperate Student
Oh just another one… đ
Begging Student
So this time of year students appear out of the woodwork begging for mark increases in their final grade. This is a reenactment of my active imagination. Just…. over… 2… weeks… left!!! *crawling to the finish line*
Doug Savage
So on May 20-21, 2017 I attended the 5th annual Vancouver Comics Arts Festival (VanCAF) where I met the creator of Savage Chickens, Doug Savage. His name immediately brings musings of whether he’s related to Fred or if he is indeed as his surname implies. Well, I can safely say after having met him, he…
Runaway Meatball
So we’ve got a little Toy Fox Terrier dog named Pocket. Her fur is white with black spots. And you know how irksome it is to have a spaghetti stain splatter on a crisp new white blouse or shirt? Well, once I let her lick some spaghetti sauce and OH MAN she got some on…
Hurry Up
I truly believe that one of lifeâs greatest pleasures is to watch children (and people) grow and mature. This is why Iâm a teacherâŚÂ I love the payoff of watching students learn and better themselves over the years. Thereâs nothing like witnessing and maybe contributing to human progress before your very eyes. I have a Taiwanese…
Competitive Elephants
When I was in Taipei last month, I visited the zoo. They’ve got quite a zoo by the way, and as I’ve said before, going to the zoo is a great place for me to get inspired. So many species, so many weird names, and all in Chinese! The caption at the bottom says “male…
Zebra Crossing
Searching through my archives, I found this unpublished piece. In Chinese, the word(s) for crosswalk is “ć錏硔 which literally translates to “zebra route/line”. It didn’t take much for me to get inspired đ
*sigh* I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. GrrrRrRrRrrrr…
Jetlag
It’s been a while since I last posted. Hooboy! It’s 4am and I’m not asleep yet so what better way to  end off the night/start the day off by drawing about it? đ Anyway, hope you enjoy. It’s sure nice to draw again đ Laura
Dodgy Part of Town
It’s been a busy couple of weeks both personally and professionally so I apologize for the absence. If it were solely up to me, I’d be pumping out cartoons daily! Anyway, I was walking down the hall at work yesterday when I saw a group of male teenagers standing in a circle emanating posture that…
Haircut 4
Once when I was a child aspiring to be a cartoonist, I received some good advice from an industry-insider. Namely, to stretch out my cartoons by having a running story line in the background that extends beyond the gag. Well, I’m now starting to do that as I gain inspiration from my haircut. Let’s see how…
Happy Birthday Jane
There is a woman. Her name is Jane. Among her many attributes, she is kind, generous and brilliant. I first met Jane at a meetup group on August 8, 2015 A.K.A. International Bubble Tea day. I couldn’t resist attending as they were giving away FREE bubble tea, which absolutely satisfies my Chinese love language of…
Haircut 3
Since I’m now sporting a bob cut, I’ve got a series of multi-panel cartoons that I’d like to do just on haircuts. This is actually the third haircut cartoon. Haircut 2 didn’t quite make the cut. *pun intended* HAHAHAHA That just rolled out of nowhere! The other day in class I was teaching my Math…
Zombie Valentines
*Sigh* Just found out I was rejected again to something I applied for cartooning-related. It’s not easy being cheesy. Oops, I mean it’s not easy doing this cartooning thing. For those not in the know, it is a fiercely competitive profession. FIERCELY!! There is a LOT of amazing talent out there, some have yet to…
Haircut 1
So I’m pretty much the Ponytail Queen… Low-key and low maintenance. I don’t like hair on my face and it’s quick and easy just to tie the mane back. Plus it’s easier to play sports in… though lately that hasn’t been an issue. ha… *sigh* I believe how we wear our hair is a manifestation…
Slug Casualty
Just when Metro Vancouver thought the worst snow storm was over, WHAM!! We’re pelted with another wave of snow which is quite unusual in our mild climate. I initially put this idea on the back burner for next winter but lo and behold, I didn’t have to wait too long. If you fail to shovel…
Serious Leak
I’ve been meaning to ink this one for a while. Finally had a couple hours to myself. đ My new haircut makes a cameo. haha
Chinese New Year
Well, not sure if y’all are awares but, today is Chinese New Year (though celebrated by Vietnamese, Koreans et al). It’s sort of like the Christmas of China. When I lived in Taiwan, you’d get a week off of work. Businesses were closed. People would migrate to their home town and spend lots of time…
Christmas Decorations
Not much to say except this may have been inspired by true events. đ
Rejection Hurts
Life is quite busy but full. So, in an effort to reduce the amount of effort (haha) required to crank out cartoons, I decided to go the simple route. Simple, multi-panel strips that require more focus on the writing than on the artwork. I’ve been told by many in the industry that good writing saves bad…
Organic Food
You know that saying “beggars can’t be choosy”? Inspiration was derived directly from there.
An Angel’s Wings
One day I had a thought… something about an angel getting its wings when a bell rings. I promptly googled that up and here’s what I discovered: The classic 1946 movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” is featured during Christmas every year. In it, a young girl named Zuzu Bailey says “Every time a bell rings an…
New Year 2017
I’ve been so caught up drawing Christmas cartoons I completely forgot to think about a New Year’s one. Now normally, I just let ideas come to me as I experience life since I don’t like forcing punchlines but for the sake of a New Year’s cartoon, I sort of forced it. Ha. First cartoon of…
Frozen Toys
Another oldie. With the monster success this mega blockbuster movie has enjoyed coupled with its title, it was just a matter of time before this corny cartoonist struck again. đ Dedicated to all you cool dads.
Baby Jesus’ Birthday
Happy Belated Birthday, Baby Jesus! Got the idea from a cartoon I’ve seen before of an old man whose shadow depicted his younger self as a soldier. Pretty cool, I say! My drawing foreshadows (pardon the pun) what is to come for Baby Jesus.
The Unwise Man
This is another TBT cartoon inked a year ago but upgraded to colour digitally. Got the idea from just letting the thought of the 3 wise men ruminate in my head for a few days. I was initially thinking of how at potlucks there’s always that one who brings the cheapest item and at modern…
Last Christmas Song
So this time last year I was churning out a cartoon a day, black ink on white paper. I’m now in the process of upgrading them digitally so that they’re in COLOUR. That seems to be the preference amongst my peoples… so please excuse these *reruns*. By the way, “StrongStart is a FREE early learning drop-in…
Naughty Kid
Well, with only a few more sleeps to Christmas I’d better get cracking on my Christmas cartoons! Here’s the latest from yours truly. Also, it happens to be my older sister’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Sarah! As for the cartoon’s inspiration, my sister DOES happen to have a large mop of hair… lol jk. L
Dinner Served
Well, today marks the first day of Christmas vacation for students and teachers. It’s been quite chilly here in the Vancouver region as temperatures hovered around -8C (which is around 18F). Needless to say, I thought it might be nice for us to get a bit of “sun” even if in cartoon. I dug up…
Shoe Shoe
My little 2 year old girl was practicing her imperatives with our 7lb dog Pocket one day. In her cute little toddler voice, she kept shouting at Pocket to “Shoo shoo!” Pocket though, just sat there and stared her wide-eyed stare and didn’t budge an inch. Then it occurred to me that “shoo” basically sounds…
Drowning
Maaaan it’s been a rough week at work. I lost all my students’ marks on the USB stick I stored them on. And nope, I did not back them up. Oh and did I mention that marks were due two days later??? HAHA! Epic FAIL!!! I think my 2 year old daughter took my USB stick…
Young Pediatrician
Alright, time to flush out some cartoons drawn a while back. Here’s a nice cornball cartoon for ya! đ Inspiration just came from my succinct definition of ‘pediatrician’.
Supreme Toddler
This probably isn’t too funny unless you’ve had contact with an unreasonably capricious toddler. The idea came about when I took my daughter swimming and she flipped out when I gave her the blue paddle dive board thingy vs the pink one. Oh dear. It was as though the sirens for WWIII had just sounded….
Staff Social
Ok let me just say, I love my colleagues and this has NOTHING to do with you lovely fine folks but more about my wandering mind… and the reasons people give for not attending certain events. đ
Lest We Forget
To all those involved with the military past, present and future…. Thank you for your service. We are extremely blessed to live in such a country as Canada.
Pre-Election Forecast
Well, today marks a very historic day in American history as the nation will be electing its next president — either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Now I don’t normally draw anything political since I am the least qualified to do so but I couldn’t resist. No matter the outcome, I think the prediction is…
Kiddie Trap
Halloween just passed and the kid did great pulling in a major haul to feed Mom and Dad’s addiction to sugar. She went as a purple dinosaur. It was glorious. Her tail almost caught fire as it brushed up against a jack-o-lantern’s internal and very lit candle. Anyway, this cartoon was done a while back…
Happy Halloween
I hate mosquitoes. ‘Nuff said.
Chicken Horror
Hehe, I hope I didn’t go overboard on this one. I inked this a while back and gained inspiration whilst working on this >>Â Quit Playin’Â << cartoon. (Click on Quit Playin’). One of the posters on the back wall has a chicken crossing the road and in my stream of consciousness drew a cracked egg in…
Laundry
It struck me one day as I was hanging out my clothes to dry… a neighbour remarked that I was “so Chinese”. Haha! Yes, why waste money by throwing money into the dryer, literally? Hanging laundry up to dry was a part of my childhood. My mom would hang them on the line outside. Who…
Helium Challenge
So a couple weeks ago another Canadian cartoonist challenged me to the #heliumchallenge via Twitter. It looks like it’s just a silly trend where people film themselves inhaling helium and the silliness that ensues. As a cartoonist, I guess our challenge is to draw some cartoon with helium? I dunno, alas, this is what I could…
Power Line
So the Pacific Northwest is currently being pummeled by the third and final blast of inclement weather courtesy of Typhoon Songda. Trees and branches litter soggy streets and in some cases, trees have come toppling down, taking power lines down with it. Some neighbourhoods have lost power and in one unfortunate instance, a teenager lost his life….
Thanksgiving
I went to the zoo a few weeks ago and I must say, that is a great place to get inspiration for cartoons! It was precisely there that I saw the turkey vulture. The name was intriguing to me so I took note of it and stored it for later use. So when Canadian Thanksgiving…
Rhino-what?
So this just in… this is a REAL word! One of my favourite past times is to scroll through my facebook news feed. The other day I came across this gem. It immediately stood out to me and i just couldn’t resist. Props to my colleague T.S. for the terrific find! đ
Quit Playin’
This cartoon took forever to draw. I couldn’t get the perspective on the table right… I laboured over the placement of the chess pieces… and yes, to all the chess lovers out there, I do realize a chess board is 8×8. It was too hard to draw that out completely. I must admit, one of…
Dessert
I’m sure plenty of cartoonists before me have drawn up this punchline in one form or another. I don’t claim to be unique. In fact, reminds me of a little story… I was in a cartoon contest a few years ago hosted by the now defunct cartooniststudio.com website. There were 10 rounds and I made…
Happy Birthday
So today was the munchkin’s 2nd birthday. I decided to post up a birthday-esque cartoon that I drew up a couple months ago. I was experimenting with a more New Yorker style but think my cartoons are still a bit too cartoony, if that makes any sense. Anyway, now that she’s full-swing into the Terrible…
Free Entree
Ever wondered the same? There’s a joke that goes something like this: There once was an old couple. The wife would always screen her husband’s intake of foods to ensure proper nutrition and weight. She had him on healthy foods (whole wheat, gluten-free, low carb, high greens etc type diet). If it were up to him,…
Gesundheit
Just another example of art imitating life đ
Beware Of
We have a small dog. She is awesome. Her name is Pocket. People trip over her lots. Husband solved the problem. Voila!
RMT
Massage therapy Oh how i love thee And with more intensity My body reaches harmony Ugh, it’s late so I know my rhymes ain’t that great. :p
Hot Summer
‘Nuf said. This was inspired when I was in Mexico enduring the grueling heat and humidity.
Happy Anniversary
Google the number 7 and you’ll discover its significance down a deep dark rabbit hole. Scholars believe it represents completeness or perfection in the Bible. Ironically, in western culture and especially related to marriage, it is often used in the context of the “7 year itch”. Ha! When my husband and I got married, I…
Silver Medalist
I whipped up this cartoon after watching an interview on TV so I can’t really take much credit for the idea. Art basically imitates life here. In the interview, the athlete was talking about how they gave it their all, their best effort and adds they could have pushed themself harder. Students pull this logic…
Ball In Cup
Ah, the good ol’ ball in cup. I find it rather fun! It teaches skills of perseverance, intense focus and a desire to refine the flick of the wrist technique. Plus it’s low-tech and costs little. Finally nestling that ball right into that cup is its own reward. Even better, it can keep kids busy…
Fat Dog
Full credit for the idea of THIS CARTOON WHY IS THIS ALL CAPS?? FEELS LIKE I’M SHOUTING… *Ahem* as I was saying, full credit for the idea of this cartoon goes to my husband đ Our dog is a little 7 lb Toy Fox Terrier, but man can she eat. In fact, I’m quite grateful…
God’s Steak
I must admit, I’m a major cheese ball. Sometimes when I’m marking students’ math tests, I write little comments or draw little pictures on them to entertain myself a bit. For example, if a student blows me away by demonstrating exceptionally well-written, abstract but coherent math reasoning, I would write “Just like how I like…
Bed Jumping
I was in Mexico when I drew this up. Inspiration came from my almost 2 year old. She was having the time of her life jumping and flopping on the bed, which led to the thought of “I told you not to jump on the bed”. The fish bowl cartoon is replete with punchlines waiting…