Avatar Expressions and Quotes for Inspiration

Suganya, an engineer by graduation, has around 15 years of experience in the IT industry. She was co-founder of the online toy shop Pibblu, which later became an IT consulting company. In order to spend more quality time with her kids and family, the consulting company was closed, and she became a freelance e-commerce consultant and developer.

She loved reading, be it books, magazines, or newspapers. Another thing she loved during her school and college days was writing in her personal diary. It made her feel better, but this habit was lost in the later years of her work life. She wanted her kids to write in their journals or diaries to connect with themselves better and be aware of who they are. But an empty book and plain pages were very hard for the kids; instead of helping them, it became a burden for them. And there were constant questions like, "Amma, what should I write?" or "Amma, can I draw or doodle?" Finally, all the journals became rough books.

Writing and drawing help her calm down and heal, and she has benefited from them. She wanted her kids to experience it. Her daughter tells her that her drawings or doodles on a notepad are like those drawn by a 4th grader. But it's not the end result that helps; it's the process that she enjoys, so she doodles. 

During summer break, kids loved the activity books, so she thought, "Why not a guided journal?" which has simple questions and lots of free space for kids to write and draw to express themselves. Her husband said, "Why don’t you author a guided journal?" This was how the "101 Self-Reflection Questions for Tweens and Teens" journal was born. Currently, she is authoring this guided journal, hoping to make a difference in kids' lives.

Rudy, a creative education designer by degree, is an artist who looks at life from a different perspective. He had learned the basics of art in high school and from Kalakshetra. He believes that the early education of kids defines them and wants kids to have a learner-led education. He is very passionate about music and loves singing. He wants to build a kindergarten with a special emphasis on the creative and performing arts.

He was very instrumental in getting Deepshika to illustrate Tara for the journal questions. He is always very patient in guiding the kids, and he gets the work from them without the kids ever feeling that they are working on it. Drawing helps us express ourselves and calms us down, so he wanted the journal to have space for drawing. Hence the journal, which was first conceived for writing alone, evolved into a writing and drawing journal. He spent a huge amount of time and effort on how to draw avatar parts, as he wanted all kids to try drawing. He has made them simple so that anyone can start to draw. His next-door kid appearance of Tara and simplistic illustrations have elevated the journal to the next level.

Deepshika is an 8th grader who lives in Chennai with her parents and her little sister. She was attracted to crayons and color pencils from the age of 2, and the cream house walls were an empty canvas for her, and they still are sometimes. From her kindergarten days, all her pictures used to be very bright and colorful, and she would spend long hours or even days coloring a single picture. As she grew up, she started with free-style drawing; her illustrations and perception in the drawings would be simple and catchy. She is self-taught under her dad's guidance.

Her school rough notebooks used to be adorable, and she would readily help her friends with their school drawings. She wants to become a professional tennis player, and when she goes to the AITA tournaments, she never forgets to take her drawing kitty. At times, the paper napkins become her drawing paper when she is in tournaments.

It was during the summer holidays when the guided journal "101 Self-Reflection Questions for Tweens and Teens" was conceptualized. To reduce screen time, she was asked to illustrate Tara by her mom for the journal questions. Soon, Tara began to take the form of an avatar for the journal. All her illustrations were done in her hand-made journal notebook in pencil, and she was very happy with the way Tara had turned out.