Cartoonist draws big success after repeated rejections May 31, 2021 – Posted in: In The News

He had just lost his job. The concept of his first book was rejected by 13 different publishers with the excuse that it wouldn’t sell.

Customers have even scolded him and laughed at his caricatures, saying that his artworks don’t resemble them at all.

Many would have thrown in the towel after facing not one, but 13 rejections, and locked away their dreams forever.

But not Azmi Hussin. He refused to give in and give up. He persevered and persisted.

And what do you know? Eight years later, this Penang-born self-taught cartoonist and caricaturist is now the proud author of three very successful books, a two-time Malaysia Book of Records holder and an established artist famous for painting arresting murals all over Penang.

Azmi is the living, breathing epitome of “not giving up”, and his hard work has finally paid off.

Azmi wasn’t always seen with a sketchbook though.

During a chat with FMT, he explained that he was a jack-of-all-trades; having worked in a coffee shop, cooking up mee goreng and making drinks, to working as a technician in a factory and then switching careers to become an auxiliary policeman.

Azmi left it all in 2013 to pursue what he loved the most and delved into the world of art as a street caricature artist.

“I realised that most of my friends who were caricature artists were just focusing on caricatures completely and were not keen on exploring other skills,” he said.

Not content to go down the same path, Azmi added that he had bigger intentions; that of becoming a great artist just like Malaysia’s very own beloved cartoonist, Lat.

In his pursuit of doing so, he gave life to Joe G, a buck-toothed character exploring Penang’s must-visit attractions in his first book, ‘Tanjong Life’.

“You can’t box him in as a Malay, Chinese or Indian; I created him to represent Penangites,” smiled the cartoonist.

“The elderly folk often refer to George Town as Tanjong so that’s how the name came about. I drew the typical Penangite’s life, the city’s festivals and the delicious food.”

But the 37-year-old was met with rejection after rejection, often told that his book “wouldn’t be able to garner sales”.

Nevertheless, Azmi finally did land a publisher, and requested for Lat to launch the book.

“Fortunately, through the help of a friend, Lat invited me to his house in Ipoh and was more than delighted to launch my book in 2015,” recalled Azmi fondly.

“But he also asked me why I had not done a story on myself but I shrugged it off, explaining that there was nothing special about me and that no one would read such a story.”

Azmi related that Lat had turned to him at that moment, and explained that he too was once a normal kid and that he never knew ‘Kampung Boy’ would become a bestseller.

“I remember his words clearly, telling me that everybody is somebody and that I needed to recognise what was special about me.”

That day, Azmi went home, sat himself down and thought about Lat’s words. And then it hit him.

Azmi, who was the only Mamak boy in his school, realised that the Mamak culture was something worth documenting and drawing about.

He knew that Malaysians are familiar with the Mamak community, their addictive nasi kandar and roti canai, but not many are aware of the culture itself.

This served as the inspiration behind the ‘Little Mamak’ book in 2016.

‘Little Mamak’ carried a lot of meaning for this cartoonist.

Not only was it chosen by Majlis Buku Kebangsaan Malaysia as part of the ‘50 Best Malaysian Titles’ list for the Frankfurt Book Fair, but it also featured his late “nani” (the Mamak word for grandmother).

“My nani and I had a very close bond so she’s in the book. She had always dreamed of travelling overseas, so when the book was showcased in Germany, it felt like I had fulfilled my promise to her,” smiled Azmi.

His third book, ‘Lost in Bagan’, would soon follow and was released in 2017. This time, the story revolved around Azmi’s journey back to his hometown of Butterworth in search of memories and old haunts.

That same year, Azmi also created history in the Malaysia Book of Records when he drew 320 people within 24 hours, forsaking food and sleep.

While he drew people for free, a donation box was placed at his workstation, and RM12,000 in charity funds was collected at the end of the day.

“The fact that the funds went to Persatuan Tongkat Putih Pulau Pinang, the National Cancer Society and the National Kidney Foundation meant more than breaking the record,” admitted Azmi.

Azmi didn’t stop there; he went on to create a second record in 2019, also with the Malaysia Book of Records, with his 101-metre long coffee painting depicting 150 locations in Penang.

This feat took him 25 long days to complete.

Record-breaking art aside, one can spot his work all over Penang, with one extremely popular mural being of the South Indian superstar Rajinikanth enjoying half-boiled eggs, kopi susu and charcoal-toasted roti Bengali at Transfer Road.

Another unmissable mural of Penang’s six football legends at City Stadium was also painted by Azmi.

With all this success coming his way, one would think that this cartoonist might take a step back and enjoy the fruits of his labour.

But Azmi has no plans on putting his pencil down, not now and not anytime in the foreseeable future.

In fact, he is currently working on his fourth book, ‘Tanjong Life: The New Norm’ which illustrates how Penangites have been coping with the pandemic.

It seems that this artist has indeed taken Lat’s words to heart, and remained true to himself. Perhaps, in the future, he will also serve as an inspiration for many other budding artists out there with big dreams to pursue and fulfil.

You can check more of Azmi’s work on his Facebook page.

This article first appeared in Free Malaysia Today on 5 March, 2021