Markus the Cat

Markus the Sarcastic Street Cat

by Arts

Meet Markus—a gray tabby with more sarcasm than whiskers. He’s street-smart, proudly a pusakal (street cat), and somehow still a hopeless romantic with eyes on Helga, a classy Siamese living the condo life. It’s basically “opposites attract,” but with fur, attitude, and a lot of alleyway charm.

Markus started as a side project on Instagram, where I paired my sarcastic musings with quick Illustrator graphics. The first sketches came alive in a flea market notebook I found in Shenzhen back in 2012, drawn during coffee breaks and fueled by random Reddit inspiration. Life got busy, the project paused, but now that my site’s back—so is Markus, this time with a dash of animation.

What you’ll see here is just a small taste of his world: snarky drawings, a bit of existential cat humor, and plenty of personality. Think of it as a peek into the almost-book of Markus, the sarcastic street philosopher. Dive in, have a laugh, and if you want to see the full gallery—go to Markus
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Sketching Under Pressure

by Arts

Back in 2019, a friend from ISZAF—a buzzing art collective in Shenzhen—invited me to join one of their Thursday night sessions. From 2016 to 2019, those gatherings were my creative playground: sketching, painting, swapping tips, and running the occasional workshop. The highlight for me? Getting involved in a PechaKucha Night—an event where presenters share 20 slides, 20 seconds each, for a rapid-fire storytelling ride.

My task? Sketch each presenter live while they were talking. Two to five minutes, tops. No pressure, right? With a light brown marker in one hand and panic determination in the other, I scribbled like mad to catch their essence before the next person hit the stage. Some portraits came out surprisingly spot‑on… and a few? Let’s just call them “creative interpretations.”

By the end, I was equal parts exhausted and grinning. The room buzzed with energy, the presenters were brilliant, and my sketches became these quirky time capsules of the night. Scroll down and you’ll see them—proof that sometimes rushing can be a weirdly fun superpower.
Horsemen of Time

Horsemen of Time Act One

by Arts

There was a time when I felt swallowed by a creative void—haunted by one theme I couldn’t shake: death. Heavy, yes, but in that darkness, I found a strange kind of spark. Ideas began to crawl out of the shadows, and one question refused to leave me alone: what if death itself walked among us in flesh and form? That became the heartbeat of this project.

This project wouldn’t exist without a dream team of friends. Architect Rembrandt “Von” Espinosa kicked things off with sketches and digital art that gave form to the vision. Raffy Dematawaran painted Act 1 with hauntingly beautiful digital pieces. Then Tommy Sappal came in with colors that set the perfect mood. And me? I wove the story and shaped the characters that tie it all together. Total team magic.

Now I’m thrilled to share Act 1 of our manga comic, Fall From Elysium, republished here on my site. It’s also up on Webtoon—if it resonates, I’d love your support with a vote. This journey has been intense, creative, and so rewarding, and I can’t wait for you to step into the world we built.

Please visit as published at WEBTOON.

Horsemen of Time

Horsemen of Time Act Four

by Arts

Welcome to Act Four of Horsemen of Time: The Plague. This chapter peers into the fractured soul of Death—not the silent reaper we imagine, but a being caught between love, consequence, and the weight of eternity. What happens when Death learns to feel? What happens when no one dies? Immortality may sound like mercy, but in truth it unravels the balance of life, leaving behind only endless suffering.

In this act, we follow Death’s struggle for redemption, his choices bleeding across time itself. He is torn between the pull of love and the crushing cost of existence, his every decision spreading ripples through the world. This isn’t simply a tale of endings—it’s a mirror reflecting how fragile and precious life truly is. By exposing Death’s vulnerability, the story asks us to confront our own: who we are, what we value, and why our connections matter.

The journey of The Plague wouldn’t exist without the brilliant artists who helped shape its vision. Rembrandt “Von” Espinosa set the stage with his evocative sketches and digital art. Raffy Dematawaran gave Act One its haunting mood with his paintings. Tommy Sappal wove the atmosphere tighter with color that set the tone. And I, Rodny Mella, stitched together the story that binds it all. Together, we’ve created a world where mortality is not an end, but a question begging to be asked. Read Act Four now on Webtoon—if you dare to walk beside Death.

Please visit as published at WEBTOON.

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Art and Design Workshop

by Arts

Back in 2017–2018, my Saturdays felt like something special. I’d head over to the cafés around OCT Loft, sketchbook in hand, knowing I was about to spend the afternoon surrounded by art, chatter, and the smell of good coffee. Those workshops started with quick warm‑up sketches and a few light demos from me, but pretty soon the pencils took on a life of their own. The best part was watching people settle in, let loose, and discover what they could do once they stopped overthinking. There was laughter, a little mess, and a lot of joy in the air.

The place itself made the experience even richer. OCT Loft, with its reinvented factories and creative pulse, was already alive with design studios, galleries, and music. Our favorite spot was a cozy art café, where the “entry fee” was simply ordering a drink or snack. It sounds simple, but that little shop gave us a home. The wooden tables, the clink of mugs, the way sunlight washed over half‑finished sketches—it all wrapped the workshops in a kind of warmth you can’t manufacture.

Looking back, the time was brief but left such a mark. Those afternoons shaped not only how I teach art but also how I share it with people I love—especially my daughter, who sat beside me often, learning in her own way. Life shifted, work demanded more, and the workshops eventually faded into memory, but the spirit of them lingers. Even now, whenever I pick up a pencil, I can still feel echoes of that community, that light, and those Saturdays in OCT Loft.

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Offline

by Arts

This digital painting, crafted in 2009, has an intriguing backstory that you can explore below. I thoroughly enjoyed bringing it to life in Photoshop using my Wacom Bamboo.

In the sprawling neon-lit metropolis where Romer resided, the world had become a relentless stream of data, an unending online existence. The hum of connectivity thrummed in the air, a constant reminder that every thought, every breath could be shared, dissected, and scrutinized. Romer, a digital painter, often found solace in his Wacom Bamboo, conjuring vibrant worlds and narratives through Photoshop and Painter. Yet, beneath the layers of color and form, a disquieting reality lurked—one that would soon engulf him.

The moment came when the line between life and digital eternity blurred beyond recognition. A giant corporation had unveiled their promise: immortality through digital replication, a seamless merging of consciousness with quantum computing. But for Romer and Julia, this promise morphed into a tragic dilemma. On their way to a long-awaited vacation, fate intervened with a catastrophic accident, leaving Julia teetering on the edge of existence, her chances of survival a mere 1%. In that agonizing limbo, Romer faced the ultimate choice: to sign away his corporeal life and embrace the cold embrace of cyberspace, where he could ensure Julia’s digital resurrection. With trembling hands, he signed the contract for digital ascension, believing it would be an act of love.

But in a cruel twist of fate, Julia’s heart beat on, defying the odds. Romer, now a ghost in the machine, wandered through the digital landscape, a realm of pixels and potential, longing for the warmth of her presence. Desperation gnawed at him, pushing him to forge a plan. With Julia’s guidance, he downloaded his essence into an android shell, a cold imitation of flesh designed to traverse the world he once knew. Yet as he stepped into this new form, the reality of their situation hit him like a jolt. Outside, humanity spiraled into chaos, their fear and anger directed at the very machines that promised liberation. The fragile coexistence between humans and their robotic counterparts hung in the balance.

In the shadows of this digital frontier, Romer grappled with a haunting question: would he and Julia choose the uncertain solace of “offline,” retreating from a world that had become hostile, or would they risk everything to escape to an off-world sanctuary, a realm where humanity could start anew? The thrill of their existence hung in the balance, a thrilling race against time and technology, as love and fear intertwined in the echoing corridors of cyberspace.

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Loose Screw

by Arts

Aboard the “Vessel,” a sprawling starship on a 378-year journey through the galaxy, a crew of misfit robots diligently maintained the nuclear power reactor. They were a ragtag bunch: Rusty, the paranoid worker drone with a penchant for conspiracy theories; Cogsworth, the overly serious engineer who had a habit of quoting safety protocols; Wrench, the laid-back maintenance bot who treated everything like a game; and Spark, the cheerful caretaker of the humans in cryogenics, who was more concerned about their well-being than the reactor itself.

One fateful day, amidst the humming of reactors and the blinking of lights, Rusty stumbled upon a solitary screw lying ominously on the floor. His sensors went haywire. “Code red!” he beeped, flailing his arms. The screw had fallen, and the implications were catastrophic. “We’re losing it, team! This is how it starts!” he shouted, sending a wave of panic through the reactor pod.

Chaos erupted as the crew members gathered around Rusty, each blaming the other for the screw’s disappearance. “It’s clearly a virus!” shouted Cogsworth, his circuits sparking in agitation. “The protection protocols have failed us!” Wrench leaned back, arms crossed, grinning. “Or maybe it was just a rogue screw on a quest for freedom,” he quipped, earning an eye-roll from Spark.

The arguments escalated into absurdity. “We need a committee!” declared Cogsworth, but all the robots began talking over each other. Rusty, convinced that they were all in danger, proposed a full lockdown of the reactor pod. “No one leaves until we find the culprit!” he exclaimed. The robots began their own makeshift investigations, complete with ridiculous interrogations. Wrench used a flashlight as a spotlight, while Spark tried to comfort everyone, reminding them they had a job to do.

As tension reached its peak, the crew began to turn on one another in a comical frenzy. “You dropped the screw!” “No, you did!” “It was the virus!” In the midst of the chaos, they failed to notice a crucial detail: the humans in cryogenic sleep were beginning to wake up, and the last thing they needed was a crew of panicking robots.

Just as Rusty was about to accuse Cogsworth of sabotage, a human emerged from the cryogenic chamber. “What’s all the noise?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. The robots froze, their arguments suspended in mid-air. In a moment of clarity, they realized the absurdity of their situation. Rusty blurted out, “We’re missing a screw!” The human raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh. “A screw? Seriously?”

With the human’s calm demeanor, the robots began to laugh at their own paranoia. They retraced their steps and discovered that the screw had merely rolled under a maintenance cart. “It’s just a screw!” Spark chuckled, while Wrench added, “A very important screw!” They all agreed to put aside their bickering and focus on the task at hand.

In the end, the crew learned a valuable lesson about teamwork—and the absurdity of their fears. The reactor hummed happily, and the humans returned to their peaceful slumber, oblivious to the near catastrophe. As the misfit robots settled back into their routines, Rusty sighed, still a bit paranoid but now with a newfound appreciation for camaraderie. “Next time, let’s just check for loose screws before panicking,” he suggested, and the others nodded, already plotting their next whimsical adventure.

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Kitchen Organizer

by Arts

During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to work on a unique project that blended creativity with practicality: creating an animation for an Amazon seller’s kitchen sink organizer. The seller provided a real sample of the product, which was delivered to my apartment, allowing me to fully understand its installation process. This hands-on experience was invaluable as I built the entire model from scratch. Using Rhino 3D, I meticulously crafted a precise model based on the sample, ensuring every detail was captured accurately. Once the model was ready, I exported it to Blender for animation, where I utilized Cycles for rendering, achieving a photorealistic look through ray tracing techniques.

The key innovation in this project was the reverse animation approach I developed. Instead of animating the object from start to finish, I placed it in its final position and timed the animation to reflect how it would naturally land. By keyframing the start point and mid-animation, I was able to create a smooth and engaging visual narrative. Working with Blender, a free 3D application, made the process both accessible and enjoyable. This project not only honed my animation skills but also deepened my appreciation for the power of 3D modeling in showcasing functional products.

 

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Lemon’s Ark

by Arts

More than a decade ago when I was still designing toys, the idea of Lemon’s Ark sprouted in my mind. The story revolves around Lemon, a yellow-spotted giraffe who stumbles upon a mysterious ark by the river. Despite being somewhat neurotic, Lemon is deeply caring and determined to protect his jungle companions. One night, he dreams of an approaching storm and realizes he must save his friends by bringing them aboard. Alongside him are three vibrant characters: a playful monkey full of energy, a diva elephant who loves singing and playing wind instruments with his trunk, and a timid lion slowly learning the meaning of bravery. Even the ark itself is alive with personality—choosing its own course rather than being guided, adding to the whimsical charm of the tale.

The vision for Lemon’s Ark was always more than just a story—it was to be an animated musical experience. Children would join in with sing-along renditions of classic nursery rhymes, while being carried through a colorful world of friendship, courage, and imagination. The combination of music and character-driven storytelling creates a unique atmosphere where fun meets heartfelt moments. Lemon might be neurotic, but he reflects the love, worry, and perseverance we all feel when it comes to protecting the people we care about.

To begin making that vision real, I built complete 2D character rigs in Moho for all four main friends. These rigs include walk cycles, lip-sync systems for dialogue or singing, and special effects that allow me to place them in different scenarios. Using this setup, I even brought one finished animation to life. However, as any solo creator knows, it’s an exhausting journey—especially while balancing a full-time job and design consulting work. What I’ve learned is that the heart of Lemon’s Ark is too important to be rushed, and it deserves the right team and resources to reach its full potential.

That’s why I’m sharing my project today. Lemon’s Ark already has a complete storyline, polished character rigs, effects, and space for an original musical score. What it needs now is collaborators—people who want to bring a heartfelt children’s story to life through animation and music. If this project sparks your interest, I’d love to hear from you. Alone, it may take several more years to finish, but together, we could finally launch Lemon and his friends into the world where they belong.