The creative industry has no boundaries, and factors like time and cost are hardly of concern to an artist's pursuit of perfection. With an uncompromising attitude and a tendency to overlook the commercial aspects of business, creative types usually require more time and effort to identify appropriate partners for business collaboration.

Local artist Michael Kwong has a passion for drawing and had aspired to be an illustrator since his childhood. To realise his dream of developing his own cartoon characters, he quitted a promising job and used up almost all of his personal savings. Recently, Mr Kwong entered into cooperation with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) to explore new business opportunities for his talent. Through HKTDC Business Matching, he successfully introduced his original character "the Galaxy Bunch" into the Australian and Japanese markets. Plans are now underway for the release of his comic books and the production of a series of character figures for sale in Australia and the United States.

A dream come true
Becoming a successful illustrator requires a lot of faith and commitment. There are really no short cuts. Mr Kwong gave up what many people regarded as a golden opportunity at the start of his career. "When I was still studying illustration at the Columbus College of Art and Design in the US. Walt Disney offered me a job in animation production. But it was clear that I would just be one of the many cogs in the greater machine and individual creativity was hampered. I turned it down straightaway," he says. After graduation, he stayed in the US and created illustrations for the advertising industry. Despite good career prospects, Mr Kwong decided to leave the US and returned to Hong Kong in 2002 to start making his dreams come true. He began drawing his creations while taking up a teaching job at the School of Continuing Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Failure and success
He founded Locomotive Production Limited in 2003 and launched the Clumsy Poppet comic strip, T-shirt and dolls at the Hong Kong Comic Festival. The creations attracted a strong reception. But serious cost overruns in promotion and production took a toll and generated substantial losses. His partner's HK$300,000 savings were completely eroded.

To Mr Kwong, failure is an intrinsic part of the road to success. The creation of the Galaxy Bunch series proved to be a tough journey for him and his partner as they worked extremely hard to develop the storyline and the different characters. They spent several years and a lot of money in the process, while earning limited amounts from their design services.

Streamlining an overseas partnership
Business breakthroughs came in 2006 and 2007. The Galaxy Bunch series was well-received at the Taiwan International Toy Fair, raising his company's profile particularly in Taiwan, Europe and the US. To extend his reach to more buyers in different regions, Mr Kwong capitalised on HKTDC Business Matching to open up the markets of Japan and Australia. "Back in 2004, I already made an attempt to establish cooperation with a Japanese buyer," he says. "After six months of negotiation and repeated revisions of the design, the deal fell through due to the differences in our business philosophies." Mr Kwong says HKTDC's business matching specialists were very professional in providing in-depth industry research and analysis of the market prospects. Through the HKTDC offices in Japan and Australia, an appropriate Japanese buyer was identified and a meeting was arranged for both sides within just two months. "The buyer they located was a perfect match for both parties, and the Japanese partner has a good understanding of our business background. It has been a very smooth deal," he says.

With the support of the HKTDC, Mr Kwong says Locomotive Production has built up a better understanding of different markets, helping to formulate a clear business strategy. "In Japan, we will launch the Galaxy Bunch series comic book to penetrate the market. There is also a great deal of potential in the market for character figures in Australia. Through the Australian toy company introduced by the HKTDC, we have got in touch with a major international toy brand, paving the way for our entry into the Australian and US markets," he says.

HKTDC Business Matching helps local and overseas companies look for potential partners for business development. For more information, email BusinessMatching@tdc.org.hk. You can also call (852) 1830 668, or the Hong Kong Trade Development Council office near you. For more information, click here.

Reprinted from Next Magazine, Hong Kong, March 2008.