From comics to commerce: Thailand’s playbook for building character IPs

In Asia’s rapidly growing character economy, creativity often starts small—sometimes with nothing more than a comic strip on social media. For Thailand’s Liffolab, this grassroots approach has turned an in-house creation into a full-fledged intellectual property (IP) success story, showing how independent studios can transform charm and relatability into commercial value.

At the Asean Digital Content Summit (ADCS) 2025 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Sumith Simargool—managing director and artist at Liffolab, and president of the Digital Content Association of Thailand (DCAT)—spoke about Thailand’s creative economy. In an interview with AnimationXpress, he spoke in detail how studios like his are driving growth through innovation, culture and digital content.

Liffolab, based in Bangkok, began as a digital graphics studio providing content and animation services for advertising and interactive campaigns. Over time, it expanded its focus to developing original IPs—an essential step for any studio hoping to own its creative future. “You grow your IP as animation,” said Simargool, “but in the long term, you need to go further as a licensing business. Use the licensing business structure as a tool that can make your IP profitable in the future.”

Liffolab’s flagship IP, Eat All Day Sheep, perfectly captures this strategy. Launched in December 2012 as comic strips on Facebook, the series follows Shewsheep, a cheerful, snack-loving sheep who navigate office life through its obsession with food. The concept struck a chord with audiences, quickly attracting over 100,000 followers. “At that time, advertisements promoting a skinny body type were everywhere,” recalled Simargool. “We encouraged people to eat. If you love food, what’s wrong with that? People related to it instantly.”

The combination of humour, relatability, and vibrant design made Shewsheep memorable. As popularity grew, brands began approaching Liffolab to collaborate. “After we reached 100,000 followers, brands started contacting us to use Shewsheep to promote their products,” he explained. “Cafés and restaurants used Shewsheep in campaigns or menu launches. Once you license your character, there are many ways to earn revenue.”

From social media comics and merchandise to partnerships with food brands, Eat All Day Sheep evolved into a multifaceted business. It’s a classic example of how Asian creators first build emotional resonance around a character before developing it into animation or large-scale media. “You don’t need to start with an animation series,” said Simargool. “Your IP can begin as short comics, memes, emojis or stickers—content that’s quick, funny and easy to share. When audiences share it, they become your partners in promotion.”

According to Simargool, this “people-to-people” approach is what sets the Asian market apart from Western IP models. “In the USA or Europe, the only character IPs you see are the big ones—Mickey Mouse, Marvel, Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda. You need big money to make those,” he said. “But in Asia, audiences are open to new ideas, new cultures and new humour. Social media has become a powerful tool for individual artists to expose their work.”

He points to Thailand’s vibrant creative culture as a driving force. “Every week we have at least one art or toy event where artists showcase and sell their work. From teens to adults, everyone visits. And grown-ups have the money to spend,” he said with a smile.

As president of DCAT, he works to strengthen Thailand’s digital content ecosystem by helping creators understand how to build and commercialise their IPs. “Our Thai animation industry needs more human resources,” he noted. “We do a lot of outsourcing and service work, but we don’t yet have the budgets to create our own IPs. DCAT serves as a representative of the industry to discuss such issues with the government.”

Ultimately, his message to creators was clear: strong IPs start with strong characters. “Anyone can make cute stuff, but that’s not enough,” he said. “Your content needs to be funny, meaningful, or have a bit of dark humour—something unique that sets it apart.”

Through Eat All Day Sheep and DCAT’s creative model, Simargool demonstrates that in Asia’s new wave of digital content, success doesn’t begin with animation—it begins with connection.

All photos: facebook/eatalldaysheep