5초만에 그린 낙서로 1억 4천 연금 버는 여자

Summary

Kimaki, an emoticon creator, explains how she earns ongoing income by designing and selling simple chat stickers on platforms such as KakaoTalk and Naver. Her central point is that success depends less on drawing skill than on creating useful, distinctive products that fit real conversations.

Business Model and Results

• Kimaki says she has worked in the field for six years and has released 99 emoticon sets across platforms.
• She claims her income exceeded ₩140 million last year. She showed financial documents as evidence, but the subtitles do not establish that this figure was the amount of tax paid.
• She says revenue remained at roughly the same level during a period of more than two years when illness and recovery kept her from creating new products.
• A standard KakaoTalk set sells for about ₩2,500, of which the creator receives roughly ₩750. For Emoticon Plus, she estimates earnings at around ₩10 per use; the video description clarifies that the subtitle’s “₩1” is a mistake.
• One text-and-speech-bubble product reached third place in a popularity ranking and remained on the list for about a month after release.

Product and Marketing Playbook

• Start with conversation needs, not artwork. List phrases people actually use, then turn them into expressive reactions. Examples included messages between spouses and common responses such as “wow” or “I’m shocked.”
• Choose a specific audience and use case. Build a set around one relationship or context—such as couples, coworkers, students, or friends—instead of targeting everyone.
• Make the set coherent. Use one recognizable character throughout while varying its expressions, poses, and dialogue.
• Lean into a distinctive style. Kimaki says quick, rough doodles can be more appealing and easier to use than polished illustrations, which may feel overly formal in casual chats.
• Design for discoverability and utility. Commonly used phrases may appear in searches and platform recommendations. Kimaki says platforms promote products through recommendation systems, including recommendations tailored to users’ preferences.
• Treat approval as a product-development challenge. Kimaki initially assumed cute drawings would be enough, but repeated rejections led her to study popular products, look for patterns, and revise her approach. She says analyzing market examples helped her gain approvals and sales.

Operations and Tools

• The work can be done on a laptop with a drawing tablet costing around ₩20,000, or on a phone or tablet. Kimaki uses Clip Studio, citing its beginner-friendly tools for adjusting rough lines and coloring.
• She created reusable templates, including animation frames, to reduce production time and help beginners create consistent characters. Templates can be customized through facial features, proportions, color, and dialogue.
• Once approved and published, emoticons are digital products: there is no physical inventory, and the platform handles sales and settlement. This can produce continuing income, though results depend on platform approval, audience demand, and continued availability.
• Kimaki says she does not need to promote each product actively because platform recommendations provide exposure. This reflects her experience and is not a guarantee for every creator.

Teaching and Practical Recommendations

Kimaki teaches working professionals, homemakers, and older beginners, including students in their 50s and 60s who had little drawing or computer experience. Her support process includes recorded tool demonstrations, repeatable step-by-step lessons, and a group chat where students can ask questions. She also offers an e-book, videos, and templates.

Her advice to beginners is to start with a simple concept, practice incrementally, and use feedback and recordings to learn the tools.

Kimaki says platforms prohibit AI-generated emoticons and may detect them, citing approval and copyright concerns. This is her description of platform policy.

Founder Background

Kimaki previously worked as an office employee, ran an online clothing store, and opened a café that failed, leaving her in debt. She discovered emoticon creation after posting doodles on Instagram, then persisted through repeated platform rejections and studied successful products to refine her approach.

Presenters and Source

• Guest: Kimaki, emoticon creator and instructor
• Interviewer: Unnamed presenter from the 이웃집사장 (Neighbor CEO) channel
• Source: YouTube interview, “5초만에 그린 낙서로 1억 4천 연금 버는 여자”