Creating Comfort Characters in an Overstimulated World

As millennials who grew up alongside the early internet, we always understood one thing: Technology wasn’t going anywhere. As we watched our clunky desktop computers and flip phones quickly evolve into portable laptops and touch screens, we saw for ourselves how quickly the internet was shaping peoples’ daily lives—for better, or for worse.

(It All Begins With a Character: From Idea to Icon.)

Before creating Tubby Nugget, our backgrounds were already scattered across several different paths. We’d been teachers, computer techs, writers, freelance artists—and in every field, we were just trying to figure out how to adapt to a world where endless streams of digital content were becoming readily available to everyone. Whether it was our students, our coworkers, our families, or fellow artists, we could see that each of our communities were becoming deeply affected by an increasingly noisy media landscape. And yet, because we grew up alongside the internet, we also had the privilege of understanding the good it had brought into those spaces.

With content becoming easier than ever to consume online, many of us have benefited from easier access to knowledge and communities outside of our local ones, and better accessibility for those who need to or find joy learning and working from home. But we’ve also inevitably noticed something else happening alongside that convenience. The same platforms that allowed for creativity and knowledge to flourish also became increasingly filled with negativity, outrage, and content designed to get clicks by provoking strong emotional reactions.

When you’re constantly consuming overwhelmingly negative content, joy starts to feel like a scarcity.

For the two of us, Tubby Nugget was just our personal response to those overwhelming feelings flooding in.

At first, Tubby wasn’t meant to become a business or even a brand. He was just a silly character that came to life from a doodle Josh once made to make Jenine laugh during hard times. An inside joke, and a reminder to ourselves that even during our most difficult moments—personal struggles, uncertainty about the future, and general heaviness that often comes from spending too much time online—there’s always room for playfulness, kindness, and shared laughter together.

When we began sharing Tubby Nugget more publicly online in 2018, we quickly discovered that we weren’t the only ones who needed that daily reminder.

In an age of constant notifications, a barrage of rapidly changing headlines, and the ability to scroll endlessly, audiences like us are often getting overwhelmed before we even realize it. But for creators, this has also created a unique opportunity: a chance to both find and offer emotional grounding in the midst of all that noise.

In Tubby’s early days, Instagram was one of the easiest ways we could share both him and our lives with our family and friends all over the world. The thing is—we weren’t always up to anything all that exciting. And social media has always felt like the kind of place you’re SUPPOSED to post something exciting to stay relevant! But even if we weren’t up to anything seemingly special, we still wanted to find fun ways to stay updated and in touch with our loved ones.

So, the simple act of photoshopping Tubby Nugget into photos of us just going about our daily activities became a hilarious new way for us to stay in touch with our loved ones. Eventually, we started photoshopping him into photos with our friends. Then their friends. Then THEIR friends, who were practically strangers to us. And in this fun and silly way, it made us feel like we were experiencing life alongside thousands of other people—just us, and this little nugget, facing both the mundane and the exciting things in life together. We felt more connected than ever before.

When the pandemic hit, the power of Tubby Nugget’s simplicity really began to shine. He’s an uncomplicated space on people’s feeds where audiences can pause, laugh, or feel seen and understood. Instead of being defined by conflict or cynicism, Tubby embodies curiosity, kindness, and a willingness to embrace joy amidst hardship—even in the little things. His softness has ironically become one of his greatest strengths, and regularly reminds us and our viewers that taking care of ones’ mental health should be a part of our daily routine. In short, his only goal when he sees you is to remind you how loved you are, as you are.

For writers hoping to create characters that resonate in this kind of environment—true empathy is essential. Audiences today are incredibly diverse, and characters that feel welcoming and emotionally authentic often travel farther than those designed for a narrower demographic. Despite our language and cultural barriers, there are some things that will always remain true—we are all seeking places in which we feel not only understood, but loved as we are. The fun part for us comes from finding creative new ways to love those we may not understand yet.     

People often look at Tubby and assume that our primary audience is children. And while we do have an incredibly large fan-base in that age demographic, what we found was most beneficial to both our creative process and our growth was considering that people of ALL ages might find comfort in his messages. So, we opened ourselves up to that possibility by posting on platforms of all kinds, and in different formats!

From webcomics, we transitioned to doing short form animations as video content as TikTok grew in popularity; we then started sharing long-form music and videos on platforms like YouTube and Spotify; we started posting Facebook statuses along with our usual video content to see if there was interest there for older audiences; and, in the last couple of years, we worked with Penguin Random House to publish an interactive journal and two graphic novels for people to read and engage with Tubby through books. 

Our main intention in making all of our content was always “How can we make Tubby even more accessible to others?” And having that intention has led to us finding some of the most uniquely diverse audiences on every platform we share Tubby on. From Olympic athletes, to grandparents scrolling online, to people finding us from all the way across the world—even in our family’s small hometowns in the Philippines! By being intentional about accessibility, we discovered that Tubby could inspire comfort and care to people we never imagined we would reach.

Which brings us to our last discovery. That, as people continue to seek content that makes them feel seen and understood these days, it’s important that we leave them with something that lasts beyond a single scroll—community. Therefore, it’s equally important to us that beyond Tubby’s simplicity, we ensure that he is known to be a character with emotional depth, and a story that inspires people to come back and continue engaging with him in the future. Better yet, to inspire those viewers to engage with others in Tubby’s community seeking that same connection and joy long term. Our audience is proof that people online are still benefitting from spaces like these. Which means…we need more of it. 

Our hope now is that whoever takes the time to read about our journey with Tubby knows that joy and kindness can come from humble origins, and can spread like wildfire with empathy, intention, and great community behind you. The internet is, undoubtedly, overwhelming at times. But we promise—there are millions scrolling through the noise right this second who could use every ounce of childlike joy they can stumble upon to keep their spirits bright.

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