Character to Brand – Merchandising Masterclass by Bichi Mao

Learn how Bichi Mao went from simple doodles to a worldwide brand with 1M+ followers, and copy the workflow step by step. You will design marketable characters, produce prints, stickers and plushies, then launch your shop and sell at events.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Designing original characters specifically for merch and market appeal
• Building a character sheet, style guide, and narrative that fans connect with
• Using 4-panel comics to grow attachment and social following
• Producing art prints and stickers from design to manufacturer files and mockups
• Creating keychains, badges, and plushies ready for real production
• Choosing events, designing your booth, and selling offline without panic
• Setting up an online shop, listing products, and running campaigns and promotions
• Defining brand identity and building a community around your IP

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Basic drawing fundamentals, no prior business experience needed
• Tools: Procreate, internet access for shop and social setup
• Hardware: iPad with Apple Pencil, computer for file prep and store management

📝 Description

This is not a draw-cute-things class. It’s a how-do-I-actually-sell-this class. Bichi Mao walks you through the full chain: sketch a character people want, give it a story, then turn it into stuff you can hold — art prints, stickers, keychains and plushies.

You get the unglamorous parts too, and that’s the point. How to pick a manufacturer, what to put in a print file, how packaging changes perceived value, how to price for a convention table. Each product type comes with a mockup exercise, so you practice the file setup before you spend real money.

Then comes the business side. You will plan your convention booth, set up your online shop, write listings, plan 10 promo ideas, handle shipping, and shape a brand identity that ties it all together. 31 videos, 18 hands-on worksheets — built from years of trial and error, not theory.

If you want to keep drawing just for fun, cool. If you want fans, orders, and a little brand with your cats on it, this gives you the roadmap Bichi Mao wishes they had at the start.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Illustrators who have cute characters and want to sell them as merch
• Comic artists and Webtoon creators who want to grow an audience and monetize their IP
• Beginners to merch who feel lost with manufacturers, booths, and online shops

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Olive Yong is the self-taught artist behind Bichi Mao, the slice-of-life cat comic with over 1 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Webtoon, and XiaoHongShu. She debuted in 2019 and built the brand with Wee Lim through Niko Studios into books, animation tests, and an international merch line.

She has published four books including Kawaii Kitties and Bichi Mao: The purrfect moment, guested at events like Nijigen Expo and ACG Taiwan, and done commercial illustration for Samsung, Asus, XPPen, Huion, and Kinokuniya. She teaches from real shop and convention experience — what sold, what flopped, and what to fix.

🏁 Final Result

• A finished mini-brand kit: original merch-ready character with sheet and story, mockups for prints, stickers, keychains, badges and plushie, plus a planned online shop listing and convention booth setup you can actually launch.

📢 Guys, this is a Group Buy campaign, check the GBC forum thread to get access

You can find the course preview in the download section below.