This Malaysian content creator got her first 25k following on Instagram at only 14 years old

She’s a little Insta-famous. This might sound just like another KOL-influencer story, but when you are only 14 years old with more than 25K following on Instagram, it is a big deal. If you're looking for a young, talented, and creative person to follow on Instagram, look no further than 14-year-old content creator @machibby! She's sure to inspire you with her passion in art and wait till you find out how she creates it – you’ll learn the true meaning of “when there’s a will, there’s a way”.   

When did you have this passion and what got you started?

I don't remember exactly when this happened, but it all started with animated movies like Studio Ghibli. My journey in creating arts began when I got into drawing the characters during my free time as a hobby. Although I didn’t come from a creative family, they've been very supportive of my art since day one! 

What enticed you to create your own Instagram account?

Do you know how everyone is always telling you to be more social media-savvy? Well, I started drawing a lot in middle school. My friends thought it would help me get noticed by posting my art on either Instagram or Twitter and here I am today.

It seems like you don’t have a lot of content on your page, what’s your secret behind building your first 25K following? 

My secret lies within the 2Cs – Consistency and Connection. I used to post a lot of drawings on my account but I’ve archived most of them because I'm not satisfied with how some of them turned out. Right now, I just try to post as often as I can and build connections with other artists. And just like that, this brought me to hit the magic number ‘25K’ of followers in March 2020. 

What are the tools you use to create your art?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a tablet so all this while I’m only using Ibispaintx to draw on my mobile phone. 

Who or what inspires you the most, and why?

Studio Ghibli is one of my all-time inspirations. I love how they portrayed life in such a beautiful and unique way with their stunning visuals, which also played a big part in my childhood as I grew up watching them! Even my favourite movies and characters are from Studio Ghibli – My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. 

(Credits to Dazed for the image.) 

You’ve already come so far at a young and tender age of 14 years old. Do you have any dreams that you wish to achieve?

I’ve been constantly thinking about the future and making plans to ensure I live a fulfilling life. To do this, one of my biggest aims is to learn how to animate and make my own movie! But I can’t create animation with my phone, I’m currently working on saving up my money to get my own drawing tablet so I can finally have hands-on animation practice with it!  

Other than that, visiting Japan also lies on my bucket list. 

How’s your experience on Stive Asia? 

Well, I've uploaded about 16 templates on the site and am still making more. I slowly adapted myself to the system and found that it’s quite fun and easy to use.

I didn't really like making wallpapers and such before but now it's my favourite past-time activity. Just thinking about people using/purchasing art that I’ve made makes me feel incredibly happy, and I realise that this wouldn't even happen without Stive Asia.  At the very beginning, I never even thought about stepping out of my comfort zone, and this made everything possible. 

Follow this inspiring teen artist on Instagram on the latest updates of her artwork:

✦ STIVE: Machi
✦ Instagram: machibby