Licensing My Illustrations: How Brands in Singapore Can Work With Me

(C) Laugh And Belly, 2016 - 2026, for Unilever Ice Creams, Ben & Jerry's

If you've ever seen a cute character on a tote bag, a coffee cup, or a campaign poster and thought "I want something like that for my brand!", this one's for you.

I'm Si Qi, the illustrator behind Laugh and Belly. Over the past decade, I've built a body of work rooted in warm, expressive characters that brands and consumers connect with. Clients like Apple, LANEIGE, MUJI, and The Body Shop have brought my illustrations into their campaigns and products.

A lot of that happens through illustration licensing, and if you're a brand in Singapore looking for character-led visuals, here's everything you need to know.

What Is Illustration Licensing?

(C) Laugh And Belly, 2016 - 2026. All rights reserved.

Illustration licensing is when a brand pays to use an existing artwork or character for a specific purpose, for a defined period of time. Instead of commissioning something from scratch, you're accessing rights to work that already exists.

For brands, this means faster turnaround, lower cost, and immediate access to a visual identity with real personality. For me, it means my characters get to live in more places and do more good work.

Licensing in Singapore is common across product packaging, retail campaigns, F&B branding, events, merchandise, and digital content. If your brief involves a character, there's a good chance licensing is the right fit.

Why Brands Choose to License Illustrations

(C) Laugh And Belly, 2016 - 2016. For LANEIGE Water Bank Product Campaign

Custom illustration projects take time. Licensing is a practical shortcut that doesn't compromise on quality or originality.

My characters tend to be round, expressive, and soft around the edges. Approachable rather than childish. They work especially well for food and beverage brands, lifestyle products, community-facing campaigns, and anywhere you want people to feel something warm when they look at your brand.

Singaporean brands in particular have responded well to illustration styles that carry local warmth without being overly literal. If that sounds like what you're after, we're probably a good fit.

What I Offer for Illustration Licensing in Singapore

(C) Laugh And Belly, 2016 - 2026. All rights reserved.

I license original characters and illustrations for use across product packaging, marketing campaigns, merchandise, events, editorial, and digital content. Every licensing arrangement is discussed based on your intended use, exclusivity needs, and campaign duration.

If you need something built from the ground up, I'm also open to creating new characters that can then be licensed, ideal for brands that want a mascot or recurring visual that's fully theirs.

How to Work With Me

(C) Laugh And Belly. 2026. Event at The Local People at CQ

Reach out with what you're working on. Whether you have a detailed brief or just a rough direction, I'm happy to have a conversation before anything is formalised.

Browse my portfolio at tansiqi.com or get in touch on WhatsApp +65 9229 4671. Good works start with a good conversation. Let's have one~

What a Freelance Illustrator in Singapore Can Do for Your Brand Story

Most brands know they need better visuals. Fewer know they need a better story. The ones that figure it out early, the ones that feel human and memorable without trying too hard, tend to have one thing in common: the people behind their visuals understand both art and marketing.

That's a rarer combination than it sounds.

I'm Si Qi, a Singapore-based illustrator and marketing professional with over ten years of independent creative work. Through my studio Laugh and Belly, I've worked with brands including Apple, LANEIGE, MUJI, and The Body Shop. This is what I do, and how it might help you:

Photoshoot for Pocky Australia, (C) Tan Si Qi, VaynerMedia

Illustration Services That Actually Fit Your Brand

Custom illustration isn't just decoration. It's how a brand signals its personality before a single word is read.

Stock visuals are everywhere. When your campaign uses the same aesthetic as everyone else in your industry, you don't just blend in. You disappear. Handcrafted illustration brings warmth and specificity that generic assets can't replicate.

My illustration work spans:

• Brand and campaign illustration for digital and print

• Social media content and editorial visuals

• Packaging and merchandise design

• Character and icon development

• Event and experiential visuals

My style is tongue-in-cheek, character-driven, and rooted in a wit that's accessible without being generic. If you want something that feels distinctly yours, that's the starting point.

Good Vibes, Food Vibes by Tan Si Qi for Bukit Panjang Community Hawker (C) All rights reserved.

Creative Workshops for Teams and Individuals

Creativity isn't a personality trait. It's a practice. And most people abandon it somewhere between childhood and their first job.

My creative workshops are designed to bring it back, in a way that's useful for both personal growth and professional work. Whether you're a brand team that needs sharper ideas or an individual who wants to explore illustration for the first time, the format adapts to you.

Workshop formats include:

• Introduction to illustration for non-artists

• Visual storytelling for marketing and content teams

• Brand voice through visuals, translating identity into image

• Custom workshops for corporate events and team offsites

These sessions are hands-on, low-pressure, and genuinely fun. No art school background required.

(C) Tan Si Qi, Super Shiba Club

Marketing Consulting with a Creative Lens

Most creative freelancers hand over files and step back. I do things differently.

With a background in marketing management and over a decade navigating both creative and commercial work, I understand how visuals function within a strategy: not just how they look, but how they perform. I've built social media content strategies, managed brand rollouts across multiple sub-brands, and developed campaigns for clients across healthcare, food and beverage, and lifestyle.

What this means for you: the work I deliver isn't just visually strong. It's positioned correctly. It speaks to the right people in the right register, and it fits into a broader marketing picture rather than floating outside it.

Services include:

• Brand narrative development

• Social media content strategy and creation

• Campaign concepting and visual direction

• Content audits and brand voice refinement

Why Work with a Singapore-Based Illustrator?

Geography matters more than people think in creative work.

I'm deeply embedded in the Singapore and Southeast Asian cultural context. I understand the references, the aesthetics, the humor, and the sensitivities that shape how audiences here respond to visual content. That local fluency shows up in the work, and it's something you can't brief your way into with an overseas freelancer.

I'm also set up for responsive, collaborative partnerships. You're not waiting across time zones. You're working with someone who's available, accountable, and invested in the outcome.

Clients and Collaborations

Over the past decade, Laugh and Belly has delivered illustration and creative work for:

• Apple

• LANEIGE

• MUJI

• The Body Shop

• Cultural institutions, government agencies, and independent brands across Singapore

This range means I'm comfortable working at different scales: from a scrappy indie brand finding its visual voice to a global label needing assets that meet professional production standards.

Let's work together

If you're a brand, agency, or organisation looking for illustration, creative workshops, or marketing support with a visual edge, I'd love to hear about your project.

Visit tansiqi.com to see the work, or reach out directly to start a conversation.

Tan Si Qi is a Singapore-based illustrator, creative workshop facilitator, and marketing consultant. She is the founder of Laugh and Belly Creative Services and House of Tembusu, a Singapore pickleball designer brand.

The Cutest Way to Chope a Seat: Meet the Plush Tissue Packet Holder Blind Box by Laugh and Belly x Frasers Property

Find out more about the blind box project from the design perspective, here.

(C) Laugh And Belly, a collaboration with Frasers Properties. 2025.

If you’ve ever choped a hawker centre seat with a tissue packet, you’ll know it’s not just a habit, it’s a full-on Singaporean tradition. And now, it’s been reimagined into something adorable and functional.

As part of the “Local Goes Global” event at Tiong Bahru Plaza, Centrepoint and Hougang Mall, I’m super excited to introduce my latest collab: A plush tissue packet holder designed by Laugh and Belly, in partnership with Frasers Property.

The artist, Laugh And Belly with her art on the event floor decal. 2025.

🧻 From Hawker Culture to Serotonin-Boost Blind Box Plush Tissue Packet Collectible

This plush isn’t just for show, it’s actually a tissue packet holder. Think of it as a cheeky ode to Singapore’s kopitiam culture, turned into a soft, squishy, and super practical piece you can use at home, in your bag, or at your office desk.

Png Kueh Tissue Packet Plush. (C) Laugh And Belly, 2025

Whether you’re gifting it to your tissue-choping friend or keeping it as a piece of home wherever you go, this plush holder is designed to make you smile.

📍 Where to Get It

You can find it at Tiong Bahru Plaza, Centrepoint and Hougang Mall, where Frasers Property is spotlighting local artists like myself, through their “Local Goes Global” campaign. The event celebrates uniquely Singaporean stories through art, food, and design — and I’m so proud to be part of it.

🛍️ There’s also a giveaway!

From now till 31 August 2025, follow me @laughandbelly and the participating malls (@tiongbahruplaza, @hougangmall, and @thecentrepoint_sg), and tag a friend who would chope a seat for you on Instagram! T&Cs apply.

Giveaway Link: Click here.

Winners will receive a special blind box featuring the plush tissue packet holder, to be collected at Tiong Bahru Plaza before 20 September 2025.

💛 More Than Just Cute

This collab is a reminder that design doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to connect. I wanted to turn something super familiar into something that sparks joy, invites laughter, and adds a little comfort to your day.

It’s the kind of thing that makes people say:

“Omg… it’s the cutest tissue holder ever.”

(Yes, someone actually left that as a review on our Google 🥹)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Keh3CVkRQxmhJFU18?g_st=ipc

Laugh And Belly would love your feedback. Post a review to our profile.

Follow @laughandbelly to see more quirky creations made with heart and humour.

Let’s keep Singapore’s culture soft, squishy, and full of love. One plush tissue packet holder at a time.