What a beautiful thing it is, to see art borne purely from empathy and joy.

One look at Tubby Nugget and the charming character’s roots in both kindness and understanding are more than clear. At first glance, he’s a simple little character: warm, comforting, gentle, the kind of uplifting presence that could only come from minds as giving and fun as Jenine Pastores and Josh Jackson. Both were once aspiring filmmakers. These days they’re creating a wholesome, global, nugget-shaped empire.

Listening to them talk with one another makes it abundantly clear how and why Tubby Nugget has garnered millions of fans worldwide. In many ways Pastores is Tubby Nugget, not just because she is quite literally the voice of the beloved character and the primary writer behind his many escapades, but also due to the heart and soul she puts into Tubby’s experiences from the many different lessons that she’s learned in her own life.

Accepting herself and embracing the richness of her background – from her own anxieties to the joys of her Filipino upbringing, complete with many singing relatives and plenty of food – has imbued Tubby with a sweet humanity that does not only endear him to children, but to legions of adults.

If Jenine is, perhaps, the Steve Wozniak of the operation, then Josh is the Steve Jobs. As we talk he mentions the many times he has followed Jenine around their house, recording her little ad-libs and songs, looking to see how Jenine’s own bright personality can constantly enrich and connect with Tubby’s many fans. As a self-taught animator, he puts their ideas to paper, bringing life to stories that Jenine conjures up.

“As the character grew, he honestly just became more like Jenine,” he says, when reflecting on the development of the character. “And became more wholesome and adorable!”

The two of them bounce of one other with a delightful familiarity that can only come from creators who have built something they love not just alongside each other, but through one another, raising up one another’s strengths and creating in harmony. It’s a sincere background that many a brand would love to have organically: with Jenine and Josh, there’s no need to fake it. Tubby Nugget comes from a place as wholesome as it comes.

Case in point: their newest book The Adventures of Tubby Nugget: Escape From Nuggetville, was partially created as they were playing video games, chatting to one another while they were collecting resources. As silly as it might initially sound, ensuring that they were in a good place whilst putting together their vision for this new book ended up being vital.

“Whenever I’m in that stressful, anxious mode, it never works,” Josh explains. “Our work necessitates being in a relaxed, calm, tranquil state.”

“It also necessitates us still having fun doing it,” adds Jenine.

In that vein, softness is an adjective that comes naturally when one looks at Tubby Nugget. No harsh angles, all warm tones. Yet in Escape From Nuggetville, the nugget displays how softness is strength. He grapples with identity and pushes back against conformity and endeavours to find a way to stay true to himself.

It’s a read that is as charming for young children as it is for their parents and grandparents, a reminder that strength can come from imperfections. A more than timely reminder that work which also speaks to children does not have to be childish whatsoever and that there is deep value in creating stories which continue to remind all ages that the relevancy of values such as kindness, authenticity and giving space to others never die no matter how old we get.

Jenine and Josh met when both were working on the same film. A fast friendship led to the duo dating, and the two are now married. Early doodles of Tubby Nugget brought each other comfort during tough periods in their lives, which snowballed into webcomics, then fully animated videos and songs.

“We saw that people had the same need [as us] to embrace their inner child,” says Jenine. “That made us realise that the world was a lot like us.”

It’s something that comes across in spades and as a result, they’ve approached the expansion of the Nuggetverse as not a brand, but as an attempt to see just how much their art can bring people joy.

In a time when so many brands online are grappling for your time and attention, fans around the world have found much happiness in seeing Tubby Nugget’s heartfelt or funny videos and images pop up on their screen, a little ray of sunshine guaranteed to not drag you down into the dumps. Given how so many timelines are cluttered with overly curated content or adverts posing as authenticity, it is a balm to see art created with the sincerity of uplifting people, with no other agenda than to put a smile on your face. Such a positive place is something Jenine and Josh attempt to curate in their own lives, whether that’s eating tasty food or playing video games, two pastimes they both love.

“It’s nice for me to have a creative space that is just for myself. I think that it’s nice to have something that I know is just… to love myself and to love my creativity,” Janine reflects.

In short, Jenine and Josh are not trying to create something that consumes your time, but to instead provide you with a little world that you’re utterly delighted to return to.

So, what next for the little nugget?

Josh provides us with a tantalising exclusive: a Tubby Nugget album is in the works. They’ve been working with a fantastic producer, Matt Reyes who has been putting together tracks, and soon enough a full project of Tubby Nugget music will be on the airwaves soon. That, and a potential second book to follow up the roaring success of the first, one which the they are sure is already better than the first.

In a world where creativity is constantly being devalued by so many, where corporations are telling us that art is best valued by how it can be packaged into another product to be bought and sold to the highest bidder, it is truly heartening to see a character gain so much success by staying rooted in its origins of kindness and empathy; not merely in the character’s personality, but also in the values that its creators continue to try and uphold.

“I realised, when I think back to my childhood, I loved making cartoons and drawing, and this [Tubby Nugget] gets to the core of it,” Josh says with a smile. “I don’t have to be doing what I thought I should be doing. In whatever shape or form it takes, as long as I get to do it with my best friend [Jenine], and we love doing it, that’s all that matters, you know?”

Tubby Nugget himself would surely approve.

The Adventures of Tubby Nugget: Escape From Nuggetville, is out now. Tubby Nugget can be found on Instagram @tubbynugget.

Co-interviewed with Maddie Armstrong.