Dipping his toes into the world of publishing his own books was a daunting experience, but one that Canley Vale artist Matt Huynh is glad he had.
At just 23, Mr Huynh has been self-publishing graphic novels for the last five years and recently contributed work to an anthology of stories by Asian writers and artists, titled Growing up Asian in Australia.
In it, he illustrates the poignant childhood memories of Kevin Lai, who recounts how the closure of his parent's Cabramatta supermarket affected the family.
Mr Huynh also depicts Glenn Lieu's weekly visits to Cabramatta to watch others play Street Fighter.
It isn't the first time that Mr Huynh has used his surroundings as the backdrop for his books.
Last year he released Collaborative Auto-Biography, which was a collection of comics drawn from the point of view of 13 Cabramatta and Canley Vale residents.
''I wanted to work with people who aren't usually in the art world, like engineers, lawyers and regular kinds of people, and I got them to tell their stories,'' Mr Huynh said.
''I was trying to capture the way they naturally express themselves.
''Some of them took me really by surprise.
''Some of the stories I know they've never told anyone before and now they're in comics, so it's a bit strange.''
His next book, titled Midnight Morning is a collaboration with Haline Ly and Will Loeng and will be launched on July 17.