This is the third and last of the Mixc World collaboration trilogy. The main concept behind the Mixc World Spring Festival image is the celebration of a new spring and the sharing of good fortune.
There has been a long tradition of emphasizing “Luck” when it comes to Chinese Spring Festival, from new year’s greetings to propitious decorations, to lucky dishes, these auspicious gestures are believed to bring about good fortune in the year to come. In this image, we see many gathered in a field of lucky flowers such as peonies, narcissus and peach blossoms, while Mixc Elephant is showering everyone with fireworks, gems tones and stars, representing luck, fortune and knowledge respectively.
As 2018 is the year of the dog, dogs are well represented in this image. In fact there are a total of 18 of them, as “eighteen” sounds like “sure fortune” in Chinese. Can you find them all?
I am so excited to reveal the cover for @neil-gaiman ’s Norse Mythology paperback, hitting the shelves on March 6th, 2018. I have always been a fan of mythologies and fantasies as well as Neil’s books and lectures, so unsurprisingly I devoured this book when it first came out in hard cover format, adorned by Sam Weber’s beautiful cover. It was a beautiful surprise when the paperback cover fell into my lap, and I was able ready to jump right in without needing to read the manuscript.
Water and stars have always feel timeless to me, I imagine Mjölnir being washed up on a shore of stars. How did the hammer end up in the sea? Maybe the not-the-brightest Thor has lost it, yet again, or maybe the gods and human have been long gone. Either way, the mythologies endure, and the cycle continues. Another reason behind the water concept is that the Norse world is flooded both when it is created and destroyed. What fascinates me the most about Norse Mythology is its cyclic perspective on time, which Neil has elegantly written in this book’s introduction: “Had Ragnarok happened yet? Was it still to happen? I did not know then. I am not certain now. It was the fact that the world and the story ends, and the way that it ends and is reborn, that made the gods and the frost giants and the rest of them tragic heroes, tragic villains. Tagnarok make the Norse world linger for me, seem strangely present and current, while others, better documented systems of belief felt as if they were part of the past, old things.” This image can be from any point of time in the world of Norse Mythologies.
Personally I think a good illustration doesn’t just create a scene, it creates a believable mythology. The richer the story-telling details, the more believable the myths are. The decorations on Mjölnir are inspired by the world which the hammer defends: we have Midgard and Asgard in the middled, connected by the World tree are and the rainbow bridge, surrounded by the Midgard serpent. The world tree extends to the handle where we can find the dragon Nidhogg. The two circular symbols on the side are the sun and moon.
Many thanks to Neil Gaiman, AD Steve Attardo and W.W.Norton.
From the dusty desert of Gansu province to the rolling waves of the yellow sea, The Great Wall of China stretches across much of North China, it is the longest man-made structure in the world, if all pieces of the wall were added together, experts believe it would measure around 13, 171 miles ( 21,196 km). The wall isn’t just a wall- it has watchtowers, castles, and other fortifications with mesmerizing landscape and nature-life dotted in between. Unfold this pull-out wall frieze and travel along the Great Wall of China.
The inspiration behind this Christmas image was “gifting” as it has long been the heart of the holiday. The title of this piece is “Mixc Christmas Workshop”, a reference to the Santa’s workshop, we see Mixc Elephant giving the Little Girl a behind-the-scenes VIP tour. Instead of depicting the “exchanges”, I want to focus on the “making” of gifts, as the best gifts are those which much thoughts, love, and care have been put into. I believe a great gift is also one that’s tailored specifically to the recipient, therefore the tour the Little Girl is an exclusive one. If you look closer, you will see that she’s the only human in this image. Perhaps somewhere in a parallel dimension, another Mixc Elephant avatar is giving another kid a bespoke tour. Contrasting the launch image of Mixc World, which showcases a community of shared happiness and festivities, this one is about the intimate individual experience and relationship with the space.
To capture the sense of wonder and magic of Christmas , I worked with the idea of “infinite possibilities”, represented by the box within the box within the box and the multiple Mixc Elephants and Little Girls.
Elephant and little girl is main characters in the opening image of Mixc World, It is my intention to create a series of narration with reoccurring characters through the 3 consecutive Mixc World campaigns, I hope Mixc Elephant and Little Girl will become familiar friends with the audiences, and that audiences can partake in this visual journey. Besides the familiar faces, many themes and ideas are carried over to this image from the launch image. For examples, the stripe motif is present here to sustain the impression of a continuous world.The idea of “all is in one, one is in all, infinite possibilities” lives on, with the Mixc Elephant being both outside and boxes and inside the boxes. And of course, the sense of curiosity, wonder and fun set the tone for both of these pieces.
I left 13 elephants as Easter egg of the image in the Mixc World Launch image. This time, rather than hiding elephant motifs in the image, I have given nods to some beloved Christmas icons, such as the Nutcracker, the Radio City Rockettes, the Light of Bethlehem, The Polar Express, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Santa’s helpers, Christmas’ candles at the window, peppermint cane.
I am so excited to share with you this recent collaboration withINFINITI. There are a few qualities that captivated me and eventually inspired the art pieces: elegant, powerful, daring, and forward while redefining boundaries and possibilities.
The main stories of the INFINITI QX30 and Q60 are both about blazing new trails where there were none, as a way of saying that INFINITI and its drivers are trendsetters instead of followers.
The QX30 being a crossover, I have placed it in a rugged outdoor scene, where mountains move apart to let it pass and show off its power and durability. The Q60, which feels more metropolitan to me, is placed in a busy city where roads are always packed, but our creative and stylish vehicle manages to defy gravity and create its own path. The infinitely receding surface of the skyscraper is meant to echo the “open road” concept which inspired the logo of INFINITI.
I was commissioned by Mixc World, a shopping center in Shenzhen China. to create a billboard image celebrating their launch in September 2017.
Mixc World is a community comprises of a dozen buildings, hundreds of shops and restaurants and public areas including art installations and historical sites. The main inspiration of this piece was drawn from the Chinese name of Mixc World - “萬象天地”, which has the meaning of “a place with everything and all things” but can also be literally translated to “Elephant World”.
With this image, I want to create a whimsical carnival-like world that is filled with fun and curiosity. I like to sneak in visual signs for the viewers to figure out, clues which would allow people to connect dots into line, whether consciously or subconsciously. For example, we see the Cosmic Elephant presents a flower to the little girl. The interior of the flower corresponds to the cosmic pattern on the elephant, while the external stripes related to the stripes on the elephant, the girl’s skirt, the building, the clouds in the sky, and so on. We get a sense that everything is related and all is one, the flower being gifted opens up the possibility of the entire world, similar to the experience Mixc World is offering to its shoppers.
Victo Ngai X Johnnie Walker Blue Label Special Edition
Here’s an exciting project commissioned by Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Available exclusively in Hong Kong from September 2017, the limited-edition 70cl bottles features a Cantonese opera performer adorned with iconic Hong Kong symbols including neon lights, colonial architecture and skyscrapers, celebrating Hong Kong’s unique Eastern and Western influences through marrying the artistry and craftsmanship of the coveted blend and the illustration.
This project, which deals with a three-dimensional object, provided an interesting challenge the images needs to work well as a flat image but also as a three-plane tryptic, and elements needed to be well-placed and not awkwardly cut off around the edges when wrapped around the next plane.
While the blue hues show off the natural golden color of the whiskey, we wanted the image to look good on its own too, so people will keep the empty bottles and display them as standalone art pieces.
Many thanks to my creative team at LOVE Creatives, everyone at MHDHK and PRIME Asia for the fabulous launch party and Johnnie Walker for such a beautifully crafted product.
Fan silkscreen poster of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of the most beautiful heartache by one of my favorite directors. Printed by the great Lady Lazarus at Houston Texas.
I am very excited to share with you my debut children’s book, Dazzle Ship, authored by Chris Barton and published by Lerner Book.
Dazzle Ship is the story behind the thousands of war ships painted with bold colors and crazy patterns during WW1.
Sounds interesting? You can get a copy anywhere books are sold in American or online here.
Big thanks to Chris Barton, AD Danielle Carnito and Editor Carol Hinz for getting me acquainted with this colorful piece of history and being so wonderful to work with!
As a comment on the modern day Chinese innovations, I updated the classic willow plate motifs and patterns to include new techs such as drones, yacht, neon lights, the cloud, robot house keeper and much more. Can you spot them all?
The illustration was printed on a porcelain plate and photographed for the September issue.
Here’s baby’s first pattern design recently commissioned by Hong Kong airline in celebration of their new route from Hong Kong to Vancouver. This really fun project is made up of local Hong Kong elements such as dim sum, egg puff, street noodle, tram. etc.
Big thanks to AD MoKit for thinking of me for this project and being so amazing to work with.
Latest art for a short novel “Serving Fish” by Christopher Caldwell, published in the current issue of People of Color Take Over Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (FSI).
Be sure to check out this fascinating story packed with drama, love and revenge about a very feminine drag queen who gains her power of enchantment from the most unlikely source, and in exchange of this power, she has to offer up a bit of herself.
Big thanks to Nisi Shawl, who is the author of “Everfair” which I have had the great pleasure of creating the cover for, for thinking of me for this project and the full creative range. Thank you also Warren Lapine, the publisher of FSI, for being so easy and wonderful to work with.
Like many HK grown girls, I took ballet lessons when I was little. But I must admit I enjoy drawing ballerinas much more than being one. I had tons of fun working for these couple International Dance Day stamps for the United Nation Postal Service, featuring Russian Ballet and Brazil Samba. If you like them as much as I do, you can now purchase this pair, and other Dance Day themed stamps, from the UNPS site:
I have been dying to share this fun project with you for over four years now. I have had the great pleasure on working on a new line of wines called Prophecy Wines. They are available in most American wine stores so perhaps you have sighted them in the wild before already. Right now there are 4 wines in the family but more is expected to join!
The slogan of the Prophecy wine is ‘See the Unseen. Try the Untried’. The wines of Prophecy come from premier growing regions around the world, crafted to showcase each grape variety’s defining characteristics. To embrace the spirit that each wine unearths a shared journey of discovery, the label designs are inspired by Tarot cards. Many classic Tarot symbolisms are preserved in the illustrations but the overall design have been refreshed and tailored to fit the personality and varietal characteristics of individual wine.
1.Sauvignon Blanc: The High Priestess - she is the embodiment of wisdom as well as the guardian of the hidden consciousness. 2.Pinot Noir: The Traveler - he has an intense curiosity of the world. Every journey with its endless possibilities is both a start and an end to him. 3.Pinot Grigio: The Star, she brings the universal blessings. 4- Red Blend: The Lovers, the couple are bonded with love and passion
‘Red’, the last of the Three Colors Trilogy silkscreen poster, will be on sale 3pm UK time from @blackdragonpress tomorrow (Friday 3/17), and you can still pre-order the whole set before that.
“[on Red] This is a film about communication that disappears. We have better and better tools and less and less communication with each other. We only exchange information.”— Krzysztof Kieślowski
‘Red’ is actually my favorite film from the trilogy. It may have fewer visual hallmarks but I think it has a very clear thread running through it — the human connection, whether it’s visible or hidden, and that’s what I decided to focus on.
Unlike the swimming pool in ‘Blue‘ and Poland in ‘White,’ there’s no significant locations in ‘Red’ that plays an active and symbolic role in the film’s storytelling. The locations in ‘Red’ are merely stages for the human dramas, the story can happen in another place and still remain intact. Therefore ‘Red’ differs from the other two posters that its characters are not framed in an actual space, but rather tangled in a web of telecommunication cables, which was shown in the very beginning of the film, as telephones connects and brings all of them together.
Big thanks to James Park from @blackdragonpress for having me on such a cool project and all the creative freedom, also kudos to Whiteduck silkscreen for always doing a marvelous job with these prints.
A billboard + online Year of the Rooster New Year celebration collaboration with Apple. Original illustration assets which was later translated into animated greetings cards.
Save the date! I am very excited to be revealing my latest Chinese New Year Nianhua collaboration with Apple at the Hong Kong Canton Road Apple StoreonJan 10th 7:30pm. During the event, I will be sharing some behind the scenes of the project and and conduct a group life-drawing section, so be sure to have your iPad Pro and Apple Pencil ready!
The event is free, for more information and to RSVP, please visit the Hong Kong Apple page. You can also download the Lucky Rooster wallpaper now!http://www.apple.com/hk/en/
Happy new year, hope everyone has a blessed 2017 no matter your religion, race and beliefs!
Latest illustration for Guidepost, accompanying a story about a WWII refugee shielded, kept dry and safe by a guardian angel through her stormy night walk through rural Yugoslavia three weeks before x’mas 1944.
A little late on posting this one as I had been having way too much fun in Austria and Switzerland ( miss it already!). Latest piece for @sbuzelli on the Yale model, an investment method which is needing an update to better serve the modern needs. Big thanks to SooJin, be sure to check out her tumblr on the other amazing pieces in this issue!
2016 marks 20 years since the death of Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. I have the great honor to work with MK2 Productions in France and the great Black Dragon Press in the UK, which I previously collaborated on Tarkovsky’s Solaris Posters with, to celebrate his work by bringing you a set of original art posters for what turned out to be his last work, the iconic Three Colours Trilogy.
“Trois Couleurs: Blanc”, an epic 7-colour, 18” x 27” limited edition screen printed poster is the second of this series. In this image, I want to focus on Karol’s obsession for his ex-wife Dominique. It is this obsession that motivates him to get back on his feet, engages in dangerous endeavors which are not within his previous character, and discovering the other side of himself along the way.
I think the bust he stole is the tangible embodiment of this obsession, a motif that strings along the whole transformation. We see Karol projecting all kinds of emotion for Dominique on this bust, including the protective tenderness when he is gluing the broken bust back together, which I think draws an interesting parallel with his broken marriage and later Dominique wanting to reconcile at the end of the film.
As I mentioned in the ‘Bleu’ interview with Evil Tender, illustration is the story-telling in one frame, so I want to focus on the tipping-point, showing Karol’s first determination to take charge of the situation he passively and unwillingly ended up in, in the quest of revenge or mending his failed marriage.
Very honored to have 5 singles and 1 series accepted into Society of Illustrators 59 annual competition this year, including a SILVER medal for “Clover”. Big thanks to the Society, the Jury, my AD Irene Gallo from Tor, Maria Keehan from Smithsonian Magazine, Len Small from nautilus, James Park from Black Dragon Press and the ad agency Alldayeveryday.
Making art and promoting art have been trivial these couple weeks after the presidential election but this piece of good news from society reminds me that art can be the best tool to bring people together, it’s a universal language that embraces all. I have never felt any adverse effect on my career for being a female minority, and I think I have taken that for granted. The current political climate has been a reality check, it reminds me that it’s very easy to hate and demonize, to thinking the world as “us” vs “ them”, while it takes the best of us to understand and empathize. I have been extremely lucky to be born at this time and be working in an industry and living in cities that’s very accepting. I need to remember that I am able to live the life I live now because of those who fought the battles before me, for me.
I want to thank Director Anelle Miller from Society for creating such a all-inclusive community and all the people I work with, and all the mentors I have along the way for treating me as an equal, professional illustrator even when I was a shrimp coming out of college. Thank you!
2016 marks 20 years since the death of Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. I have the great honor to work with MK2 Productions in France and the great Black Dragon Press in the UK, which I previously collaborated on Tarkovsky’s Solaris Posters with, to celebrate his work by bringing you a set of original art posters for what turned out to be his last work, the iconic Three Colours Trilogy.
“Trois Couleurs: Bleu”, an epic 11-colour, 18” x 27” screen printed poster is the first of this series. In this single image, I attempted to capture the overall mood and structure of the film. To our heroine, the color blue is the devastation of losing her family to a car crash, but also the safe haven of a public swimming pool, where she learns to heal and eventually let go.
Bleu officially goes on sale this Thursday October 6th at 6pm UK time, but up until then you can subscribe to the whole series for the special price of £40 per print plus a one off shipping charge. Otherwise you can purchase Bleu on its own for £50 for the first 40 orders, £70 for the following 40 and £90 for the last 20 orders. The final edition number will be the number of subs + 100.
I have had the pleasure of working on a private commission for one of my favorite movies, Wong Kar Wai’ s In the Mood for Love. Curtesy to Lady Lazarus for the beautiful 8 colors silkscreen prints. The metallic gold ink must be seen in person for its full glory!
Big thanks to Joe Wong and Francis Fung for the commission, also Isaac Menge and Jon Smith for the amazing layer separation and print job!
Apologies for not posting in a while, as some of you are onInstagram already know, I moved from the Big Apple to the The Big Orange recently and have been a bit distracted by life. Here is a first commission I got after landing in LA from the first AD I ever worked with 7 years back, @sbuzelli (can’t believe it’s been 7 years already!) . Follow her to discover more fabulous and smart editorial illustrations!
I love working with SooJin, the trust she gives her artists really brings out the best work. Every chance working with her is also an opportunity of reinvention, a playground of experiment. I tried something different with the flaming swan this time and am pretty happy with how it turned out.
A couple new illustrations for Nautilus Magazine’s latest issue on Sports. The first image discusses the roles of sports fans. The second image talks about how the evolution of sports, how it changed from a religious ritual to a secular event that fixates on precision and performances.
Big thanks for AD Len Small for this fun subject and all the great suggestions and input!
All good things should come in pairs. I present to you my DogSniffButtDonut enamel pin for the Good Pin Club. 100% of the profit goes to the nonprofit org, Shaggy Dog Rescue, where my own rescue dog Dawson came from.
Latest for VQR on the deadly Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, culprit of spreading dengue, yellow fever and zika viruses. Just like many other fatal creatures, Aedes aegypti is mesmerizingly beautiful. I want to make this tiny creature larger than life in both illustrations.The idea of the opener is to let the mosquito, adorned with motifs of suffering and death, dominate the page. The interior is inspired by photos of WWII air raids.
Big thanks to AD Paul Reyes for all the creative freedom!
Latest for Planadviser Magazine (May/June2016 issue) on an article about evaluating a new product from different angles. Big Thanks to AD @sbuzelli ! Check out her blog for see the other top notch illustrations in this issue.