Wednesday, April 30, 2008
OIC INTERVIEW #6: FLEECIRCUS
OIC thanks Green House Design & Communications for kindly allowing us to publish their Fleecircus interview here. This interview first appeared in lol – living out loud, April 2008. Published by Green House Design & Communications. Written by Kisane G. Filmer.
A former LASALLE student Lee Wai Leng aka Fleecircus graduated in 1991 with a Diploma in Visual Communications. She shares her journey as she made the risky move from a full-time designer to self-employed illustrator…
Tell us about your design education. Why did you choose this area of study?
I entered LaSalle originally intending to do Fashion Design or Illustration. But later I found that I was more suited for illustration so I opted for the most relevant course.
How did you decide on LASALLE?
I took all the entrance tests to all the art and design academies, and I passed them all. But I didn’t have to take any such tests for LASALLE who accepted me once they saw my work. So I guess it was an instant decision.
Have you always done design? What’s your career path been like?
After I graduated from art school, I did graphic design for 5 years. And most of the graphic design jobs were at local design houses.
What was your favourite part of studying at LASALLE?
It’s got to be the Figure Drawing class; I owe my interest in drawing and its fine details to one of my LASALLE figure drawing lecturers.
Many believe that one cannot make a living as a full-time artist in Singapore. But as full-time illustrator, you obviously do. So what’s the secret?
I believe it’s never easy starting out on your own regardless of what job you do. I did not start out as a full-fledged illustrator. I did freelance design jobs on the side to support myself after I stopped working full-time. At the same time, I drew and started building my illustration portfolio. It took more than 2 years for me to fully make the transition to a full-time illustrator. Really, there’s no secret - only hard work.
So, in your opinion and based on your experience, does art pay?
If you choose art as your career, it’s unlikely that it will reward you monetary-wise. This is one industry where you can realize your talent. However, how much you get paid deters many from this business.
What do you think are the misconceptions people have of freelancers?
That freelancers have 100% freedom but are always broke? Haha! Freelancers must have good time management skills, and listen to their clients’ needs. Really, the more you work the more you get paid. But then again, freelancers do get to go to movies and shop on weekday afternoons.
What are some of the pitfalls you face as a full-time artist in Singapore?
Honestly, there are not much difficulties being a full-time artist in Singapore; that is, if you don’t always go after the finer, more expensive things in life.
How do you find your clients or do they find you?
Like any other job, networking is very important. You also have to establish a rapport with your client; recommendations always travel fast by word of mouth.
What are you working on now? Can share?
I am doing a 6-month project for the upcoming Peranakan Museum at Armenian Street (next to The Substation). I am basically one of the creative directors and am handling most of the creative language and design.
What are the tools of the trade you use most?
Paper, pencil, tracing paper, eraser, digital camera, scanner and computer.
If you ever find yourself short of creative juices, what do you do for a refill?
Surfing the internet, walking around bookstores and museums do the trick for me.
Imagine yourself in 10, 20 years? What will you be doing then?
I hope, still doing this.
What do you do in your spare time?
I read, and watch a lot of movies.
What’s your favourite time of day?
Evening.
Favourite gadgets?
My iPod and my digital camera.
Ok, how many songs are there now in your iPod?
About 3000 songs, I think. I listen to everything and anything.
What do you do to keep yourself awake when meeting crazy deadlines?
It’s not difficult for me to stay awake; sometimes I find it difficult for me to get to sleep!
Complete this sentence: Living out loud means…
Live your life like every week is your last.
www.lifeandcoincidences.blogspot.com
www.fleecircus.com
A former LASALLE student Lee Wai Leng aka Fleecircus graduated in 1991 with a Diploma in Visual Communications. She shares her journey as she made the risky move from a full-time designer to self-employed illustrator…
Tell us about your design education. Why did you choose this area of study?
I entered LaSalle originally intending to do Fashion Design or Illustration. But later I found that I was more suited for illustration so I opted for the most relevant course.
How did you decide on LASALLE?
I took all the entrance tests to all the art and design academies, and I passed them all. But I didn’t have to take any such tests for LASALLE who accepted me once they saw my work. So I guess it was an instant decision.
Have you always done design? What’s your career path been like?
After I graduated from art school, I did graphic design for 5 years. And most of the graphic design jobs were at local design houses.
What was your favourite part of studying at LASALLE?
It’s got to be the Figure Drawing class; I owe my interest in drawing and its fine details to one of my LASALLE figure drawing lecturers.
Many believe that one cannot make a living as a full-time artist in Singapore. But as full-time illustrator, you obviously do. So what’s the secret?
I believe it’s never easy starting out on your own regardless of what job you do. I did not start out as a full-fledged illustrator. I did freelance design jobs on the side to support myself after I stopped working full-time. At the same time, I drew and started building my illustration portfolio. It took more than 2 years for me to fully make the transition to a full-time illustrator. Really, there’s no secret - only hard work.
So, in your opinion and based on your experience, does art pay?
If you choose art as your career, it’s unlikely that it will reward you monetary-wise. This is one industry where you can realize your talent. However, how much you get paid deters many from this business.
What do you think are the misconceptions people have of freelancers?
That freelancers have 100% freedom but are always broke? Haha! Freelancers must have good time management skills, and listen to their clients’ needs. Really, the more you work the more you get paid. But then again, freelancers do get to go to movies and shop on weekday afternoons.
What are some of the pitfalls you face as a full-time artist in Singapore?
Honestly, there are not much difficulties being a full-time artist in Singapore; that is, if you don’t always go after the finer, more expensive things in life.
How do you find your clients or do they find you?
Like any other job, networking is very important. You also have to establish a rapport with your client; recommendations always travel fast by word of mouth.
What are you working on now? Can share?
I am doing a 6-month project for the upcoming Peranakan Museum at Armenian Street (next to The Substation). I am basically one of the creative directors and am handling most of the creative language and design.
What are the tools of the trade you use most?
Paper, pencil, tracing paper, eraser, digital camera, scanner and computer.
If you ever find yourself short of creative juices, what do you do for a refill?
Surfing the internet, walking around bookstores and museums do the trick for me.
Imagine yourself in 10, 20 years? What will you be doing then?
I hope, still doing this.
What do you do in your spare time?
I read, and watch a lot of movies.
What’s your favourite time of day?
Evening.
Favourite gadgets?
My iPod and my digital camera.
Ok, how many songs are there now in your iPod?
About 3000 songs, I think. I listen to everything and anything.
What do you do to keep yourself awake when meeting crazy deadlines?
It’s not difficult for me to stay awake; sometimes I find it difficult for me to get to sleep!
Complete this sentence: Living out loud means…
Live your life like every week is your last.
www.lifeandcoincidences.blogspot.com
www.fleecircus.com
Here are the final posters by Adeline, Cherie and me. They were done for PAVE, centre for promoting alternatives to violence, which encourages women to seek help at the first sign of abuse. Commissioned by Ogilvy & Mather, the posters play out different scenarios of abuse in comic form and in any style we choose. I personally like the edgy mix-media style of Adeline's and the simplicity of Cherie's drawings.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Flight To Freedom
I'm putting this on behalf of Ivy. It's a fabulous gift exchange we had and that is supposed to be me. Well...
Let Me Take You Away
It's been ages since I laid my hands on oil and I've just recently done a quick gift to a special someone. Well, it turned out great I guess. Heh
Monday, April 28, 2008
The newly renovated and re-opened Peranakan Musuem showcases 3 floors of stunning Peranakan artifacts as well as all-new permanent graphics and wallpapers by its creative director, Fleecircus! The project took a challenging 8 months to complete so don't remind fleecircus of intricate Peranakan patterns for some time. Here are some photos i could manage with my phone camera.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
bad neighbourhood and flying elephant
elephant..just doodling..
Stumbled upon these men with tatoos in a terrace house with andrew, mike and Adeline. They were pumping irons in a make-shift gym in the lawn. You know you are in the neighbourhood.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Recent Works!
have been drawing quite a bit recently, outside of what is required in school. :X been slacking for a while.
first two are drawn from reference, Weegee's New York. i super super love weegee's photos.
^nib and ink
^graphite on paper, although the paper abit too rough for the texture that i was going for, used a tortillion to do the smoothing of shades. tortillions are cool.
hardest bits to do is the shading on the legs, to show the knee and the calf muscles :/ so it's good to reference from photo because when do in life drawing classes, i'm usually too busy with getting the shape of the body correct to be bothered about the correct muscular definition. :X
lecturer says is good to copy from old masters' drawings because then you get a pretty good idea of the muscles of body and the underlying structure of skeleton/how different muscles strain and stretch in different poses, etc. got to do that for class, so will report more on that soon.
^nib and ink drawing of an acquaintance. i find that the nibs with round ends suit me better than the ones without the round tips. they're much more suited to do bold, fast lines, so work well for quick drawings/sketches, but too clumsy for delicate line work.
will try to borrow a camera to take photos of larger drawings in my studio. :D
haven't done much with colours yet though. i kinda want to learn how to draw correctly first, before i start using colour, but maybe doing both together is better. opinions?
first two are drawn from reference, Weegee's New York. i super super love weegee's photos.
^nib and ink
^graphite on paper, although the paper abit too rough for the texture that i was going for, used a tortillion to do the smoothing of shades. tortillions are cool.
hardest bits to do is the shading on the legs, to show the knee and the calf muscles :/ so it's good to reference from photo because when do in life drawing classes, i'm usually too busy with getting the shape of the body correct to be bothered about the correct muscular definition. :X
lecturer says is good to copy from old masters' drawings because then you get a pretty good idea of the muscles of body and the underlying structure of skeleton/how different muscles strain and stretch in different poses, etc. got to do that for class, so will report more on that soon.
^nib and ink drawing of an acquaintance. i find that the nibs with round ends suit me better than the ones without the round tips. they're much more suited to do bold, fast lines, so work well for quick drawings/sketches, but too clumsy for delicate line work.
will try to borrow a camera to take photos of larger drawings in my studio. :D
haven't done much with colours yet though. i kinda want to learn how to draw correctly first, before i start using colour, but maybe doing both together is better. opinions?
OIC Scavenger Sketch
heh. absolute favourite superhero. i wanted to marry him when i grew up.
ah wells.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
question:
just wondering, what do you guys pack when you go drawing/painting en plein air? any particular tubes of color or ink that you recommend bringing along?
because i was thinking of packing CMYK, but then abit sian1/2 to mix all the colors. :X
help is very very appreciated! thanks :D
because i was thinking of packing CMYK, but then abit sian1/2 to mix all the colors. :X
help is very very appreciated! thanks :D
Geisha Sketches
Drawn with blue pencil, colored in Photoshop. I changed the blue lines to red for this.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Brrr
Froze my fingers while trying to draw some part of the University of Melbourne. Signs that Winter is fast approaching.
Haha. I'm starting to like drawing in ink. No pre-pencil sketching and plotting. Just start with a corner straightaway in ink, and it all starts to flow. Can't afford to make mistakes, and even if I do, I'd have to think of ways to get around it. Fun stuff!
Scavenger Sketch
In Macross, Rick Hunter joins an intergalactic battle and pilots a Veritech- A fighter plane which can transform into a mecha. From a rookie pilot, he later becomes commander of the Super Dimensional Fortress 3. It's a classic anime saga which contains lots of robot vs giant alien battles and sappy triangle romances which i shamelessly like. My ancient sketchbooks contain many tries at drawing Rick Hunter's spiked hair and face. Most of them out of proportioned. I don't think i've got it quite right yet. But heck close enuf.
scavenger sketch-favouritecartoon-Sun wukong
I remembered I went to the cinema of yesteryear, where ushers still used torchlights to guide you to your seats and there it was, on the big screen, the monkey god came alive.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Scavenger Sketch - favourite cartoon characters from your childhood
I can't find my favourite 金刚机器人 for reference. Anyway i dun mind wearing the Ultra costume, it still rocks! haha!
Scavenger Sketch - favourite cartoon characters from your childhood
1970 typical Sunday morning, black and white TV at a neighbour's home dubbed in English ( we were too poor to own a tv then). Its just ASTROBOY!! No colour tv, no internet or hentai then!! LOL we were deprived.
OIC SCAVENGER SKETCH! Look to the right
"New Scavenger Sketch topic. Look to the right -------------->"
This is what Fei saw and drew when she looked to the right..........
This is what Fei saw and drew when she looked to the right..........
Hehe! sorry for not contributing regularly. Drewscpae was like going to kick my butt.
Heres something i did quite awhile back, hope you guys dig.
Mr Humty was an experimental piece. The idea actually came to me when i was reading about its origin. Here Humty indulges in his favourite prata, which his ignorance later brought to its own downfall. His subject below also represents conspiracy.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
2902 Mural
A mural done a while back for 2902 photo gallery located in Old School, Mt Sophia Road. Painting was assisted by chun, gwen (the gallery owner) and random friends, like Sharon Didi.
painting took 2 days with one of them working through till morning. damn shagged!
sexy babe-carrie
Went to a friend's place and met her cat-carrie. In human terms, she will be 50 years old, but still a sexy beauty.The way she looked at you through those green eyes of her,unblinkingly and proudly, you know you will fall in love with her. See my new blog here for more pics.(Tks to Andrew for the constant drilling) http://akaidotto.blogspot.com/
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tim Sale
Picked up a Daredevil graphic novel recently. Titled, Daredevil:Yellow. Art by Tim Sale. Written by Jeph Loeb. It's about the origins of Daredevil. (Did you know his original costume was yellow?) The art was done in a watercolour painterly style instead of the usual black lines and photoshop. The last few pages revealed how Tim Sale put it together. He did everything in black ink and grey washes. He then passed it on to a colourist who used photoshop to colour all the washes so they look like colour washes. Trying it myself, all you have to do is use "overlay" and "linear dodge" over grey tones to get this delicious effect. But of course, your lines and tone placement have to be good for the picture to look good.
Later on, i found that Tim Sale was also the artist behind Issac Mendez’s paintings and 9thWonder comic for Heroes! It looks like he used the same technique there too.
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