WonderGround & Year Wrap Up

A HUGE thank you to everyone who stopped by WonderGround Gallery to say hi and chat the other weekend!  It was my final public appearance for the year and what a year it's been!  

For anyone who wasn't able to make it down to WonderGround or a convention, I've posted everything left over on my Etsy shop.  You can find prints, pop-ups, books and originals. 

Looking forward to all the unexpected things around the corner next year.  Until then, I'll be in social hibernation.

CTN Animation Expo

Thank you to everyone who stopped by at Designer Con this past weekend! 

November is one busy month!  Coming up in two weekends is the CTN Animation Expo.  It will be November 21- 23, 2014 at the Burbank Marriott. I’ll be there sharing a table with Helen Yoon (T068) and running the Motivarti table (T071). 

Hope to see you there!

Designer Con 2014

Happening this weekend!  Find us at booth 801. 

Designer Con
Saturday, November 8, 2014 |  9am – 6pm
Sunday, November 9, 2014 | 10a – 5pm
Pasadena Convention Center – Exhibition Hall
300 East Green Street,  Pasadena, CA 91101

WonderGround Gallery November 2014

I can’t believe it’s almost November!  The year has flown by so fast!

While I have a few events going on in November, I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be back at Downtown Disneyland’s WonderGround Gallery showcasing my art for the whole month of November!

They’ll be showcasing and selling my original artwork (like the one featured below), prints, pop-ups, and holiday products!

I’ll be making appearances the first and last weekend of the month.  Here are the dates and times:

Saturday, November 1, 2014 from 2-5p
Sunday, November 2, 2014 from 2-5p
Saturday, November 29, 2014 from 2-5p
Sunday, November 30, 2014 from 2-5p

Heart & Soul for Tiny Treasures Show

"Heart & Soul" (piece above) has headed to TR!CKSTER in Berkley, CA this week for a show!

"Tiny Treasures" will feature all art that measures 5"x7" or smaller to prove that good things do come in small packages.

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 1, 2014, 6pm - 9p

Iron Giant Tribute Show

My friend, Jessie is curating an Iron Giant Tribute show!  There are a ton of amazing artists from all over making pieces for this show.

The background is done with watercolors while the middle ground is made from paper.  The foreground, featuring Hogarth is actually etched into the glass!  So it has a frosty appearance on the original.  No photo can really capture what it looks like - it’s a must see in person kind of piece.
The show is for ONE NIGHT ONLY.  So if you’re a fan, you must check it out!

Saturday, September 13, 2014
6pm - 10pm

A Little Known Shop
423 S. Bookhurst St.  
Anaheim, CA 92804

*UPDATE: In case you missed the one-night-only Iron Giant Tribute show, you can still snag one of the amazing pieces of artwork from it here!  Pieces are available until September 30th, 2014. 

Octobook & HOW Magazine Award

 

I've been holding off doing a blog post about my collaborative project with Helen Yoon called, Octobook because I've been waiting for the September issue of HOW Magazine to arrive!  Our project was one of the Merit Winners for the 2014 HOW Promotion & Marking Design Awards! 

HOW’s editorial and design team evaluated nearly 1,000 entries and selected winning projects that demonstrated an ideal mix of concept, strategy and execution. Entries were judged by type of work (i.e., Designer Promotions, Client Promotions, Personal Promotions) and also by how effectively the design achieved the stated business goals.

Octobook started off as an idea I approached Helen with - I wanted to try a new kind of pop-up that featured and octopus coming out of a book, but I was so exhausted after engineering it, I didn't feel like illustrating it anymore.  So I asked if she might be willing to take it on for me. 

From there it was a lot of push and pull.  I always approach my pop-ups as a fine dance between the art/illustration and the engineering.  Helen wanted to do some stuff that was simply impossible unless I could change the laws of physics (which I wished I could do) but also pushed me go beyond what I thought I could with previous engineering techniques. 

You can read more about the process here, on Helen's blog. The end product is what you see above - a true labor of love. Check it out, along with all the other winner's in HOW's September 2014 issue (page 42).  

Thoughts on SCBWI

This past weekend was a huge blur of inspiration!  I attended the SCBWI summer conference that was held in LA.  For those that aren't familiar with SCBWI it's the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators.

The conference was held for 3 days and featured lots and lots of speakers.  They ranged from agents to art directors to editors to authors.  They had well established and newly established authors and illustrators speak and everyone was just as inspiring as the last. 
Here a few of my biggest take-aways:

• Find your 'voice'-  "The only value you have is your individual voice."  - Justin Chanda
• Tell the story only you can tell - "It's not about knowing what to do; it's doing what what you already know."
• You can't just be good, you have to be great.  - "It only takes one great thing to be remembered and change the world." - Stephen Chbosky
• Do better. - "Last year's success is this year's mediocrity." - Felicia Frazier
• Reject is part of the process. Focus and Persevere.  One author had over 126 rejection letters before she got her first deal and this year she was being honored for an award!  So as Judy Blume said, "Don't let anyone discourage you.  If they try, get angry, not depressed."

I've been to a lot conferences and conventions over the years and I will say the SCBWI community is hands down the most welcoming of the all.  Even though everyone at the conference is competing on another to get the next book deal, everyone was still so encouraging.  The established artists whole-heartily welcomed new artists and made me believe that their is always room at the top.  It was something quite special.

If you ever get a chance to attend, please do.  It's absolutely worth your money and time.  Think of it as 3 day pep talk that will get your motors running again.

Comic-Con 2014

Comic-Con is just one week away!  For once, I'm not frantically scrambling to get everything ready - hooray! 

If you'll be down there, drop by table F-09 and say hi!

Sailor Moon Tribute Show

For any fans of Sailor Moon - I'll be part of a Sailor Moon tribute show in honor of the the 2014 re-release of the popular anime series: Sailor Moon. Join us as we celebrate our beloved heroines and infamous villains! 

2 BIG NIGHTS and it's ALL FREE TO ATTEND!!!!
Rothick Art Haus (170 S. Harbor Blvd,  Anaheim, CA 92805)Opening Night: Saturday, July 5, 2014
Anaheim Art Crawl Night: Saturday, August 9, 2014  
Closing Date: Saturday, August 30, 2014
 
You can snag these 6 original paper sculptures or a print set at the gallery while they last.  There will literally be HUNDREDS of Sailor Moon pieces hanging up and tons of prints available by over 50+ artists.

More information can be found on their facebook page here and the event page here.

UPDATE:  For anyone who can't attend the show but wants to pick up pieces, my pieces are located here and the whole collection can be viewed here.  Please note, pieces won't ship until the show closes, August 30th.

Originals on Etsy

I've been really bad about putting my new originals on Etsy lately.  It's mainly due to the fact that I have to find a way to photograph the original in it's frame, but I finally found the time to do it! Check them out here while they're available.

Somewhere Out There (Fox) Paper Sculpt

Been experimenting with watercolors and paper sculpting lately.  This is my first attempt to see if it can work together.  I made a print out of it in my Etsy shop.  The original headed out to the TR!CKSTER gallery in Berkeley, CA for anyone interested in it.

Pop-up Proposal: Todd & Jenny

 

 

Earlier this year I completed another pop-up book commission for Todd, who had an elaborate proposal idea for his girlfriend.  Everything was 'fairy tale' themed and he definitely went all out.

You can see actual photos and video of the couple getting engaged here! So sweet!

Congratulations Todd & Jenny! 

Giving Back to Business (Editorial)

Back in March I had my first opportunity to do an editorial piece.  It was quite a learning experience to both 1) go from entertainment art to editorial, 2) finding a way to be art directed with paper art, and 3) work with my younger sister, Jessica Huang, as my boss. 

In the end, I found a new streamlined working method and am super thankful to my sister for giving me the opportunity to do so!  If you'd like to read the full article, click here.

Oh! Snap Studios Collaboration

I had the pleasure of working with Rafael Cruz of Oh! Snap Studios in helping design a photo set this past week for the Unique LA Spring Show.

We went with an underwater theme and it turned out super fun and playful!

Hummingbird

Thanks to everyone who came out to visit me and Helen Yoon during WonderCon!  In case you missed snagging anything from my table, you can find it here at my Etsy Shop.
Hope to see you at our next con in July - Comic Con!

Wonder Con 2014

WonderCon 2014 is just around the corner - happening this week (Friday - Sunday) in Anaheim!
This year, Helen and I are trying something new - TWO tables.  So come drop by and see us and all the cool stuff going on.

Ice & Fire

Gallery1988 asked me to participate in their upcoming 10-Year Anniversary show, “The Subtle Art of Pop Culture”.   This was my piece for the show.  Can you guess what it’s a reference to?

To view the piece in person, drop by Gallery1988 while the show runs April 11 - May 3, 2014.  For anyone interested in purchasing the original, please contact Gallery1988 (west) as well.

I haven’t decided if I’ll do any prints of the piece yet?  If you’re interested, leave a comment below or message me to let me know you’d like me to do so!

Carpe Diem

A paper illustration I recently finished!  I wanted to do something that would be a reminder to myself and others to make the most of each day!  Print available in my Etsy shop (will vary slightly from photo above).

Emerald City Comic Con 2014

In just one week I’ll be embarking on my first out-of-state convention with my buddy, Helen Yoon!

We’re headed for Seattle, Washington to exhibit at the Emerald City Comic-Con.  The con runs Friday, March 28 - Sunday, March 30, 2014 and we’ll be at booth 707.
As the last week before the convention winds down, I’m hoping to two new pieces for the show.  Keep tuned for updates!

Entertainment Arts Symposium Recap

 Photo by Brenda Chi

So last night I was invited to participate in a talk at Art Center along with a few other recent grads (Yuhki Demers, Elsa Chang, Amanda Jolly, Maximus Paulson, and Victoria Ying).
It was a very fun event where we shared advice about what life is like shortly after graduation.  Everyone had something interesting to contribute and even I learned a lot!  Here are a few things I walked away with:

• Everyone is scared the Monday after graduation.  The unknown future is a very daunting thing, but your peers at school will have a much more impact on your career than you think.  Their opinions of you and your work will often get you jobs!  ‘So don’t be weird.’
• A lot of people believe ‘luck’ has a lot to do with your career path, and to a degree it does.  However, luck is really the act of preparation + opportunity.  You sometimes have to go out and make your own luck - i.e. find opportunities and go after them!  You’ve hear it’s all about being at the right place at the right time and it’s more than true.  But that also means you have to be getting out there and be proactive about it.  Sometimes that means failing, but that’s ok too.
• Try and try again.  Most of the alums on the panel applied more than once to get into an internship/training program.  The key was to show growth in your portfolio - that meant creating new pieces rather than refining old ones.
• You must make time to do your own personal work no matter where you are in your career.  Even if you’re at a studio with a full time job, you’re expendable and if you are let go, sometimes you won’t have anything to show for it.  Most companies keep you under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which means you can’t show any of the work you did with them and if it takes 2 years for your project to come out you have to wait before you can show any future clients that work.  So in order to keep your portfolio updated and fresh you must find time to create your own work.
• Travel.  Open yourself to new experiences and you’ll never know how they can inspire your work (even much later in life).  Being in a place and breathing it in is much different than using Google Images for reference.

I hope some of those points are useful!  It was a great event and I’m glad I could be a part of it!

Pop-Up Proposal: Paul & Stephanie

It's February and this week we celebrate Valentine's Day!  So I thought it would be fun to share one of the pop-up proposal books I completed towards the end of last year.

This one was crated for Paul and Stephanie.  He proposed in NYC on Superbowl Sunday and very much surprised Stephanie.  Stephanie later sent me a very sweet email: "It was a truly extraordinary experience, discovering the book you made...I am over the moon! Thank you for your part in it! I know I'll treasure that book through all the years to come."

Congrats to Paul and Stephanie!