Hyun Jee Cho
@ankopaste
Illustrator
Favourite song to get down to:
Post Malone - Stay
How did you get your start as an artist?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. It’s always been a passionate hobby for me among other things, and I’ve even taken art classes in primary school. But I think I’ve only truly engaged with my practice when given the opportunity to start my art degree.
Name some projects/ collaborations you’re are currently working on and how these came about.
Currently I am working in the beginning stages of my Honours project, which will remain open-ended until I get rid of my creative block. In terms of personal projects, I draw a lot of art for my Tumblr and Instagram blogs which came about from my fan obsession with anime, cartoons and video games.
Describe some of your favourite past works, and what made them meaningful.
I think my most ambitious and labour intensive work was my HSC visual arts major work – a large scale painting of my grandparents playing Go. This was and is meaningful to me as a memento of my late grandpa, who passed away not too long after the completion of the work.
Tell us a little bit about your creative process.
I like to sketch quite a bit in pencil, usually in my sketchbook, uni planner or just scrap bits of paper. I like to do a lot of observational drawings of people. I treat this as practice for when I have to make more refined works. For this reason, my drawing tablet has been a godsend – I can sketch all I want and refine whatever turns out decent in later stages.
What themes do you explore in your work?
I don’t really have a thematic preference, but I do have a strong preference for drawing people and characters over other anything else. Backgrounds are a work in progress.
Can you talk about your online presence?
I do enjoy publishing my work online as a kind of archive for organising my art and doubling as a nifty portfolio. As a bonus, the nice comments fans leave on my posts always makes my day
How do you view the role of social media to artistic practice?
I think it’s really useful for publicity and critical reflection. I think that exposure via online platforms is especially crucial to artistic practice. I’ve been using audience feedback as a guide for what’s currently popular, how other artists appeal to myself and the public, and what I could improve on in my own work.
What are some other artists you love?
At the moment I’ve been admiring the work of Kim Jung Gyu, Paul Heaston and every single game and animation concept artist on Instagram.
What does the future hold for you? Which upcoming collaborations/projects are you most excited about and how do you see your practice developing?
I don’t know what the future holds for me at this stage. I see myself shifting towards animation as a possibility to extend my drawings. I’m excited about my Honours project because this’ll give me the opportunity to explore this further. I’m hoping to solidify my work into my own signature art style, but at this stage, I’m having too much fun changing it up.
