Fan Expo 2011 ~✿ (2" Buttons, Magic Mugs and Mouse Pads)

Two inch buttons! Two inch buttons are here for FanExpo. I made 2 inch ones 4~5 years ago, but they didn't sell as well, so I stopped making them. But this year, I brought them back. My weekend was spent assembling buttons, getting poked by sharp pins, iron-smelling fingers, endless Jurassic Park series, and heart break. These are going to be 3 dollars each at FanExpo (I think). 

This is a silly drawing of slugs in my sketchbook. Do they look depressing? I cannot tell because I've been drawing crying monsters way too often. I love these dudes... Especially the one with five-o-clock shadow.

Snakes in the Forest was painted for Erika's Canvas Collective site. You can download this image as a desktop wallpaper from her site. 

Jellyfish Wrangler! I love jellyfish. I wouldn't go near them, no, but they are cool. Did you know that some jellyfish is immortal? I wish I were immortal. There. I admit it. World is big and many things to see. I also wish I could time travel. Oh~ all the mistakes I made in the past! I'd go back and NOT DROP THAT COCONUT ICECREAM SANDWICH ON THE GROUND.

This painting makes me feel infinitely guilty. I am sorry that I painted boobs. I mean, I paint boobs all the time, but not for illustrations. Ooooh the guilt. Please take this painting off my hands. I'll be selling the original at QWAC next month.

Come visit my table at FanExpo 2011! My table is A98 at the Artist Alley. I got a corner table again, yes! Please come and say hello. If you mention my blog, I will give you 1" button of your choice. Wait, we need a secret code. Say, "hoot hoot" and I'll give you a button of your choice. Bring me a vegan snack, I'll give you three buttons.

FanExpo is 4 days this year:

Thursday, August 25 - 4PM TO 9PM

Friday, August 26 - 10AM TO 8PM

Saturday, August 27 - 10AM TO 8PM

Sunday, August 28 - 10AM TO 6PM

At Metro Toronto Convention Centre 

How to find Hyein! Find DC table and walk straight to the back. :D

Limited Quantity Magic Mugs! It's a black mug when it's cold. When you pour hot water, my painting shows up.

Lastly... the magic mugs are here again! Sorry for not having enough last year and they were sold out very fast. I didn't know how many they might sell, so I only made a small quantity. Because I am an idiot, I made the same quantity as the last year. I should've made more, but the material cost is quite a lot, so I got scared.  Come and get them on the first two days!
I made the mugs with In Bruges I & In Bruges II and Mr. Furry Pants.

In Bruges I & In Bruges II together on a magic mug. I like how they almost connect. :)

Mr. Furry Pants will also be on magic mugs.

I will also have Mouse Pads of some of my work! I am only making 5 mouse pads, again, the materials are expensive and I'm not sure how many I can sell. Do people buy mouse pads? I will update photos of mouse pads when they arrive tomorrow.

Last of shameless self promotion. Society 6 is having a free shipping world wide week! Until Sunday August 28th. Come and get your iphone cases, tshirts and more (I wish I had an iPhone...) at www.Society6/HyeinLee.
You know what I'm going to get? John Malta's prints! I absolutely LOVE LOVE his work. He is my current favourite artist. Maybe I should also get his iPad skin...

Oh and my another favourite artist, Alex McLeod is having a show this week. Opening is Thursday. I'm so sad that I cannot make it to his opening (I have to be at FanExpo). His art works have been my monitor wall paper for two years now. Please go check out his work this Thursday at Angell Gallery. I promise you, he's AWESOME.

Again, my apologies for the thin content on my blog. I'm so, very busy. I panic everytime I look at my calendar. I just handed in the final final rough (Wut? Only in grad school) of my thesis paper. I cannot wait for my Master's to be over. The end is nigh!

I want to get back to painting, drawing and moving images. Aaaaanyways. See come visit me at FanExpo. Say "hoot hoot," I'll give you a button.

Glow in the Dark

See the white-coloured bunny and a cloud? See the white eyes of space slugs? These white areas are GLOW IN THE DARK paints! Yes, they glow-in-the dark, ladies and gentlemen. Glow-in-the-dark paints... what kind of witchery are they?! I faintly remember in physic's class how they have something to do with radioactive half-life... Whatever it is, it doesn't seem so healthy. While I was washing the brushes in my kitchen sink, some of the diluted glow-in-the-dark paints got into my food dishes. I hope to get glow-in-the-dark eyes soon.

I hereby present you with one of my favourite bands, Teddybears' song, Glow in the Dark. It'll keep you crooked in this lonely summer night.

▒░░ Smiling Antimatter ░░▒ Art Works

The opening night for the Smiling Antimatter when very well. Thank you very much for all those who attended. It meant a lot to me. These are my works for our group show, Smiling Antimatter. My apologies for my horrible photography skills. I realize more and more that photography is a basic survival skill for an artist. When the show comes down in July, I will have a better scans of them.

Ta-da!

Out of All Them Bright Stars II
Mixed Media on Wood Panel
24X30"

This is a second in the "Out of All Them Bright Stars" series. The title is from a sci-fi author Nancy Kress' short story. I'm a big fan of her writing, especially "Beggars in Spain"

Out of All Them Bright Stars II
Close-up shot

Engine Summer
Mixed Media on Wood Panel
20X24"

 "Engine Summer" piece is dedicated to my favourite book with the same name. I've been drawing pseudo auto engines a lot lately because of the recent comic on Engine Summer I did. The author of Engine Summer, Mr. John Crowley actually wrote me back (I sent him a comic link to his blog). He didn't have to. Um... of course, I fainted when I saw his comment. Another proof that he's the awesomest author in the world.

Deus Ex Machina
Mixed Media on Wood Panel
20X24"

 "Deus Ex Machina" means "god out of the machine." It's used when complicated problems in a story is solved by an unlikely solve-it-all event. One of my favourite book, Chrysalids is often criticized for Deus Ex Machina ending. Sometimes, those kinds of ending makes me angry, but most times, I don't mind when they are well used. Almost a relief.
I also thought... since I was running out of ideas, a bunch of machines would definitely save my ass. What's more fitting than the title "Deus Ex Machina"? Also, it sounds very badass. Anything in Latin sounds really epic and badass!

If I sound like some sci-fi dork, then yes, I am. If I read in English, I have a hard time reading anything other than sci-fi (of course, there are exceptions like Jon Krakauer). It's because I LOVE reading sci-fi. I can read other books, but it takes me a lot longer time. In Korean, I can read anything. I just finished 1Q84 in Korean. I feel guilty reading in Korean, because I can feel my English deteriorating every time I read in Korean. But I wanted to try Haruki Murakami (the author of 1Q84). A book about people having lots of sex in a strange world (like Murakami's)? I'm not going to get through it in English unless there is one of the following: aliens, clones, nanobots, space travel, time travel, apocalypse, etc.
I don't know what I'm rambling about anymore... My apologies.

My wonderful friends and also talented illustrators in the show. I love them.

Please check out our show, if you haven't yet. It's up till July 1st. Here is more info:

https://smilingantimatter.wordpress.com/
You are cordially invited to the opening reception of Smiling Antimatter, a group exhibition by Toronto's hardest working illustrators. 
Participating ArtistsVicki Nerino • Britt Wilson • Roben Nieuwland • Selena Wong • Ale Diaz • Ilichna Morasky • Ty Dunitz • Hyein Lee • Franzisca Barczyk
At Steam Whistle BreweryExhibiting June 1st - July 2nd, 2011 

Map

Lastly... It ain't Hyein's blog without some pathetic sketchbook drawings.

Sorry for the poor drawing quality. It was very dark, so I couldn't really see what I was drawing. They were done last night, when I went to Junior Boys' show. I love that band! I had such a great time. But... I was all alone. What kind of loser goes to a concert alone?! It was awkward to stand around alone waiting for the bands to play. I don't think I have been to a concert alone for like ten years. The last concert by myself was Mayhem (Norwegian black metal band), and I could understand why nobody wanted to come along. 

... in the end, the Junior Boys show was just great. Along with their heart pumping classics like Double Shadow and In the Morning, they played a gem like Parallel Lines. Oh my god. They really raised the roof. They sound better live. 

So anyways... As I was alone at the venue, sketching, waiting for the bands to play, I thought "Man, I fucked up. I really fucked up in my life to go to concerts alone. I fucked it up."

Why I Love Owls So Much (A Very Very Old Comic)

I am backing up my hard drive, going through some old stuff. Here is many many years old comic about why I love owls so much. My apologies for the poor drawing quality. I hope I got a little better now (not really).

My dad still buys me owl stuff every time he sees them. I love you too, Dad.

What I'm Working On

In-progress video for my thesis project title. I used Shugo Tokumanu's song, "Button" as a place holder, but will have an original music for final. There are still kinks to be fixed, I lost sleep with the colour of the writing, but I think I am going to leave it as it is. Also the stars are just place holders. Have to make better ones. I also have to make more backgrounds.

Today is a SNOWDAY! How exciting! I regret waking up early, but oh well. I'm eating cereal and get ready to do some writing & animating etc., while snowflakes are dancing outside my window. I feel bad for cold owls going hoot hoot (this is a very bad reference to a Korean children's song.... Actually a German folk song with Korean lyrics).

Girl in the Attic in the Current Issue of Broken Pencil

My comic "Girl in the Attic" is in the current issue of Broken Pencil. The comic is actually the episode 1 of 3 part book, "Three Girls". You can see the excerpt in my website.

I also received a TOFU award for co-hosting podcasts at Toronto Vegetarian Association. Look at the cute hand-made trophy! Thank you TVA, I miss you a lot.

As always... I am busy with school, hence the 5am blog posting (I haven't gone to bed yet). I'm in the amidst of thesis writing frenzy, writing solid 8 hours a day for past two weeks. Let me tell you, among many things, I really suck at writing. Everybody, please wish me luck.

...And the Winners Are

Thank you everybody who participated in the Toronto Mayoral Election prize draw.
There were only four entrance and there were 6 prizes. So I decided to give them 2 prizes each. I let them choose what they want in the order of participation and more ;)

The winners are:
Colleen - prize 6 and 1
Steve - prize 6 and 5
Daniel - prize 3 and 4
Jinsung - prize 2 and a pack of stickers

Oh lordy, I've been very very busy. Of many projects I'm working on, I'm working on a game called 'Infection' with my friend Louie. If you are curious and have PC, try it out. We have released beta version on our development site. The graphics are still rough but basic mechanics are there.

The title page of the game:

And... here is the background graphic I just finished (not included in the beta version):

Vote to Win! Toronto Election

Vote for Toronto Mayoral Election tomorrow!

It is very simple to enter this contest. Take a photo in front of the election booth, line-up, or whatever. Any proof that you've voted. And either tweet/email/facebook me the photo. 6 lucky people will win Hyein goodies! I don't know many people, so YOU have a very good chance of winning. 

My twitter: @HyeinPain

Facebook: Hyein Lee

Emal: Hyein@hyeinlee.com

Here are the Prizes.

PRIZE 1: YOU ARE RED, YOU ARE RAD

It is a magic mug cup. Red is my favourite colour. I only made 2 red magic mugs. One for you, one for me. When you pour hot water, my art appears. They are In Bruge I and In Bruge II pieces I've done inspired by my Bruge trip last year.

PRIZE 2: HANG ME DRY 1

Collection of my best selling prints. Have all 3! Clockwise, I Cried a River Over You, Cupcake Girl and Pieces of the Sun. They are 8.5X11" high quality prints.

PRIZE 3: HANG ME DRY 2

Collection of my best selling prints. Have all 3! Clockwise, In Bruges I, Jellyfish Wrangler and Mr. Furry Pants. They are 8.5X11" high quality prints.

PRIZE 4: READ ME COMICS UNTIL I GO BLIND

Have 3 of my comics. They are heartfelt stories of tragedy and humor. Excerpt from Three Girls (my experience growing up in 80s South Korea) comic is featured in the current issue of Broken Pencil. From Left, Three Girls, Frequently Asked Questions about Threesome and Bryan.

PRIZE 5: YOU AND ME AND A LONELY WHITE PAPER
I'll draw you something on this paper. Original drawing on a very nice paper. You can even request me something if you'd like.

PRIZE 6: YOU RUB ME RAW
Win a hand silk screened print by Hyein! Four colour, hand pulled print on a very nice paper with raw edges. 11X14". It is titled Even When Strawberries Are Falling From Skies, We Are Sad. Read my complete story about this piece here. This is a very limited edition, I think I made 5 copies or less (and I'm keeping the most). I won't be screen printing for a long time, so enter the draw!

The winners will be announced at the end of the week. Since the winners all live in Toronto, please pick up the prizes in person :)

Why am I doing this? I'm in a total fear of a certain crazy person becoming a lawyer of my beloved city. I don't want Toronto to be in the world news for a crazy mayor again (remember Mel Lastman's cannibal joke?). I want to live a quiet life and my city out of global news. I'd ideally like you to vote Joe Pantalone, but this is a democratic society. It's none of my business whom you vote for. Just don't tell me if you voted for Ford, I don't want to know.

Sorry for the Toronto-central post today. Another apologies for crappy photographs. It's late at night, and I'm very tired from Canzine today. Thanks everyone who visited my table at Canzine today, by the way.

Come on, you don't need a dirty immigrant like myself to beg you to vote, do you? Thank you all in advance for being awesome citizens. We can make a difference. Please vote.

My Summer Promo is Finally Here!

They are plastic hand fans! I declare this because somebody asked me today what it was suppose to be. Now I'm a little worried. North Americans do not use hand fans? I hope it doesn't head for the garbage bin.

I know, I know... the summer is practically over, but I just got this delivered TODAY. Oh god, the drama I had to go through to get these done. Three printers flaked out on me, and shipping was another drama. Santa Maria! 

But now they are finally here. And thank god, it is the hottest year ever, and September might be hot too. They are being shipped to you right now. If you are an art director/publisher and would like this awesome promo, email me your mailing address at hyein@hyeinlee.com.

If you are my friend and would like one, grab me. 

Thanks for Visiting My Booth at Fan Expo 2010

Lance Henriksen bought my buttons! Of all those booths, he chose mine to buy stuff! I said he can just take them for free, but he insisted on paying. "No, you gotta make a living too", he said. I gave him lots more free buttons and stickers on top of that. What a nice guy. Man, even my friends don't pay for my stuff. I felt really bad after taking a photo with him. He just wanted to look around and shop. But people did not leave him alone. Even when he was picking which buttons to buy, annoying people would talk to him. During all that, he never stopped smiling. He'd gladly pose for people and shake their hands. What a guy. I felt so bad for him. I wish I given him more stuff (as materialistic possession solves any problem in this capitalistic society). I wanted to thank him for his craft, but he must hear that too much. "Hey, I loved your work in Aliens! One of my favourite movies. I also love Alien vs. Predeator!" Aliens was 20 years ago for god sakes. Anyways, Mr. Henriksen, thanks for buying my buttons and taking photos with me. You are awesome.

The top right image is "Even When Strawberries are Falling From Sky, We are Sad" silk screen. Nobody bought one. Does it suck that much? With 4 colour hand pulled, it was a lot of work. I lowered the price to $20 immediately, but still no interest. *cry*
Using Photoshop's "automate" feature, I accidentally permanently lost all my high quality photos. So sad.

I'm in a mint condition.
I was quickly looking around before the opening hours.

 Here is my brother Juhyun Daniel Lee of Cat comics. :D
My brother is a software developer at Starz Animation. He never ever took art lessons (our mom was an art teacher and dad was an interior designer... so he did get some education, I suppose), but draws & paints much better than I. He also does a lot of paintings for game websites and indy adventure games.
Look, Kotaku once stole my brother's painting on Ron GIlbert: http://kotaku.com/185206/ron-gilbert-vaguely-defines-next-game

Ah~ Thanks everyone for visiting my booth. I was so grateful. You are the best! And Keith, who bought my original 'So Noodly' painting. He came by during TCAF as well.
Thanks to you all, my magic mugs were gone within a few hours of opening. I will have more for the next year, and more designs.

See my complete FanExpo photos in my flickr.

What I taught my students today...

I teach digital motion graphics at Continuing Studies at OCAD. 

What I taught in Flash class today. :D

Bye Bye July

Big Foot

dry point, edition of 17

will be available at FanEx (Aug 27-29)

Bye bye July. It was the best month of my life (as long as I can remember.. with a hint of exaggeration). I took it easy in July. Above piece, Big Foot was done just before my July vacation. You can guess my mental state at that point. My parents' store moving, teaching 2 classes, writing papers, drawing, etc., I had been very stressed. My teeth clinching habit came back. So purchased a hockey mouth guard (a cheaper solution for a poor artist like myself - I hear the dental night guard costs over $300) in place of the dentist recommended night guard. I thought they were the same thing. Boy, it wasn't.

I felt dumb spending 20 dollars for it. But I do not give up that easily. I'm going to cut it down to fit it in my mouth. One day, one day, my love! 

So anyways, I don't need night guard for a while anyways. After the best month of my life, I feel splendid. I'm going to list how I pressed Hyein reset button:

1. Mexico for a week! As with everywhere I go by myself, I almost cried on the first day out of loneliness. But as always, I loved it starting the second day. It is a very un-cool thing to say, but I do love staying in all-inclusive resorts. Yup, among retired people and rather large Americans, waiting at the buffet cue, I fit right in. It is sad, but I am tired of travelling. At some point in my life, travelling became work. I have to run around, see a lot and experience things to be inspired. But in these all inclusive resorts, I can check my brain on the way in and stare at the ocean for 7 days. AWESOME. 

When I meet people who say, "I'm not a tourist. I am a traveller", I want to punch their faces, but I act cool.

I realized I never posted photos from Bruge last year. I will get on that on the next post.

2. Yes, I turned 30 in mid-July. Seriously, I never dreamed of me turning 30. While I was walking yesterday, it suddenly dawned on me that I cannot say I'm in my twenties anymore. Man, I remember my mom turning 30. Anyways... I got great presents! TV tuner and Doctor Who book from my brother. Also grocery bag with a bigfoot on it and gama-go owl wallet. My Emily Strange Wallet was falling apart (all ripped so cards and coins scatter on the floor every time I take it out of my bag), so I was desperate for a new wallet. I suppose not desperate enough to buy one myself... I had over 100 zip lock bags, new wallet could wait. Back to my birthday things, I also got some money from my parents. Cash presents always brighten me up, oh yeah. I heard I have a very low standard for good birthdays, but it was rad.

There are two owl illustrations in this wallet <3 

3. I've been on-and-off meditating. One of my favourite illustrators, Aaron Leighton taught me about stress-free meditation methods (check out of his new book, Spirit City). It's strange, time slows down when I meditate but moves fast when I surf internet. Whenever I spend a long time away from internet, I feel refreshed and productive. I seriously considered to cut this evil thing off. But how am I going to work without internet? I'm trapped. Um, back to meditation topic, I'm going to attend free meditation classes for artists coming Fall. 

4. Cottage! I haven't been to a cottage in a very long time. When we first move to Canada, we had to have this 'cottage' experience, so we rented a very small dirty cottage somewhere North. It was damp everywhere with dusts, rodents, and broken appliances. It wasn't a pleasant experience. I also had to spent a lot of time in ice cold cottage-like places in my Geological Engineering days. However, this time, it was a very nice and comfortable cottage. It was so much fun to jump into water with inner tube around my waist. I can't wait to do it again someday.

5. Won Friends With You stuff from Magic Pony. I won 2nd place. I never won any lottery in my life. I am still numb from the shock. I thought those prize draws were all fakes. Friends With You is another one of my favourite illustrators. My love for them is just ridiculous! Because I am a crazy person, I haven't opened all the boxes yet. That is for the special occasion and there will be another blog post about that. *pounding heart*

Magic Pony gave me 3 dolls, 2 zipper tops (I don't know what they are), 1 button, 1 tshirt and 1 chocolate. I thought there was only one doll, but they kept coming out of the prize bag. I love you, Friends With You. I was too scared to talk to them at their signing in June. But when I smiled at them, they smiled me back. I think they are very nice dudes.

That ends another super-long and badly written blog post. I should actually be writing my thesis proposal. Grad school is endless writing... I want to paint, dammit! Oh, I got a new studio space at school. I'm sharing the space with one other classmate. I will post pictures later.

Good bye July. You were too kind to me. Now time to go back to work.