Translating stories into digital imagery
- Jiyeun digitises stories and characters
- Her first work was a series of illustrations based on a Korean classical novel
- She hopes her work quietly poses questions to viewers
Jiyeun Kang studied visual design at university and was first introduced to illustration through a class. After graduating, she began her career as a digital illustrator by participating in music video projects for the K-pop group Seo Taiji and Boys. “Through that work, I experienced for the first time how images could move freely within music, space and time,” Jiyeun recalls. For someone who had always been interested in observing and depicting people, digital illustration became the ideal canvas. “Digital work was not just an efficient choice, it was a way of thinking that suited me. By repeatedly transforming, erasing and rebuilding forms, I could stay with the process longer than with the result,” she explains. Even now, Jiyeun finds joy in balancing form and sensibility within a small screen.
Interview
- What do you think makes illustration most compelling?
- From a technical perspective, I enjoy both hand drawn and digital work. The appeal of digital illustration lies in its unique colours and textures that exist only on screen, as well as its ability to expand beyond fixed frames. It also offers the freedom to push revisions and combinations to the very end.
- Where do you find inspiration for your work?
- My work always begins with text and the atmosphere it contains. As I read novels, essays or song lyrics, I focus on the emotions and moods flowing between scenes and characters. From there, images naturally begin to take shape.
- What role do fantasy and reality play in your illustration?
- The greatest effect comes when reality and fantasy are well blended. I adjust the balance depending on the purpose of the work, but I like using fantasy as a device to clarify my message, grounded in detailed depictions of reality.
- What part of the process do you enjoy most?
- I feel most satisfied in the moment when unseen emotions begin to take form as images. I also enjoy seeing how a finished work, once it leaves my hands, is interpreted differently by people based on their own experiences and memories.
Jiyeun Kang is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1999
