Sehee Chae

Pie

Illustrator

©Sehee Chae

A touch of the 1980s

Sehee began to draw by copying Japanese and Disney cartoons
Her signature works are bright-coloured figures in the style of the 1980s
She sketches by pen, then works digitally with Illustrator and Photoshop

If Sehee Chae has found her way and become an illustrator, she says she has two people to thank. The first is her mother, who herself has always had an attraction to art and, when Sehee was a young child, dreamed that she would become either an artist or a musician. That is why she used to give her daughter pens and paper, encouraging her to draw and follow her creative impulses. Sehee did indeed, studying at art college and graduating from the animation department. The other person who helped Sehee was a friend, who passionately encouraged her to try earning a living from her art. “Illustration fascinated me and inspiration kept coming to me every moment,” she admits.

Interview

©Sehee Chae

©Sehee Chae

Do you remember the very first drawing you made?: I am not sure about the very first one. When I was 6 years old and I loved Disney's The Little Mermaid and the Japanese animation series Fighting Dodgeball Boy Dodge Danpei, so I started drawing all the characters. They were just clumsy attempts, but my mother collected them in an album.
How would you define your style and subjects?: I paint mainly feminine figures, trying to capture the interactions between them and nature. Growing up in South Korea, I adopted the traditional oriental patterns, but I was also influenced by other styles, as seen in picture books and movies. My use of bright colours comes from there.
Can you describe your technique?: I start with a sketch with pen and paper to set the layout, place the characters and define the background. Then I digitise it. First I use Illustrator to add shapes and colours, and 'cleaning up' the mess. Finally I move to Photoshop for retouching and effects.
Where do you get your inspiration from?: From everything I see in everyday life, but also from novels, films and games. Japanese pop culture of the 1980s is a great source of inspiration for my 'vintage girls'. As for illustrators, my favourites are James Jean, Moebius, Shaun Tan and John Burningham.

Sehee Chae is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2014 and she started teaching in 2020