BUBI AU YEUNG
UVD: Would you mind telling us a little background about yourself (i.e. where your general base of operation is, when you started designing, and how you first started out)?
Yeung: I was born in Hong Kong, and I am a natural born left-hander but was trained to use my right hand to write ….I love drawing and art since I was a child and when I was studying for a bachelor degree in Language Information Science, I found I love technology and started to design my first website. Since then, I start to hone my skills of using all kinds of graphic design software. I realized that I could make use of my skills to design what I want.
UVD: Would you mind telling us about some of the designs that you came up with when you were first starting out and how designs have progressed over the years?
Yeung: I love to doodle and wrote down ideas on the sketchbook, and when I developed a story with character, I started to do research of related topics. For example, I was helping a NGO (non-governmental organization) in 2005, and read lot of articles related to environment and deforestation, so I based on the topic or idea to design a character for the story I want to draw, that’s how Treeson was born.
As I’m quite an addict to stationery, I love all kinds of pens, sketchbooks, inks, papers…etc. I still quite enjoy drawing on paper by pen and ink, but some of the work needs to be processed and retouched on computer. I think I have different style of using illustrator to draw, and I keep trying and experimenting over the years.
UVD: What is it like seeing your characters go from 2D drawings to 3D figures?
Yeung: To me, either 2D or 3D is a medium of showing what I created, and from 2D drawings to 3D figures, in other aspect, it is a creative process. Most importantly, the final creation has to be carrying the spirit of the character and I can feel it’s my creation.
UVD: What are some things that influence you and your work? Is there any artist’s work that inspired you and your style early on in your career?
Yeung: Since I was a child, I really loved to watch cartoons, even in the languages I don’t understand at my age, such as Japanese cartoons and comics. When I grew up, I still loved all kinds of cartoons, animation, and illustrated stories and comics.
Music, films, stories, surrounding happening, friends, food, sadness…all these influence my creation. It’s really hard to say all the artists that inspired me, there are a lot, but I try to list out some artists who gave me important influences, such as Charles Schulz, his Peanuts comic is one of my favorite comic, he created many lovely characters, Charlie Brown is my fav. Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Hooper, Monet, Paul Klee, Andy Warhol … all these amazing legendary artists truly inspire me.
UVD: I see that you are also a very good photographer. Can you tell us a little about that part of your life?
Yeung: Thank you for your kind words, it’s the first time someone thinks I’m a good photographer!
I would say I just love to take snapshots of the daily life and love to share with my friends. I enjoy taking photos, and think it’s a way of expressing the moment of emotion…sometimes it helps me to record some ideas too.
UVD: What was it like working on the “Mr. Toast and Friends Art Show”?
Yeung: It just like working on all art shows. It was very fun and I love Dan’s artwork, Mr. Toast is truly one of my favorite characters, and I’m glad to know some people like Treesonized Mr. Toast.
UVD: I love the simplistic style of most of your more traditional gallery style artwork. How did you develop your style and who influenced it?
Yeung: Thank you, and I love simple lines and shapes. I guess I was influenced by the traditional Chinese painting style. Traditional Chinese painting concern the space and layout, most of the times Chinese painters use a brush with ink to draw a simple line to express an object. I love using ink brush to draw and experiment a lot, and I still keep developing my simplistic style.
UVD: Are there any future projects that you wish to discuss for the reader to keep their eyes open for in the upcoming future?
Yeung: I am helping to design a figure for Playlounge, a toy store from London, and still in progress and it is quite an exciting project. Thanks to Aidan for giving me the chance to do it.
UVD: What would your encouragements/suggestions be for artists/designers that are either just starting out or who are trying to get them noticed?
Yeung: What people don’t know about me, I keep posting my work on Flickr and my blog. Also, continuing to create is a really good way to get myself to improve, so don’t be shy to show your doodle or artwork to the world, people would comment and tell you they like it or not. Being humble is really important because when you receive good and bad comments, all are good for your future development.
UVD: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Are there any parting words you wish to say to the reader?
Yeung: Keep creating keep smiling keep loving J
