The artist inducted into the Hall of Fame (HOF) for the month of July has an extremely diversified portfolio of drawings featuring works with a variety of subjects in a number of different styles.
The HOF inductee for July is @llo.
It’s almost hard to believe that one artist can have such a wide range of drawings.
@llo doesn’t tie himself down to a particular style.
@llo’s work seems to us like the product of an artist enjoying what digital drawing has to offer as a media platform and experimenting with different working styles to find which suits his strengths the most.
Before our interview, we thought @llo might be like a chameleon, someone who can change and adapt to the surrounding circumstances.
We’ll jump right into the interview.
Q1. @PENUP
Greetings from the PENUP Management Team!
Congratulations on becoming the HOF for July 2019.
How did you feel when you heard the news?
A1. @Ilo
I had so many notifications from PENUP in the morning, so I thought something must have happened.
But I was so surprised when I saw the banner saying that I was selected as the HOF.
When you look at all of the past HOF, most of them are artists who consistently draw pieces in their own distinct styles, whereas I’ve tried a number of different styles.
I thought I would never get a chance at becoming a HOFer because I didn’t have a consistent style of my own.
In fact, I still can’t believe it. Hahaha.
I sincerely thank all of our PENPLE users and the management team at PENUP for inducting me into the HOF.
Q2. @PENUP
You draw about several different subjects and use new styles that fit each topic rather than boxing yourself into a specific corner.
So, when someone looks at your feed, it’s almost hard to believe that one artist can be so diversified.
Why do you switch between different subjects and styles?
A2. @Ilo
I think that’s largely due to the fact that I’ve been drawing a lot to enter competitions.
My dream is to become a webtoon artist, so that may have played a significant role in why I mix things up so often.
When I work on a cartoon, I draw 50 to 90 cuts in the same style for each episode.
When I reach 10 episodes, I start to get tired a little bit, and when I don’t get any feedback, I lose my concentration a little bit.
So, naturally, I want to take a break or escape into my own little world and draw something different.
When I switch up my drawing style, I can cool my head, practice, and heal myself.
Q3. @PENUP
We thought that your drawing tendencies are perfectly aligned with what digital drawing has to offer as a media platform.
Typically, digital drawing is not limited by time or space, and you can edit or fix your work whenever you want to.
So, it is much easier to switch styles compared to analog drawing.
What does digital drawing mean to you as an artist?
A3. @Ilo
You’re absolutely right.
The fact that I can fix my work without using an eraser makes it much easier to work digitally.
It may sound a little too over the top, but to me, digital drawing is ‘an evolution of drawing based on technological advancement.’
I came all the way from using a massive CRT monitor and optical mouse as a kid to using a second hand, 512-level pen pressure tablet with a much thinner LCD monitor, and now, using my phone or tablet with outstanding pen pressure specs to draw things. Haha.
On a more personal note, digital drawing saved me because I don’t have to worry about my drawings getting soiled by my sweat in the summer.
I have extremely sweaty hands, so I always had to place something underneath my hand to keep sweat coming off my palm wetting the paper.
With digital drawing, however, I don’t have to worry about that at all.
That helps me focus on my drawing a little more.
Q4. @PENUP
One of the things people should pay attention to is how you post screenshots of your work as you draw along with your drawing app.
It’s so interesting because it gives you an overall understanding of how an illustration gets completed.
We thought the screenshots were your gift to other PENPLE users people who enjoy digital drawing, just as you do.
Do you have a message for people who enjoy digital drawing?
A4. @Ilo
Digital drawing, much like analog drawing with hand-held tools, requires a lot of effort and time to complete.
In other words, you don’t have to be disappointed after a full day’s of work thinking, “This is all I managed to d o all day?” Relax and be patient.
Work on your drawings slowly.
If you manage to do that, you’ll become more confident and learn how to enjoy drawing much more! :)
Q5. @PENUP
Can you tell us which digital drawing apps you like to use?
We saw your work drawn with the in-app drawing tool on PENUP.
How is the drawing tool on PENUP?
A5. @Ilo
When I’m using a mobile device to draw something, I like to use in-app drawing tools and the Sketchbook Mobile for Galaxy app available on Galaxy Apps for free.
I give props to PENUP’s drawing tool because it’s responsive, and it controls concentration well.
It simulates the texture of genuine brushes and pencils as close as you can expect, too.
The toolbar at the bottom with the open image, erase, and redo functions disappears when I try to color in the area where the toolbar usually is.
I think it gets a little difficult to use when I’m trying to do more delicate work.
For instance, when I reach the edges of my screen where the protective film is, my lines can go awry, or the pen pressure is inaccurate on older phones.
Because of these variables, I think it might be better to let users move the drawing canvas around freely, much like the Mobile Sketchbook app or Photoshop (CS version), to make sure the edges don’t come closer to the edge of the screens.
Q6. @PENUP
You often draw fantasy characters.
In particular, you create a lot of characters wearing Traditional Asian costumes.
Is there a reason you like to use characters wearing traditional garments?
A6. @Ilo
Most of today’s ready-made clothes are boxy or fit tightly to flatter the natural silhouette of the body.
So, it’s rare to find people and characters wearing billowing skirts.
Traditional costumes, unlike modern garments, feature more fabric, which gives the costumes an illusion that they’re always fluttering or moving in the wind.
Those wrinkles and ripples created as a result of an imaginary gust of wind are much more interesting to draw compared to modern clothes.
I think that’s why I tend to draw characters wearing traditional clothes.
Q7. @PENUP
It’s not as often, but you do draw really cute characters as well.
What do you focus on when you create those cute characters?
For instance, do you try to give them a playful personality, or add a specific costume?
A7. @Ilo
To be honest, my drawing style is pretty far from being cute.
It’s hard to create an entirely new character that looks cute.
So, I take an image from an original source, then reproduce it with my own interpretation of the image using pen art.
(From the three images above, the one in the middle and on the right are characters that come from an original source.)
Based on what I’ve practiced, I think cute characters look the best when they have a face that is elongated vertically, and light, pastel-tone colors.
Q8. @PENUP
Some of your work depicts the marginalization and solitude a person can suffer from.
They appear to be detached in terms of the emotions they evoke compared to your usual work.
Are you trying to convey a message through them?
A8. @Ilo
I drew the robot on the left when I thought that it might be great if an impersonal robot operating under logical algorithms and an AI system had a heart (i.e. emotions).
By drawing a cold hunk of metal protecting a flower growing in the debris of a post-apocalyptic world, I wanted to show its warm and sentimental side.
The images on the middle and to the right were inspired by the word “blue,” which can mean “gloomy” in English.
I wanted to use colors to depict the gloominess of our modern world.
Specifically, yellow represents the gloominess from the headlamps of a car, while yellow represents the gloominess of water (drowning).
You don’t see it here, but red was for blood (abrasions), and there are other colors I haven’t finished as part of this color-themed series.
I’ve stopped uploading these because other PENPLE users started to worry about me in the comments. Hahaha. :D
Q9. @PENUP
We’re curious to know about your plans moving forward.
Do you have a particular subject or style you want to try?
A9. @Ilo
At the moment, I’m planning an “Homage” series about everything you find in rectangular shapes.
I’m collecting ideas and working on my drawings little by little.
The first one in that series was the framed piece drawn in a similar style to Alphonse Mucha’s style, which I’ve already uploaded on PENUP.
Right now, I’m trying an oriental-style painting inspired by traditional Korean peony folding screens.
Once I’m done with the folding screens series, I’m going to draw more things in rectangular frames, so I’d appreciate it if you could check them out a well. :)
Q10. @PENUP
We have one last question.
Can you tell us which feature you particularly enjoyed while using PENUP?
A10. @Ilo
PENUP is awesome because it’s like a mobile gallery you can carry around in your hands and start drawing whenever you want to.
Also, because you have a lot of people from different countries coming together to upload their drawings and interact with one another, there are so many paintings in different styles.
I get to see the distinct color palettes, landscapes, and drawing styles of each country, which makes me feel like I’ve traveled to a gallery in different places around the world.
On a more personal level, I look at paintings produced by other users, and try to learn what I can, improve what I can from an artistic standpoint in areas that I feel like I’m a little lacking. : )
With digital devices spreading to all corners of our society they have become an essential part of our lives.
It’s no different for people doing creative work.
Digital drawing, which allows artists to draw using digital devices, is replacing analog drawing as the most popular way to draw things.
Thanks to progress in digital devices and drawing apps we are now at a point where everyone can start drawing easily.
PENUP is working hard to offer services that satisfy people’s appetite for digital drawing.
PENUP’s management team will continue its research and development of new technology and services until the day everyone can enjoy a wide variety of creative activities just like our Hall of Famer @llo.
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