people

IMAGES AND PORTRAIT COURTESY OF TIK KA

HAPPY HAPPY

INTERVIEW BY EDWIN TAM

JOY JOY
tik ka Draw

Tik Ka’s goal is rather refreshing.

How would you describe yourself? You have several crossover projects with Play Imaginative and Toy2R. Tell us
He simply wants to make people happy. That is a particularly wor- I would describe myself as a child, a traveller and a captain. more about those projects.
thy goal when the words “housing fiasco”, “rising food prices” and I was featured in a Play Imaginative brand called Dooperdoo – an urban
As a child, I like imagination. I don’t want to face the cruel truth. I like to apparel brand that works with many artists such as Devilrobots from Japan.
“protest” linger far too long on people’s lips and in newspapers.
collect pretty little things. I want to have my own magical world. As a My characters appear on their T-shirts, caps, jackets etc. As for Toy2R, they
traveller, I want to go everywhere to learn new things and find happy faces will put out T-shirts that feature my characters.
The Hong Kong-based illustrator has chosen to follow Walt
when I am travelling. And as a captain, I will ship my works to a creative and
Disney’s lead by creating happiness with his cartoon characters: happy world, and explore new ideas. What does character design mean to you?
quirky, brightly coloured oddities drawn from his imagination and I use my characters to share messages with my audience. For example,
observations of harried office workers. What kind of education did you receive? my earliest characters were revamped villains from fairy tales. They were
When I was younger, my mother taught me art and I practised it by myself. given colourful and happy faces. It was because I felt that every person can
Tik Ka’s characters have appeared as iconography and wallpapers After graduating from secondary school, I took a diploma in Advertising and have a wonderful life, even if they are ugly or poor. I want my characters
used to promote Commercial Radio Station’s (Hong Kong) radio Design from Hong Kong School of Design. That was when I started my career to embody different messages. Thus, I try to render them with unique and
show: The love story of Sam, Big Nose and Lockamochi Mamiba. in the advertising industry. Since then, I did some work for local organisa- meaningful ideas.
He is also involved in designing characters and products for tions such as the HK Commercial Radio Station.
Heineken, 7-11, Play Imaginative and Toy2R. How do you go about creating a character?
How did you get interested in drawing and advertising? I like fairy tales. All fairy tales, regardless of origin, have similar themes of
iSh catches up with the budding, self-taught illustrator. Drawing takes me into imaginary worlds and relaxes me. Through the love, family and friendship. Additionally, I find natural surroundings beau-
drawing process, I can find space to think and understand myself. Through tiful and comfortable. Thus, my character designs are primarily from fairy
it, I can express my message with my favourite colours and characters. As for tales with nature themes. And I always stick to my goal, which is to bring
advertising, it is a medium through which I use to communicate with friends. happiness to my audience.
Sometimes, I just cannot do it via drawings. Also, it is more challenging as I
have to consider other factors such as business angles. I noticed that your characters are bright and colourful. Why?
Because I hope every one can feel happy after seeing them. After all, colour-
What kind of a designer would you see yourself as? ful characters do make people feel energetic. Personally, I like pink for its

Chinese culture
I see myself as a commercial multimedia illustration artist. I understand that warm and safe feeling. Thus, my characters are frequently coloured pink.
commercial art requires characters tailor-made for specific media and pur-

gives me another poses. It is an artistic limitation. However, I enjoy it. I am challenged by it. It Which is your favourite character? What is his/her/its story?

lens with which to

makes me happy to create character that does not exceed these limitations. That would be my first character – Wu Ding. It means a small black dot when

view art.
Thus, I truly believe that people grow through challenges. seen from the sky. I use Wu Ding to represent city people who are under
great pressure. He is grey. Now that is a reflection of colour that has been
Will you be working on other media? lost to society’s demands.
I want to do animation, sculpture and games next. I want my illustrations
to take on a three-dimensional feel. It will then be easier for my audience to With Wu Ding, I wanted to put forward the idea that people begin with
understand my ideas. nothing. People grow when they learn and get life experience. They then
feel the love and happiness in the world. Finally, when they realise that they
are loved by family and lovers, then life is less empty and they begin to fill
up with colour. On a lighter note, Wu Ding was also my nickname when I
was much younger.

094 © 2007 Page One Publishing Private Limited | Permission is granted for this article to be reproduced in its original form solely for non-commercial use. No part of this article may be reproduced or 095
distributed for commercial intents or purposes without written permission from the publisher.
 Wu Ding touch the colourful world

Bombax Ceiba Xiang Yun

To imagine

The Cultural Revolution of China Cuba

Forever

One of your works has the likeness of Chairman Mao superimposed You seem to be quite big on using the computer to create illustrations. Why?
over errr…. colourful mushrooms. Tell us more about it. Most art is traditionally drawn by hand. So I thought, why not use a computer
Chinese artists enjoy using Chairman Mao as their artistic centrepiece and to create art instead? I disagree with the notion that illustrations created by
also to showcase the Cultural Revolution. The revolution had brought about computers lack vitality. I believe that illustrations can still express an artist’s
very negative effects. That is shown by the colourful mushrooms. They are the feelings and love even if they were created on a computer.
negative effects that poison ordinary citizens. It is also common knowledge
that colourful mushrooms are like snakes – poisonous and deadly. Tell us more about your non-commercial work.
My non-commercial work can be found on my blog where I share my illustra-
For some reason, most of your art is rather round and does not have many tions and thoughts. Actually, I am thinking of creating an album to contain
edges. Why? my illustrations.
In psychology, circles and round shapes are associated with warm and safe
feelings. As I want to bring happiness to my audience, I certainly want my char-
You have stated that you want to put on a solo show. Where would you want
acters – who are my messengers – to give joy to my audience. to hold it? What would you have in mind?
I want to have exhibitions in many different places. I am not bothered about
You mentioned that you use Chinese elements in your art. Can you show us a the exhibition size. I simply want to spread my message of happiness and I
few examples? Why use Chinese elements? hope my work can make others happy. I want to do a multimedia exhibition
You can see Chinese cultural elements in Bombax Ceiba. For example, one of of drawings, animation etc.
the characters in Bombax Ceiba wore Chinese traditional clothes and a royal
crown, and the pair of children was created from my impression of ancient What have you got planned for the rest of 2008?
Chinese civilians. Also, the Monkey King from Journey to the West inspired my In June, I will be at the Singapore Toy & Comic Convention Exhibition to
other drawing – Xiangyun. showcase my limited edition products. I will also be collaborating with Play
Imaginative and Toy2R on several other products.
Why? Firstly, I am Chinese and I would like to spread Chinese culture.
Secondly, Chinese culture gives me another lens with which to view art.
For more information on Tik Ka’s work, visit www.tik-ka.com
Fly Hero
or tikka.blog.my903.com.

096 © 2007 Page One Publishing Private Limited | Permission is granted for this article to be reproduced in its original form solely for non-commercial use. No part of this article may be reproduced or 097
distributed for commercial intents or purposes without written permission from the publisher.