Quick-fire questions with illustrator, Haein Kim

Haein Kim is an artist who illustrates and animates in Sydney, Australia. Her style is fun, fresh and funny. She can normally be found working from her cute little studio space next to a banging pub, but with lockdowns in place, she's been working from the comfort of her apartment

I remember first coming across her work a year or so ago and loved this this bold and warming animation short she had created....and since then she's been killing it, working with the likes of MTV and Wetransfer, as well as bagging a place in It's Nice That's Ones to Watch 2019. We're really excited to collaborate with her to offer 2 very limited edition prints

Sending some quick-fire questions her way, it was great to get to know her better and get an insight into her process and the subject of her works

 

What do your mornings look like?

Right now my routine is to wake up, do a yoga sesh and then wake my partner up for some meditation together. Then we have our coffee and start our work week!

 

When did you first discover art? or realise you wanted to pursue a creative outlet?

I don't remember a time when I didn't love art. I've always wanted to be an artist! I was drawing since I was a kid, mainly princesses and girls... haven't changed much in that respect

 

How would you describe your artwork?

Fun, FRESH and funny :---) I go in and out of phases, right now it's a mid-late 2000s emo kinda phase

 

Are there any subjects or themes you are interested in? or represented in your work?

I'm always trying to represent women of colour in my work. I consciously try to make an effort to draw women with black hair. There's already so many blonde and brunette women being celebrated in popular culture, so I want to show in my work that black hair is beautiful and cool too!

 

What is your process?

I can start from either an idea that sprouted in my mind overnight, or finding cool source material to draw inspiration from. This could be stuff I see on my daily walk, images I find on the internet or a funny story someone told me! Lately I've been really into reinterpreting classic renaissance art into my own style

 

 

What do you need in order to create your work?

Harry Potter audiobooks playing in my ears alllllllll day. At this point I only need to hear one sentence and I know what book it is and what part of the book it is. Or I play some classic chick flicks in the background

 

Checkout Haein's print store HERE