Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) 2019 - Q&A with Creative Hong Kong-based Artist Tik Ka

Since Tik Ka Ng's playful mash-ups of Western superheros and pop-culture characters dressed in Chinese opera and traditional costumes have gone viral, Red Dot Diva has kept a constant eye on his Instagram feed to see what amusing images he will come up next. Even celebrities like Stan Lee and Robert Downey Jr have noticed these creative mash-ups!

In his Tik Ka from East series, he has drawn the Guardians of the Galaxy, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, various Star Wars characters, and even characters from the Minions movies in old school Chinese clothes.

Other than these mash-ups, Tik Ka has exhibited his paintings internationally in cities like London, Paris, New York and Milan. He has also designed for vinyl toys, like the attractive Hambuddha series, and the Chinese-looking Santa Guan figurines.

Red Dot Diva: Before Tik Ka from East series, you have another one featuring cute, cherubic babies, especially one called Chizi. How did this baby theme come about? 
Tik Ka (TK): I started from contemporary art. Before my discovery to infuse Chinese elements into the baby theme, I was a creative for an advertising firm. It was a highly charged profession, and I felt the strain. And it made me wonder if that is what I really wanted. I decided to leave that profession behind and concentrate on painting. I feel complete when I am busy with my paintings, and I have no regrets with that decision. 

Red Dot Diva: What made you decide to branch out from babies to drawing Western pop-culture characters and superheroes in Asian costumes and scenarios? 
TK: The baby painting art world or “Chizi”, is maintained throughout my paintings, while Tik Ka from East was derived from a culmination of Chinese elements. My years experiencing the mix of East and West culture while growing up in post-colonial Hong Kong has inspired me artistically. I try to mix these elements in my works, and I see the finished product as a representation of myself. 


Red Dot Diva: The Chinese opera costumes in these mash-up drawings are very detailed. Did you do a lot of research on this?
TK: I love Chinese culture! From the splendid food their dramatic opera, and its rich history and have spent countless hours researching. It is thus wise to find a balance between East and West elements, sort of like finding a common ground so as not to misrepresent any culture. 

Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) 2019 - Artist Alley Booth Highlight on Malaysian Artist Alan Quah

Malaysian artist Alan Quah has been a regular participant of STGCC's Artist Alley for many years, and he will be back again this year in the re-branded Singapore Comic Con, held this weekend at Marina Bay Sands.

A brilliant and versatile artist, Alan has worked with a range of comic book publishers, like Image, Titan, Zenescope, Valiant, Boom! Studios, IDW and yes, even DC Comics! His drawings of comic book characters look dynamic and powerful. They seem as if they might pop out of the page and step into reality any minute!

His artistic skills are also showcased in concept art for Royal Selangor's current line of Marvel and DC figurines.

Here's Red Dot Diva's quickie interview with Alan Quah: 

Red Dot Diva: Hi Alan! Nice to know that you are coming back to Singapore Comic Con this year! Is there anything different from your artist alley appearance this year, compared to previous years?
Alan Quah: It is always great to be back to Singapore and visiting Singapore Comic Con again. Even more so this year because I am coming with my family, the founders of Scott's Collectibles Alan and Daniel Scott, the people who were instrumental to getting me on mainstream comics and also with my buddy and colleague the talented Kael Ngu. This will be Scott's first year visiting Asia and we hope it will be the beginning of a larger presence with more of our colleagues joining the fun next year. And personally I am looking forward to see all my local friends again.

Red Dot Diva: You have done artwork for several comic book publishers - DC, Image, Titan, Valiant, just to name a few. Is there a particular project that resonates with you in a very special way?
Alan: I like to think that when I accept a project it will one that I am totally invested into and I will give my all to it. That has always been my approach. But if I have to pick one, it has to be my 1st mainstream DC Cover, Tales of the Dark Multiverse, Batman Knightfall. To those who followed my journey, know that I have gone through a lot trying to break in over the past 9 years. I came to STGCC in 2010 as an amateur artist hoping to get a break via the Marvel talent hunt, got shortlisted but eventually rejected multiple times over the course of the following years. Until this year, I got the DC call, thanks to my gaffer, and the 1st gig is a Batman cover. So yeah, that was something special.

STGCC 2018: An Marvellous Interview with Ryan Meinerding

The media preview for Singapore Toy Games and Comic Convention (STGCC) 2018 was held at the lovely Funan Showsuite yesterday. Together with other invited media, Red Dot Diva got to meet some of the convention's guests, like David Finch and Olivia Mears. However, there was one particular guest whom she really wanted to meet - Ryan Meinerding, Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development.

For those who love Marvel movies, Ryan Meinerding's concept art has appeared in the films, and is responsible for designing all of Captain America's costumes. Also, remember Coulson's vintage Captain America trading cards? Those images were Ryan's artwork as well!

Being typical Red Dot Islanders, Red Dot Diva and her geek bro Jedd Jong went all out kiasu-mode, and had planned to tag team for this interview a week ahead. They did not want to miss this precious opportunity at all!

When interview sessions opened, they were first to plonk down beside Ryan for their short 15 minutes with him. Cheong, ah!

HIS 10-YEAR JOURNEY WITH MARVEL STUDIOS
Jedd opened the interview by posing a question to Ryan about his 10-year journey working for Marvel Studios. "You know, I was brought on board by Jon Favreau previously, and I got to work on Iron Man I and got work on Mark 1, and did keyframe with Adi Granov on Iron Monger, and we were trying out, sort of the boot test sequence and what he was building in his suit in the garage, and a couple of other things. Then, after that project, Marvel asked me to come back, to stay on board and help them figure out on their next films. So, I got to early passes on Captain America and Thor, after that period of time, we went straight into Iron Man 2 and Thor."

Ryan Meinerding went on to mention that he got Charlie Wen on board for "Thor", and later on, for The Avengers movie, he expanded his team of artists to include Andy Park, Rodney Fuentebella, Jackson Sze and eventually Anthony Francisco. With a sense of wonder still in his voice, Ryan said, "The fact that the cinematic universe has grown from the singular movie to something that’s 20 movies large and still going strong is really incredible."

He has yet to visit the "Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes" exhibition held at the ArtScience Centre, but said that he wants to find time to see it during his stay here.

STGCC 2017: Comic Book Guests David Mack, Adi Granov, Sonny Liew & Mirka Andolfo Added to Lineup!

STGCC 2017 is creeping up on us, and if you have not been keeping up with the news, Reed has announced another list of guests recently. Don't worry, Red Dot Diva is here to recap the second wave of guest announcement.

DAVID MACK
This will be the third time Emmy and Eisner Award nominee David Mack will be back in Red Dot Island, and his booth has always been one of the busiest at the convention. He is also Red Dot Diva's all-time favourite, bicepstous artist. *Flex Flex!*

David Mack is the creator, author and artist for graphic novel series "Kabuki". He has also worked on cover art for the comics adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods", Marvel's "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones", and collaborated with writer Chuck Palahniuk for "Fight Club 2 " in the comic book sequel to the cult hit movie.

Gardens By The Bay's Merlion Redesigned: So Majestic, So Hunky! Diva Tracks Down His Concept Artist, Lynette Wu

The Jubilee Weekend is here! :D

ICYMI (Red Dot Diva says that's understandable, since there are all these #SG50 stuff happening all over town), there's something .. no, actually.... *SOMEONE* very sexy, who is eager to meet you!

With his long wind-swept mane that would make Thor Odinson jealous, eye-popping muscular abs and overall bicepstuousness, Merlion Redesigned will be standing tall and strong at a special exhibit held at Gardens by the Bay.

Merlion's hunky transformation is a far cry from his familiar, comfy Dad bod, which looks like this:

Now, this is what the reboot Merlion looks like in Gardens by the Bay's promo collaterals!

STGCC 2012: Spotlight On Newcomers - Firestarter & Bleufish

What makes a pop-culture convention energetic and vibrant lies mostly in the people who participate in the event. This includes the organizers, creative guests, fans, promoters and of course, the booth exhibitors!

Many of the larger booth exhibitors are well-known retail store or industry names, but quite a few, especially in Red Dot Diva's favourite area Artist Alley, are manned by indie but equally talented folks. Many may not be household names right now, but who knows? With time, some of them may take their creative work to higher places!

One of the new booth exhibitors at this year's STGCC is the artistic team of Firestarter & Bleufish. Such a fantastical and intriguing name!

Red Dot Diva managed to get hold of one-half of the duo Firestarter, for an introductory piece before the convention kicks off on 1-2 September. She thinks that those who love monsters and colourful whimsical artwork would find their booth interesting!

Firestarter is the moniker behind 25-year-old Sarah Isabel Tan, who is currently a concept designer/ illustrator in a local game company. Sarah confesses that she loves animation, video games, movies, travelling and wheeeeeeee! theme parks!

Here's Sarah telling us more about herself and all poised to bring her fiery artistic passion into the world at large: