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\nIt’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I have the work of a student or otherwise debut illustrator. Today, I welcome Dani Choi<\/a><\/strong>. Dani is an illustrator based in New York, who graduated with a BFA in Communication Design from Washington University in St. Louis and is now getting her MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay at the School of Visual Arts<\/a><\/strong>. I thank her for sharing art today, and I’m going to turn 7-Imp over to her so that we can learn more about her and her work. <\/p>\n
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Dani<\/font><\/strong>: I love that one line from Pablo Neruda\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> The Book of Questions<\/em>, “Where is the child I was, still inside me or gone?” Sometimes when I reflect on my past, I realize how different I have become now, compared to the child that I once was. Like most people, I\u2019ve lost the childish innocence that I once had in the process of growing up. The incongruity between my past and present self saddens me at times, and that\u2019s when I pick up my favorite picture book. When I re-read the books that my parents read to me as a child, I travel back in time to when I was a wide-eyed, artless child who enjoyed the simple ways of life. <\/p>\n In other words, for me, picture books are a bridge that connects my present self to my younger self. I hope picture books do the same magic to other people as they do to me, and it\u2019s for that very reason I want to make picture books. As to children\u2019s book artists that inspire me, I love Edward Lear<\/a><\/strong>, Quentin Blake<\/a><\/strong>, William Steig<\/a><\/strong>, Abner Graboff<\/a><\/strong>, etc. I like picture books that have a bit of an edge to them. 1)<\/strong><\/font> Gatherings with friends. <\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> Walter Martin’s new album<\/a><\/strong>. I’m fond of that cover art too (by Christopher Corr<\/a><\/strong>): 4)<\/strong><\/font> Geraldine McCaughrean’s Where the World Ends<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. <\/p>\n 5)<\/strong><\/font> The announcement of the 2020 Outstanding International Books list<\/a><\/strong> from the United States Board on Books for Young People. <\/p>\n
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\nThere are so many things in this world that inspire me to work, and it\u2019s merely impossible to list all of them. But often the intrinsic feeling of being a stranger to society inspires me to start a project. I\u2019ve been living in the U.S. as a foreigner since I was a teenager and have had many instances where I felt like an outsider. And this emotion naturally gets translated into the content or subject matter that I\u2019m drawn to. For instance, the book that I worked on, Where is My Baboon Hiding?<\/em>, features circus characters that are considered “freaks,” such as a woman with many legs, a dog-faced family, a pinhead man, etc. [see pictured above at top of post and the two images below]<\/em>. I like drawing characters that seem a bit bizarre and inflict curiosity in readers. Perhaps this is why I\u2019m also drawn to otherworldly and mystical fables and myths.<\/p>\n
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\nI like to work digitally these days, because it helps me make bold choices with colors. During my undergrad years and all throughout college, I was timid around colors and mainly used black and white with one or two spot colors. After finishing undergrad, I started to draw digitally more often, which gave me the freedom to experiment with colors without fear. Being introduced to so many colors was a huge revelation for me, and I\u2019m learning to embrace endless combinations of colors.
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\nStudents and young professionals who are just starting out tend to be preoccupied about finding the consistent style that feels natural to them. I had a very unhealthy obsession over my stylistic choices and still think about them from time to time. But after countless hours ruminating on the subject, I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that the story behind the image is often times more important than the stylistic quality of work. As an illustrator, I think it\u2019s important to remind myself that style merely serves to deliver the message I want to give to viewers.
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\nI have many dream projects in mind. One of them is to illustrate a story of my own that involves a set of characters I create \u2014 and then make plush toys out of them. When I was a kid, I had innumerable dolls, and every night I would line them up around my bed before I went to sleep, because I regarded them as my friends\/guardians that protected me from the dark. Children are full of wonderful imagination, and it would be quite amazing to see a child befriending one of my characters.
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\nI think the illustration program at SVA creates a safe haven for aspiring illustrators. We learn a lot from each other and stimulate a great creative energy in the studio. I\u2019m happy to be surrounded by so much talent.
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\nNote for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.<\/p>\n
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\n3)<\/strong><\/font> Season two of Sex Education<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. <\/p>\n
![look!<\/a><\/strong> That will be in my neck of the woods. <\/p>\n7)<\/strong><\/font> A very thoughtful and mind-read’y kind of gift from a friend. <\/p>\nBONUS:<\/strong><\/font> Dani’s colors. <\/p>\nWhat are YOUR<\/font><\/strong> kicks this week? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Click image to enlarge) It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I have the work of a student or otherwise debut illustrator. Today, I welcome Dani Choi. Dani is an illustrator based in New York, who graduated with a BFA in Communication Design from Washington University in St. Louis and is now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seven-good-things-before-monday","category-picture-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/www.usbby.org\/uploads\/1\/0\/7\/0\/107064867\/14thibbyregional_orig.jpg\"){kind=link}