Stunning Imagination Of Korean Master Illustrator, Kim Jung Gi

What do most artists do before they start sketching? Well, the first sketch an outline of their subject to make all its elements look proportionate in the final drawing. Nothing of the sort with this amazing artist, Kim Jung Gi! He conjures up any scene or character without any kind of preparation to present incredibly detailed illustrations.

It’s thanks to Gi’s fertile imagination and fantastic visual memory that he’s able to sketch so effortlessly and create extremely complicated scenes without recourse to any kind of aid or reference.

Gi, born in Goyan-Is in Kyongki-Do province of South Korea, was passionate about art even as a child. So, it wasn’t surprising that he went on to major in Art and Design at a Fine Arts School, when only 19. Besides, he also spent three years attending Dong-Eui University in Busan, South Korea. After this, he did a stint in the South Korean army. He memorized the weapons and vehicles he encountered there and the same can be seen in many of his works.

With such stupendous talent, it was only a matter of time his works received the fame they so deserved. His first publication, called ‘Funny Funny’, was published in Young Jump magazine. He also taught manhwa or the Korean comic book in various private schools and universities.

Gi’s collaborations with other artists also bore fruit. He illustrated all the six volumes of ‘Tiger the Long Tail’ authored by Seung-Jin Park. Besides, he also illustrated two novels written by the French writer, Bernard Werber, namely ‘Paradise’ and ‘Third Humanity’. His collaboration with the legendry Japanese artist, Katsuya Terada, resulted in an amazing sketchbook of remarkable drawings.

Not limited to this, Gi went extempore, displaying his skills live. His first one being at the Comic Festival held in Bucheon, South Korea. And he did so in real style by placing paper on three walls around his table and then drawing on them. The YouTube video of this feat went viral in no time and brought him into the global spotlight. Invitations for worldwide events started pouring in. He has not only performed in various countries in Asia, but also in America, France, and Japan.

Gi has preserved his 12 years of creativity in his six sketchbooks that run into about 4,500 pages. He also holds the Guinness World Record for the ‘longest drawing by an individual’. On Instagram alone, he has a viewership of over 1.3 million!