Latest news with #illustrations
CNA
7 days ago
- General
- CNA
International Left-Handers Day: Everyday tasks lefties have to adapt to
Fun fact: Aug 13 is International Left-Handers Day. Here's a look at some everyday tasks lefties have to find a way around, as told by CNA Lifestyle's Grace Yeoh. Illustrations: CNA/Jasper Loh Using a chair with a writing board is a nightmare for lefties. "In my experience, the solution is not to hope left-handers will turn their body slightly to the right, risking backache and arm cramps. It is to invest in proper furniture," she says. The classic pen holder at information counters always comes with an elastic chain. It's great for preventing theft, but with the pen holder almost always placed on the right-hand side, how do lefties ensure the chain doesn't get in the way? Most watch crowns are on the right side, which is convenient for adjusting when the watch is worn on the left wrist. But many lefties prefer wearing their watches on their right wrist, making it an awkward affair to toggle the watch crown. It's tough to always be the person asking for a left-handed demonstration or option when learning a new activity like playing the guitar. For lefties, the can opener is a contraption more complicated than the military's weapons system. Of course, there's also the signature pinky finger ink smudge - the infamous mark of a left-hander. Next Story
CNA
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Singaporean comic artist teams up with Archie Comics for exclusive SG60 cover
At first glance, his illustrations may seem like digital compositions or even paintings. But look closer, and you will discover every detail is meticulously rendered in pencil strokes. From as young as six, Kang Jing, 31, had a natural flair for drawing. He would spend hours sketching his favourite anime characters. And in 2021, the self-taught artist took the leap of faith and launched his comic brand, Chiral Comics. What started as an Instagram page to showcase his work soon evolved into something bigger, opening doors to work on characters from major franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel. He has also illustrated comic covers for Power Rangers stars Catherine Sutherland, Nakia Burrise and Brennan Mejia. Now, Jing has collaborated with American publisher Archie Comics – he has illustrated a special Singapore-themed cover in celebration of SG60. Priced from S$25 onwards, pre-orders are open from Saturday (Jul 19), 12pm, on Jing's website and through select comic retailers in Singapore – Kalibak Komiks and 1 to 3 Comics. ARCHIE COMICS: AN SG60 EXCLUSIVE In January this year, an idea struck him: What if he could blend his favourite pop culture icons with something local for Singapore's 60th birthday? 'SG60 marks a big milestone for us as a nation,' he shared. 'I wanted to find a way to celebrate it through the lens of something I love – by bringing together something iconic from Singapore with a franchise that many of us grew up with,' he shared. In April, he pitched the idea to Archie Comics and landed an opportunity to design a variant cover for one of their editions. A variant cover, Jing explained, is a term used in the comic industry, where the cover design is not related to the contents of the book. While some might assume designing the cover is a minor role, Jing pointed out that cover designs are one of the key driving forces for revenue in the industry. 'To boost sales, publishers [often release] various cover arts of the same story to appeal to collectors with interest for different art styles and artists,' he explained. He reimagined the original Archie characters as tourists exploring Singapore, with Gardens by the Bay as the central backdrop. He also added local touches: Archie in a SG60 T-shirt, Jughead munching on a durian, and Reggie wearing a Singapore football jersey. Jing completed the rough sketches in a day before transferring his ideas to an 11 by 17-inch artboard, the standard size used for comic covers, before moving on to inking. 'Inking involves going over the penciled artwork with ink to enhance and finalise the lines,' Jing explained. To bring the artwork to life, he worked with a colourist from Italy to digitally add the colours. Everything was completed in a month, and it was approved with no revisions needed. STAR WARS TO STARDOM When he was first starting out, Jing spent months cold-emailing organisations, sending out his portfolios, and taking on commission work for small businesses to get his name out there. His big breakthrough came in March 2024, when Jing received a reply from Topps, the American trading company well-known for producing licensed collectibles for franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel. 'I still remember waking up one morning to an email from Topps inviting me to work on their upcoming Star Wars project and that they will be sending me 50 sketch cards to illustrate,' he said. For the uninitiated, sketch cards are hand-drawn collectible cards created by licensed artists for trading or display purposes. For Jing, each card was a labour of love. Unlike comic covers, he had to add colours himself using alcohol-based markers meant for comic illustrations. Before the cards could be released, the final artwork had to be approved by Lucasfilm, the company that is home to the Star Wars franchise. To date, he has worked on seven Star Wars-themed projects with Topps. One standout was his fifth project, titled Star Wars: Hyperspace, which required him to illustrate planet-themed sketch cards. 'I was provided cards with specific planets labelled on them such as Bespin, Hoth, Kashyyyk, and I had to illustrate characters specific to those planets,' he shared. 'For the planet Mustafar, I illustrated Anakin Skywalker by taking reference from the Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith where there was a climactic battle that occurred on this planet between him and Obi-Wan Kenobi.' Soon after, he struck another deal with Topps. This time, he was commissioned to create 20 sketch cards for the 2025 Topps Marvel Chrome series. "Working on Star Wars and Marvel properties honestly felt like a dream that was way out of reach, one of those things you admire from a far but never imagine happening to you,' he said. The sketch cards were eventually randomised and sold on Topps website in their respective product lines – a place where customers around the world have the chance to pull one of Jing's hand-drawn cards with the purchase of any products from the listing. The Archie comic cover was not Jing's first foray into localised comic art. Last year, Jing teamed up with Boom! Studios, the official comic publisher based in the USA for award-winning titles including Power Rangers, Brzrkr and Something is Killing the Children. He illustrated a Singapore-themed variant cover for one of their flagship titles: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He unveiled the exclusive issue at Singapore Comic Con 2024, where all 525 pieces of the limited-edition copy were sold out. In fact, it was the success of this cover that fuelled his desire to work on the Archie Comic SG60 project. The cover was not just a hit, but it was his lucky charm – one that scored him a backstage pass to work alongside the very stars who ignited his passion for comics. In October 2024, he attended New York Comic Con, where he met the cast members of Power Rangers, Catherine Sutherland and Nakia Burrise, during a fan meet. 'I brought my very first Power Rangers comic cover I did and showed it to them. They loved it and right there they said, 'Let's collaborate'.' The actresses wanted Jing to design a variant cover for them as an exclusive merchandise for their fans, as part of the Power Rangers Prime series, an ongoing title published by BOOM! Studios. Sutherland also went on to post a picture with him on her Instagram following their meeting. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Catherine Sutherland (@catherine_sutherland) The entire process took around two months, and the final copies were published in May 2025. Following the project, Jing also worked with another Power Rangers cast, Brennan Mejia for a variant cover. He also accepts personal commissions, with prices depending on the complexity of the request. Reflecting on his journey, Jing hopes to deepen his expertise in illustrating comic cover arts and eventually venture into comic interiors in the future. '[Looking back] It was really about taking a leap and seeing where my art could go. I didn't want to just sit on my dreams, I wanted to try chasing after them, even if the odds may seem slim,' he said. 'Every now and then, even a rejection letter can feel strangely exciting, because it also means someone actually saw my work.'
Washington Post
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Stephen King to narrate 'Hansel and Gretel' audiobook with Maurice Sendak's illustrations
NEW YORK — The audio edition of an upcoming re-telling of the Grimm fairy tale 'Hansel and Gretel,' which combines the renowned sensibilities of Stephen King 's words and the late Maurice Sendak 's illustrations, will be narrated by an author who knows the material well. Stephen King.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Drawings from author Roald Dahl to be sold at auction
Pictures drawn for a book about the life of children's author Roald Dahl are going on auction after being found in an envelope. The famous author drew the images himself using a black ballpoint pen for Boy, which was published in book is the only which Dahl produced illustrations for during his long career. The sketches, which are expected to be sold on Wednesday, are part of a collection estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000. In his book, Dahl describes some of the things he got up to as a child, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner Mrs Pratchett by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air to illustrate the naughty act. The drawings were found in an envelope belonging to Ian Craig, who ended up creating the final illustrations for the author's memoir. He stepped in as Dahl's usual illustrator, Quentin Blake, was away on holiday at the time. "The publication of Boy was on a very tight publication schedule," said Ian Craig's widow Kate. "As Quentin Blake was away on holiday, Ian asked Dahl if he could help with the illustrations."Dahl ended up producing a variety of sketches which Ian used as inspiration for his own drawings."
The Independent
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Drawings by Roald Dahl for memoir Boy to be sold at auction
Original drawings children's author Roald Dahl produced for his memoir are to be sold at auction after being found in an envelope which belonged to a colleague. The sketches were produced by Dahl in black ballpoint pen for Boy, which was published in 1984. Dahl died in 1990 aged 74 and Boy is the only book which he produced illustrations for during his career of almost five decades. The sketches will be sold in Edinburgh as part of Lyon & Turnbull's books and manuscripts sale on Wednesday. They are part of a collection estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000. In his memoir, Dahl recalled various childhood exploits, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar. Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air to illustrate the escapade. He had being approached to help by publishing house Jonathan Cape as his usual illustrator, Quentin Blake, was on holiday. The drawings were found in an envelope marked 'Dahl's drawings & odds and sods' which belonged to Ian Craig, the art director at Jonathan Cape. Mr Craig, who died in 2023, created the final illustrations for the book, inspired by Dahl's drawings, and received a blue cashmere cardigan as a gift from the author. The sketches being auctioned are part of the production archive for Boy from Mr Craig's estate. Mr Craig oversaw the production of Boy and the archive includes his designs, as well as the original page layouts and correspondence. He also came up with the title, and received a letter from Dahl saying: 'I must thank you for coming up with the first sensible title for my book. 'Boy' is fine. We all like it…' Mr Craig, who grew up in Ipswich, was a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and joined Jonathan Cape in 1973, five years before Dahl began a partnership with illustrator Blake. His widow Kate Craig, who also worked at Jonathan Cape, said: 'The publication of Boy was on a very tight publication schedule. 'As Quentin Blake was away on holiday, Ian asked Dahl if he could help with the illustrations. 'Dahl ended up producing a variety of sketches which Ian used as inspiration for his own drawings. 'Ian never got paid for the illustrations, but Dahl did give him one of his trademark blue cashmere cardigans as a thank-you, which he treasured.' Dominic Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull's rare books and manuscripts specialist, said: 'It's absolutely thrilling to see Roald Dahl's one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn sketches up close. 'They are a unique addition to his canon and allow us to observe the transformation of his childhood memories into the printed form, a medium in which they would be cherished by generations of readers. 'Ian Craig undoubtedly played a key role in Dahl's publishing success, overseeing not only the production of Boy, but many more of his famous children's stories. 'This archive gives an insight into the creative processes behind a book still enjoyed by children across the world today.'
