Kim Jung Gi: The legacy of a great master

How I discovered him

Where do you go when you want to learn a new skill? Getting this new information from friends or family, or going to a targeted school is not an option for most of us. That’s exactly when living in the 21st century pays off. Because we have access to the greatest archive of knowledge in human history: the internet. So perhaps, if you try to learn about perspective or drawing from imagination, you might stumble onto a time-lapse of a South Korean artist drawing on a massive piece of water with a black brush pen. That’s exactly what happened to me. I was mind blown and assure you you’re going to be too.

Kim Jung Gi has grown popular thanks to his incredible talent (is it talent though?). Kim Jung Gi is perhaps one of the most famous illustrators in the world and has had quite an impact on the global art community.

Life of Kim Jung Gi

Kim Jung Gi was born in 1975 in Goyang (Seoul). His passion for art didn’t go unnoticed by his teachers who often had to call for his attention. Because he would get lost in some doodles on the side of the pages instead of focusing on the lesson. Presumably, his enthusiasm for drawing came from his love for the comic and manga characters he used to copy.

From then on, he started observing the outside world with an artistic eye and adamantly drew things over and over until he could get them right. This resulted in him learning how to represent tridimensional objects very soon in his artistic journey. Despite not being the career they imagined for their son, his parents relentlessly agreed on letting him go to art school. Then, he attended the Dong-Eui University of Busan where he got a Master of Art and Design degree.

And his death (R.I.P.)

He sadly died in Paris in 2022 after an art attack at the age of 47. During his lifetime he was able to create a legacy not only with all his artworks but also through the many lessons he conveyed to thousands of artists. In addition, his passion and enthusiasm for the craft will surely inspire many more in the future.

Kim Jung Gi's Art

His love for the craft

This man was genuinely obsessed with his drawings. Watching his sketchbook tours and listening to his interviews it’s crystal clear that he spent a lot of time mastering his craft. It’s safe to say, he would draw everywhere he went, even during business meetings. And you know the best part? He always had fun and was able to play with his imagination to create stories just as intricate as his detailed drawings were.

Did he draw from imagination?

Kim Jung Gi attracted a lot of attention for his ability to draw from “imagination”. It’s easy to watch someone draw something apparently with ease and difficulty and believe they were gifted with some kind of magical talent. But that never happens. Certainly, some people may have a natural inclination for specific activities, but so-called talent does not exist. The only way to get good at something is to work hard and learn until the mistakes become almost unnoticeable. That is one of the most valuable things I learned from the Korean artist.

What he did do beautifully was not drawing from imagination, no sir, what he did was drawing from his memory. Since he was a child, drawing over and over the same things, he started building up in his own brain one of the greatest visual libraries ever created. In his interviews, he stated that when he had to be in the Korean army for two years, he would draw in his mind to remember all the objects and situations he had seen.
In this illustration, Kim Jung Gi uses his military knowledge to create something a bit more fantastic.

Kim Jung Gi's Use of Perspective

Furthermore, as a result of years of experience, he was also able to arrange all these memories in perfect perspective. Consequently, his illustrations always manage to draw the viewer in, to get lost in all the details and intricacies and the hidden story underneath it.

Indeed, one of his signature moves was the use of the fish eye perspective. For instance, look at this illustration. The picture is full of mini Kims going around the scene and looking for the perfect angle to draw it from. With fantastic humor, the Korean artist depicted his mental process for choosing the best composition to suit the story he had in mind.

Live drawing shows

His ability to easily access his rich visual library is also one of the reasons he was able to draw live so often. Because of this, he was invited to do many demonstrations. To do so, he would set up a huge sheet of paper and quickly fill it with lots of characters and incredible scenes using only an ink brush pen. It looks like the paper is coming to life when you look at his drawing process. In other terms, it’s almost like he was just uncovering something that was always meant to be there.

He held the Guinness world record for the longest drawing in fish eye perspective.

A master of ink drawings

The use of ink in its many forms, whether it was with his beloved pentel brush pens, or any ink pen, was his signature, together with the realistic style. This recalls the Japanese and Korean traditions of painting and comics that were a big inspiration for the artist.

An incredible artist and an inspiration for many

His recent passing touched me and made me reflect. Despite never knowing him in person, I felt like he was a teacher for many of us in the art community. I couldn’t help but think about all the drawings he had still left in him and that the world would never be able to see. And the same goes for the thousands of artists that would still be inspired by him and his work but who are never going to meet him. Not to mention that he was so young and he is going to be missed by his family and by his friends all over the world.

His legacy

The loss of such an incredible artist is devastating for the entire art community. In the end, what comforted me was thinking that he left behind so many artworks and so many lessons, which thanks to the Internet are never going to get lost. Hopefully, social media will allow him to teach new generations of artists for many years more.

Recommendations

To conclude, if you enjoy his art style I recommend you check out other artists from the Super Ani group who share a similar love for the crafts. Some of my favorites are Karl Kopinski, Peter Han and Eliza Ivanova.

I really hope you’ll get inspired by stories such as that of Kim and that it will spark in you the same desire to develop your passions and love for art.