Since 2016 I've written and illustrated these letters to the new year, as a way to summarise my thoughts and feelings regarding the old year (and express my hopes and aspirations for the new). But for obvious reasons, I decided to skip it this year.
(more…)So I've moved on to the next stage of my Unofficial Residency. I'm back to doing Freelance Work. (Nov-Dec is one of my busiest seasons of the year. Of course I wouldn't miss it.)
Though I only completed like, almost 3/4 of what I set out to do during the first phase of the residency, I'm grateful for whatever progress I am able to make. Afterall, any headway during 2020 is a miracle! Luckily there's a second phase to catch up on things. So fingers crossed I can get some more in.
(more…)I will confess that I've always had the desire to be recognised by an Institution: schools, libraries, museums, universities, you know. Buildings. Bodies. I want my books to be analysed and mined formally, to bridge the gap between the public and institutions, to educate, to inspire joy in learning. I love the world. I love the platonic ideal of academia: to chase a subject wholeheartedly, to share and introduce to outsiders the joy and madness and wonder that comes from seeing something unexpected in a different way, to find interdisciplinary solidarity in fellow nerds. Though I've officially left academia to pursue a career that more aligns with my way of storytelling, of learning and teaching, I'm still a scholar at heart. I want to be a part of this network, because it is where I feel most at home in.
And yet recently I was reminded of the Reason why I left academia, and it's forced me to reconsider my desire to be Institutionally Recognised, if it's even worth it.
(more…)Double feature
(more…)The unofficial start of the residency (at home).
(more…)I am reading The Penguin Book of Prose Poems, an anthology of... well, prose poems. A nicely-sized paperback made out of stacks of typical cheap FSC paper. But my goodness, the book smells good. Almost vanilla-ish, earthy, subtle. And I think, man I wish comics smelled more like prose paperbacks.
Comics smell like ink: heavy, pungent. Like glue in effect. I'd know β the Carpet Merchant came out as a dense giant sandwich of CMYK; nearly every page is covered from corner to corner. Apparently people enjoy that smell. It's the first thing they would comment on, before they talk about the art or the story. I like watching people plunge their face into my book. It's funny, but sweet.
Unfortunately I don't like that smell very much. It's not my thing. I wish comics smelled more like prose paperbacks. I want vanilla. I want the smell that comes with yellowing pages. I want comics to compliment the atmospheric scent of my studio-bedroom, which is also a library. I want comics to smell like a dusty library. I don't know. I have memories of reading that's incongruous to the materials my books are printed with. My entire history is cheap FSC paper and brittle ancient sweet stock. But comics are a different medium, and until they make ink that smells like prose paperbacks (though if we had a choice, I'd prefer peach or brown sugar), comics will have to smell like comics.
Many things and not so many things occurred this week.
(more…)Here's a feature from Kenny Mah about my process, Seance Tea Party, and current and future projects. Also I can't get over the opening paragraph: "Malaysian illustrator, writer and designer Reimena Yee has a touch of the Fae. No, there are no pixies or goblins in her family tree (not that she knows of) but her whimsical illustrations evoke fairy tales and distant lands we travel to only in our dreams."
So it starts tomorrow.
I know I have been yakking on about "Getting Away from Social Media and Building My Own Island on the Internet" since the early and not-so-long-ago days of this blog -- but this time, I finally have the opportunity to walk the talk.
(more…)Reimena Yee is a graphic novelist, artist and flamingo enthusiast.
She creates the webcomics The World in Deeper Inspection, and The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya; the latter of which is the first Malaysian graphic novel to be Eisner-nominated.
Currently writing and drawing a whole bunch of stuff. Is a nerd for all things spooky and historical.
Melbourne / Kuala Lumpur
NONE FOR 2020
Listen one of the reasons I advocate for lengthy schedules for artists is because publishers don't build in paid time-off for their freelancers and authors and stacked back-to-back projects can lead to injuries like the ones currently in my neck and shoulder
Comics is all fun and games until you have to study head angles and abstract them into your style -- then it's like, wth why is drawing so technical and difficult
so i was interviewed, and @buttermilkart got featured on @VulcanPost today π₯² what a day. thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged me so far - you the best π₯Ίπ stay tuned for more!
https://vulcanpost.com/729895/buttermilk-art-find-malaysian-artist-directory/