Max · You like to draw women, and most of those have a temptress or seductive undertone. You do other types of drawings too, but the women are the most interesting to me and they lead me to ask; when did you know you could draw them so well. How did that evolve?

Charlene · I think my girls have been influcened a lot by comics, first by American comics then by Manga. When I was a kid I did like to draw, but my interest was always in animals and fantasy elements, and it wasn't until I was about 11 or 12 that I started to take an interest in people. I think it all was because I got a copy of Conan (the large, oversized, black-white comic), and the issue I picked up just so happened to be illustrated by a really good artist (it might have been Eddie Chan, but I can't remember for sure). Anyway, it also happened to feature 2 of Conan's more prominent female pals - Red Sonja and Valeria.

What I liked about it was that while Conan was the star of the show, the girls just looked better and came off as much more capable just because they didn't have a body mass the size of Europe. I guess it just appealed to my personal sensibilities - that the ideal woman should be beautiful and tough, desired but unattainble. Anyway, from there I stubbornly insisted that I would draw beautiful women, and well, here I am.

Max · What are reactions you get from others about your more violent and sensual illustrations?

Charlene · I don't think I've done anything that's outwardly violent. As for the sensual stuff, the funny thing is I think the picture that's gotten the most 'tsk-tsk' is the one where there's a girl bending over and facing the audience. She's wearing a a sheer dress that goes down to her ankles, but I guess some people felt that the pose was too suggestive and it should have had a mature warning.

 

I thought it was kinda funny though. Otherwise most people like the work, or if not then they just don't tell me.

Max · Have you ever drawn something that you feel is a little too risqué to put out there?

Charlene · Yes, there are a couple of pictures that no one has seen. They're the sort of thing you draw and then think, nah, there's no beauty in that, it's just vulgar. It's like the differenct between erotica and bad porn - there's an art to the former, the latter just features moving pieces of flesh.

Max ·A lot of your drawings seem to tell a story in a single frame. Is that part of your planning or job brief?

Charlene · Oh that's a nice compliement! I try to infuse some kind of story into my work, or at least give the impression that there is a story there somewhere.

A lot of my commercial work is editorial based, and for those I do try to tie the picture back to the text, because I think the two should work in tandem. I actually prefer it when there's a story to illustrate around, it's easier to think up something that means something than sitting down and wating hours trying to catch an interesting concept in your head.

Max · Have you ever thought about doing animations or comics, anything beyond the still frame?

Charlene · I used to do comics - nothing fancy mind you. At one point I was going to start on a project for SLG but that fell apart and I havn't considered doing any more since. It's sad because I do like drawing comics but there are 3 major issues I have with it: A) It takes goddam long B) Most scripts are crud and C) Unless you're Alex Ross or something, it's very much a labour of love.

The reality of the matter is that I have bills to pay and I am impulsive, both of which make it very difficult to be successful as a comic artist. You must have discipline and a driving desire to see your work through to completion, day after day, month after month, and you may not see a dime after it's done.

As for animation, I love watching it but I've not seriously considered doing anything animated. I belive there is more to an animator than just his or her drawing skills - one should understand timing and acting, and be good at working with a large group of people on the same project for years. Again, it's not my nature to adapt to that kind of thing well, and at this point in my life I'm really not interested in going back to school and making a big career change. Although it does come to pass, doing concept work on a contract basis for up to a year would be kinda cool, either for animation or games.

Links:
www.CharleneChua.com
www.Story-Works.com

Other related links:
www.TheGateWorldwide.com

Most designers and illustrators in Singapore work at agencies or smaller design studios, but its when they are alone at home or their favorite place that they do their best work. This is the work they do for themselves, its the stuff that drives them. Charlene is no exception to that phenomenon. She's dedicated to what she loves to do, and that just so happens to be illustrating women. She has been drawing for as long as she can remember, and started illustrating professionally in 1999. I asked her to take a break, put the tablet pen down and talk about her work and experiences for a while.

Interview by: Max Hancock
December. 2005
Max · How do you prepare for your drawings? Tell us about your process, your references...

Charlene · Usually I get a brief, let it sit in my head for a few days, and then go surfing online for a while for references. The good part about drawing girls is that I have a legitimate excuse to google for girly pics! Anyways, I normally save a bunch of jpgs for reference and then I do my sketches. It's rare that I work directly off a photograph or even stare long and hard at reference while I draw. It's more like 'ok now I have to draw a kimono... so it should look like.. oh ok..'. References are cool coz you look at things more closely and then you notice little details you were never aware of before. Once the sketches are done and approved, I scan them into the computer, turn then blue in Photoshop, port them over to Illustrator and Painter and finish them up there.

 

Max · Aside from the vector work, you also draw with a more ink and water color style. Are those more evolved versions of some of your process sketching?

Charlene · They're different finishes and styles. In Singapore, you are almost expected to have a range of styles as an illustrator. Actually, I suppose if you wanted to be cynical, you could say that you are expected to be a humanized version of a colour copier. There are times you'll be asked to do a piece based off someone else's style, and if the client is somewhat open minded and you're somewhat flexible, then the result is a mish mash between what you can do and what the original picture was. On the other hand, I sometimes see it as an exercise to strech my capabilities and get paid for it at the same time. It's not so bad that way, to get paid to learn something new!

Max · What of your styles do you like to do the most?

Charlene · My preferred medium for finshing is currently Illustrator. It does a fine job of achieving my obsession with control - I like the tightness of it, how I can control the look of everything from the flow of hair, to the sparkle in the eye. But as I get older, more tired/apathetic/mature, I'm beginning to appreciate the softer qualities of Painter and Photoshop. It's a bit in reverse, most people start with Photoshop as their first major illustration tool, but that's the story of my life, nothing's all that linear.

Max · What's your theory on colour? And how do you apply that to your work?

Charlene · My theory on color? Black is good, red attracts attention, blue is calming
and anything else fits in somehow.

 

[laughs] well no, I mean I do like neutral colors more than bright saturated ones, but when it comes to work I normally think to myself 'this part feels warmer' or 'this area feels cold' and then I'll just use whatever I think best fits the mood. It's quite a disasterous approach traditionally, but thankfully the digital age has given me some very forgiving tools to work with so I tend to just go with what I feel most of the time.

Max · Have you ever felt that you have made mistakes in your career?  If so, what were they?

Charlene · I was a project manager for a while. That was probably a mistake, although I suppose everything has its purpose and in the end, it did contribute to where I am today. But coming back to the point - I think it was a mistake because I wanted to try something new, I wanted to seem like I was going places, I wanted to earn more and I thought that it was a dead end being in the interactive-creative arena. I'm not saying you can't be creative with interactive, but that's another story.

So I ended up doing something I didn't really like and was not really good at, which made me really depressed. That's the big downside to that period, the work at least taught me some lessons, but the depression is never fun.

Max · What advice would you give to younger, aspiring illustrators in Singapore?

Charlene · Keep trying? Heh, no really - keep drawing but remember that illustration is not just about making nice pictures. It's a business so picking up some business and accounting skills are a good idea. Keep track of your expenses because it's really easy to wipe out your savings even before you start making any money!

Max · Illustration is your part-time gig. Are you still working under Story-Works? Where have you worked in the past, and where are you working now?

Charlene · Storyworks is actually the name of the company that belongs to me and my husband. He's a writer. Theoretically we're supposed to be offering creative services for hire, and I guess in practice we do– we just don't bring in super boat loads of money.

During the day I work at an agency called The Gate Worldwide. Yes it's an agency, and no we don't have anything spiffy like a wrought-iron gate with gargoyles hanging off it, although admittedly that would be a sorta cool gimmick...

Max · Ha-ha, yeah it would! OK, last question; What's the last project you were really excited about and why where you so into it?

Charlene · To be honest, the last project that got me pretty fixed-on was the illustration exhibition I had in November with a bunch of other illustrators and designers.

I guess it was neat because it was the first exhibition I'd ever done, plus I was co-producing the show together with Design Singapore. There was a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing and it was all new to me, and being stuck in the office for most of the day meant that there had to be a fair bit of careful time management to get everything done. There were a few hitches but all in all it went over pretty well I think.

Max · Charlene, thanks a lot for the interview.

Charlene · Sure. Cheers!