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ExploreA personal favorite artist of mine is Jun087, a designer from Design by Humans. Recently I had the pleasure to ask Jun some questions about himself and his art and this is what he had to say.
TH: Who hides behind the name Jun087?
A family man named Jun Leong (full name Leong Jiun Seong), a husband and father of two, a boy and a girl, who lives in the “City surrounded by mountains”- Ipoh, Malaysia. Jun087 is just a “display name” or maybe will become a popular T-Shirt brand in the future, who knows hahaha. The first use of Jun087 started way back to 2008 when I was registering to become a member of Design by Humans. “Jun” was rejected by DBH because someone else was using it. So without thinking of any better or cooler display name, I just simply add in the number 087 (last three digits of my car registration number) after my name. Finally it was accepted and my T-Shirt design career had started.
TH: When and how did you first start getting into design?
I’m not sure whether this can be consider as designing. I remember when I was in primary school, some of my friends loved to ask me to draw on their school bags. In that time, around 1985, canvas bags (which can be drawn with marker pen) were very popular in my country. I think my first design assignment was on their school bags. Tattoo arts such as scorpions, animals and typography were mostly used. Funny isn’t it?
TH: Do you have any formal background in graphic design or are you a self-taught artist?
Yes, I’ve attended a 3 years graphic design course after secondary school. I sketched and drew everyday on the first year, coloring and designing on second year. On the third year, I studied computer graphic, we were the first batch of students to study computer graphic in the academy. I still remember the Power Macintosh 6100.
TH: How long did it take to start getting noticed and actually selling your artwork?
Since my first print on DbH, after a year of hard working. My followers kept increasing and clients started asking for my designs. I would like to take this opportunity and thank DbH for giving me a “stage” to perform and show my arts to the world.
TH: Do you design full time or do you have a day job?
I work as a part time graphic designer in a local printing company, probably a few hours a day. I’m also a media owner (billboard / advertising panel). Creating arts for Tees is one of my favorite activity and I do it on night time.
TH: If you were to pick a favorite design you have created, which one would it be and why?
Definitely my third print on DbH – The Guardian in 3D now! An angry owl wearing some 3D glasses. I love the expression, the lines, textures and colors. A serious expression with some funny elements, from sketches, inking, doting to vectoring and finally completed with a little Photoshop touching.
TH: Describe the general process you go through to design and realize a piece of work?
Everything starts with a box of used papers under my workspace. Every time an idea comes, I will sketch it on those papers. Searching for reference on internet will be the next step before drawing and inking on a brand new clean paper. I’m using technical pencil and 0.2 , 0.3 and 0.5 technical pens for this process. The next step is scan and bring it to my computer for vectorize works with Adobe Illustrator. Some times the work will take a week or even a month depending on the artworks (sometimes because of my laziness too). Coloring and shading which I think is the most difficult part will be the next step. The final step is some touching such as adding brushes effects and some highlight on Photoshop.
TH: When you aren’t designing T-Shirts, what are you up to?
Watching movies or TV show especially documentaries, do some business planning, play badminton with my kids or searching for new ideas on the internet.
TH: Do you have any wisdom you’ve learned along the way you’d like to share with other aspiring artists?
For me, designing is all about experimenting and keep trying new things until we find a unique style to call our own. I know it’s not easy because until now I haven’t found it yet but I believe I’ve found the right path and direction. I’d like to share one of my favorite inspirational quotes by Bruce Lee :
“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own”
Thank you for the interview Jun and we hope to see more awesome designs from you in the future.
Are you an aspiring artist? Drop some questions for Jun in the comment section below and he’ll get back to you.
