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My work is influenced by Korean pop music! I was heavily inspired by the music group Ateez, and their cyberpunk aesthetic. I aimed to make my prints colourful to appeal to a wider audience but looked to a lot of Korean-style art for inspiration and included a lot of Korean language in my work for my target audience – K-pop fans and young adults.
Hi, I’m Dandy – an illustrator who loves all things bright and colourful!
For my Final Major Project, I created a series of Risograph prints and merchandise inspired by Korean pop music – in particular, a cyberpunk music group that debuted in 2018 called Ateez. After experiencing their London concert in February and visiting the Hallyu exhibition at the V&A museum, I felt motivated to create artwork from these events. I decided to include imagery inspired by the band’s lyrics, as well as use Korean language in my pieces to target my work towards others who also listen to their music. I wanted to produce merchandise that people could either collect or wear, such as stickers, zines and t-shirts, because I thought it would appeal to that audience as well as emulate being commissioned by a music company to design their promotional materials.
My ideas from the beginning of this project changed significantly; at first, I thought about upcycling guitars with folk-style illustrations and perhaps even designing my own guitar, but after being in awe of Ateez’s performance, I decided I wanted to make art in response to it.
As a result, I have managed to successfully sell some of my products and prints at the print festival, CMYK, as well as meet new people with a similar interest in music! My plan for the future is to create more artwork inspired by any musical events I attend, as well as look for employment with a music company. I am also contemplating commencing my own Etsy account to expand my audience and already have an Instagram account to promote my work.
