Singaporean artist Clogtwo draws on a mega munny doll at PopCon Asia. (JP/Nurhayati)

Illustrators and graphic designers see their art as a way of freeing themselves.

Artist Eric '€œThunderpanda'€ Wirjanata started getting serious about his artistic talent around 10 years ago when he had hopes of traveling abroad.

While still financially unable to do so at the time, he designed Lemi the Space Wanderer '€” his signature character '€” and had the idea of taking the character around the world.

With the aid of the Internet, he virtually distributed a template for a paper toy that people could print and make on their own. Not long after that, his idea worked and he began seeing his paper toy appear in pictures in cities such as New York, Atlanta and London.

Seeing the impact of his work and the public'€™s enthusiasm, he began to take his art more seriously and decided it was something he wanted to pursue.

His prayers were finally answered when his character Lemi then paved the way for him to travel to London. No longer solely a paper toy, Lemi has since taken other forms such as vinyl figurines, plush toys, prints and even T-shirts.

Thunderpanda now does a lot of digital branding at Hyperreal Movement, a company he founded three years ago.

Also pursuing the theme of escapism is another artist called Tamish '€œPronto Pixel'€ Aswani. The Indonesian artist of Indian descent is a cancer survivor who said his art provided him with a distraction during his battle against cancer.

Each of his characters exists in space and is colorfully contrasted with the often-dark mood of deep space. By providing a background story to each of his characters, we get a better sense of who these characters are and what their purpose is in Pronto Pixel'€™s universe.

One bright green character looks similar to a large cactus plant, but with some energy-generating anemone tentacles on top of its head. The impression we get when we see him is that of a strong warrior. This character is named '€œthe Island Hooligan'€ and was developed as the artist'€™s stronger, fiercer alter ego when he was battling cancer.

'€œHe consumes your pain and he gives you happiness in return,'€ said Tamish.

'€œSince I survived cancer, I owe it to him to release him to the public so other people can relate to the guy.'€

Tamish also added he was interested in turning these characters into toys as his art received more
attention.

He is also a graphic designer who is involved in many branding projects. His talent in typography is apparent in the branding work he has done.

University student Putri Sonia Ramadana is a fan of Tamish'€™s work, especially the clean and well-polished look of his characters. She stumbled upon Pronto Pixel'€™s work on the Internet while looking up artists exhibiting at the toy and comic art festival PopCon Asia 2013.

'€œEverything he does is so neat and aesthetically pleasing. He really inspired me to be bolder with colors,'€ said Putri, who is also majoring in design.

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