Jang Suk-Woo, otherwise known as 1000day, is an imaginative and exciting character designer, toy designer and illustrator. Based in Seoul, 1000day carries the bona fides of having worked with or been recognized by some large, global companies like Samsung and Adobe. His artwork carries a sense of fun and whimsy and by 1000day’s own admission, communication. Writing on his website, he says, “I gently try to convey a sweet message to people like a breeze.”
In one of his most recent series, Melo Breeze in Time Line, 1000day brings the sweet message to life and carries the viewer through his process like a breeze. By way of illustrated interludes, 1000day provides his context for rendering symbolism alongside the physical process of the artwork, showing the pieces in various stages of sketching and coloring. This choice builds an almost storybook type feel to the whole arrangement, literary in a way that builds depth in the art while giving further access to the artist behind all of the vivid images of Melo Breeze, conveying the process of moving from separation towards new love. The character moves through the pieces, from the depths of the ocean, surrounded by fish, used as a symbol for parting and the anxiety of being alone, up to the land, eventually reaching above the clouds, finding the ecstasy of new love, surrounded by pastries and birds wearing headphones and bowler hats, the birds representing love. One look at 1000day’s Melo Breeze in Time Line and I swear you’ll find yourself surrounded by love birds too.
