Cheeming Boey (born 12 April 1978) is a Malaysian artist. Primarily known only by his last name Boey, he is best recognised by his
illustrations on
foam coffee cups, his daily
webcomic ''I Am Boey'', and his autobiographical
graphic novel ''When I Was A Kid''.
[''POP Club Magazine'', May 2012]
[MPH Online Bestseller List for local non-fiction.]
/ref>[''Samurais Squids Zombies and Daft Punk in Styrofoam'']
interview by La Belle Nuage, ''Lost in a Supermarket'', February 2012.
interview by Tom Berg, ''OC Register'', June 2009.
Early life and career
Boey was born in Singapore and grew up on a song bird farm in Malaysia. He initially went to the United States to study Advertising at the Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco, but later switched to Computer Animation
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
. After graduation, Boey returned to AAU to teach in the Computer Animation department. In 1999 he began working for game developer Blizzard Entertainment as a lead animator on '' Diablo II'' and '' Diablo III''. During that time, Boey briefly left Blizzard to work at Factor 5 on '' Lair''. Today Boey writes full-time and does freelance design work. His clients include; Mattel, Disney, 7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
, Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
, Vittoria Coffee, and draftfcb. He is also a travelling lecturer and has spoken at Ted X Weldquay. Boey currently has a weekly comic published in ''The Edge'' (Malaysia).
Projects
Graphic novel and webcomic
In 2007, Boey began a daily webcomic about the experiences of his day. He currently posts six days a week. Boey's book, ''When I Was A Kid'', is meant to be a prequel to the blog of his adult life. In May 2012, ''When I Was A Kid'' became a local non-fiction best-seller in Malaysia. He is currently focusing on distribution in Asia, but his book is available internationally through the Blurb website. Boey published his second book "When I Was A Kid 2" in July 2013 and it was a success.
Coffee cup art
Boey began illustrating on polystyrene foam cups in Southern California; first because he had no paper, and then out of appreciation for the results. Artist A Day selected Boey for Best Illustrator in 2011. He has said he is inspired by artists such as Hokusai
, known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...
, Kieth Haring, Moebius
Moebius, Möbius or Mobius may refer to:
People
* August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), German mathematician and astronomer
* Theodor Möbius (1821–1890), German philologist
* Karl Möbius (1825–1908), German zoologist and ecologist
* Paul ...
, Lat, and Doraemon. Many of his pieces are also inspired by his travels and personal experiences. Today, his works are featured in galleries in the US and Asia.[''Styrofoam & Fine Art'']
interview by Carolyn Edlund, ''Artsy Shark'', February 2010.
''Start with Sharpie'' Campaign
In 2011, Sharpie took notice of Boey's cup art and featured him in their ''Start With Sharpie'' advertising campaign. Director Shal Ngo's Sharpie commercial, ''Sharpie: Coffee Cups to Canvas'', featuring Boey and his cup art, was a recipient of the 2012 TED ''Ads Worth Spreading'' award.''The Lucrative Styrofoam Cup Cartoons of Cheeming Boey''
by Andy Khouri, ''Comics Alliance'', September 2011
Listing of selected work
;Publications
*''I Am Boey'' (webcomic blog)
*''When I Was A Kid'' (webcomic, book series)
*''I Am Boey'' (weekly comic through ''The Edge'' (Malaysia))
;Gallery Presence
*Coffee Cup Art
;Video games
*''
World of Warcraft''
*''
Lair''
*''
Diablo II''
*''
Diablo III''
Awards
*1999 — Indies Film Award, Best Animated Short for "Olive"
*2001 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Interactive Achievement Award, Game of the Year for Diablo II
*2012 — TED Ads Worth Spreading Award, Start With Sharpie
*2013 —
Popular Books Malaysia, Readers' Choice Award
*2013 – New Man Magazine, Young Entrepreneurs nominee
*2013 – BMW and Men's Uno Malaysia, Men of Substance Award: Most Influential Artist of 2013
*2015 —
Popular Books Malaysia, Readers' Choice
References
mylifeshirt
External links
*
I Am Boey'
Behance GalleryCheeming Boeyon
Tumblr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boey, Cheeming
1978 births
Living people
Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area
Malaysian people of Chinese descent
Malaysian artists
Malaysian illustrators
Malaysian webcomic creators
Graphic novelists
Academy of Art University alumni