Sakiroo (), born Choi Sang-hyun (), is a South Korean

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and character designer. The subjects for his work are varied and include

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

s of sports figures. He has been involved in exhibits and projects (see below), including those in South Korea,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. He lives and works in Bucheon, just outside

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Biography

Sakiroo received no formal education as an artist. He said that due to not having a lot of childhood toys, he drew faces of his favorite characters on paper and fashioned them into an

origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a ...

type of story to play with. He began earning money for his drawings when he was twenty. His first jobs were "special dot mini character" designs for the internet communities for Neowiz "SayClub" and "Avatar" in 2000, and for

SK Communications SK Communications (Hangul: SK커뮤니케이션즈 or ''에스케이커뮤니케이션즈'') is a South Korean technology company that owns and operates popular web portal Nate. It offers Internet access and telecommunications services for resi ...

and

Cyworld Cyworld () is a South Korean social network service. Cyworld was originally part of SK communication, and became an independent company in 2014. Members cultivate relationships by forming ''Ilchon'' (, Hanja: ) or "friendships" with each other ...

"Mini-rooms" during 2003-2007. In 2005, he posed as an "artist" model for clothing brand MLB Korea, and along with his artwork, in an ad for

KT&G KT&G Corporation (), originally Korea Tobacco & Ginseng, also branded as Korea Tomorrow & Global, is the leading tobacco company in South Korea with annual sales over US$4 billion. KT&G was originally a government-owned monopoly but was privatise ...

. For a book cover project in Singapore, artists were asked to choose a book that had been influential to them. He chose Stephen R. Covey's "Principle-Centered Leadership," which he said played an important part in determining his life’s path. "Despite having no formal training in art, he left a nine-year career in the corporate sector to realise his dream of becoming an artist." "Sakiroo" is a nickname that he made up from syllables and sounds that he likes "Sa" "ki" "roo," wanting to distinguish his choice to become an independent artist.

Style and works

His work has been described as "a multitude of illustrations and

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

s full of color and extravagance," "inspired by cartoons and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

," influenced by "Asian themes," and combining "hand-drawn illustrations with digital coloring — using his own color theory." In an interview with KOCCA he said he mainly works on paper, which allows him to sketch in coffee shops in Seoul, without computer graphics.

Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

that have influenced him include Yusuke Murata's ''

Eyeshield 21 is a Japanese manga series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series tells the story of Sena Kobayakawa, an introverted boy who joins an American football club as a secretary, but after being coerced by q ...

'', and

Akira Toriyama was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He came to be regarded as one of the most influential and important authors in the history of manga, authoring highly influential and popular series, particularly Dragon Ball (manga), ''Dra ...

's ''

Dr. Slump is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 1980 to September 1984, with the chapters collected in 18 volumes. The series ...

'' and ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...

''. ''Dragon Ball''s second anime adaptation, ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...

'', was also an influence. His work, though varied, sticks closely to

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

themes, often making fun of them. In 2011, his "Yellow Lemon" characters, with "oblong heads, menacing grins, beady eyes and dental work from the '90's" populated a "school" with uniformed elite characters, including

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

Ronald McDonald Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, an ...

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. After he used the characters again to "pick on" famous fashion brands,

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG (stylized in all caps) is a designer fashion company headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, Fashion accessory, accessories, footwear, and Leather, leather goods. Hugo Boss is one of the ...

, Ermenegildo Zegna,

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. (; ) is a French designer sports fashion company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur André Gillier. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The ...

and

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, a distinct ...

; Trendhunter.com said "Yellow Lemon" was becoming a cultural staple itself. In 2013, both Mass Appeal and Flavorwire, that document urban and cultural trends, noted his caricature work with Colombian artist Pol (Jean Paul Egred), "some of music’s best collabs", among those, MJ and

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

Run–D.M.C. Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most ...

and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

, enhanced with beaks, braces and severed limbs. He had previously joined Pol in 2012, with other South Korean and Colombian artists, when they met in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

to show an interpretation of each other's

pop icon A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

s. In 2013, he illustrated

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

for

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios, operating under the name Warner Bros. Television (abbreviated as WBTV; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division), is an American television production and distribution studio and the flagship studio o ...

; and the Striding Man for

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

, and in 2014, Valderrama for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Insider. In 2016, he spoke about his soccer illustrations on

SBS TV SBS TV (Seoul Broadcasting System Television) is a South Korean free-to-air television channel operated by Seoul Broadcasting System. The channel was launched on 9 December 1991. Unlike competing network MBC, SBS operates using a federalized ...

's ''Football Magazine Goal!'' and continued educational talks with other young artists. His June 2016 autobiography, ''Sakiroo Breaking'', details his path to becoming an artist. Kim Byung-joon of ''E-Daily News'' said, "The depth of the message is deep because it crosses over material such as philosophy, history, culture, art, and education."

Selected projects and recognition

*2006: Interview and live drawing illustration for a singer’s album, Mnet TV, Seoul, South Korea *2011: NOW magazine cover,

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

, Venezuela *2011: "8 Players Illustrations" for

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue, with the cover line "NEXT.," was published on March 11, 1998 (cover date March 23, 1998), and featured K ...

, United States *2012: Wall painting, Korean and Colombian artist's group,

Wynwood Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, and dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area i ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

*2012: Sakiroo X Jean Paul Egred, Duo Musician Illustration, "Rock It", Wynwood, Florida and Bogota, Colombia *2012: Dot objects design for Jellyfish Entertainment

VIXX VIXX ( pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show ''MyDOL''. Originally a sextet, the group is currently composed of four members: ...

2nd M/V & Album, Seoul, South Korea *2013: Design competition judge, "Cut & Paste: Characterized Seoul 2013", Seoul, South Korea *2013: Speaker, Design class, The College of Architecture, Art, and Design at Mississippi State University.

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in and the county seat of Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Starkville's population is 24,360, making it the 16th-most populated city in Mississippi. Starkville is the largest ...

*2013: Speaker 2013 Illustrators Deathmatch,

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

Mexico *2013: Concept illustration for VIP lounge large mural,

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

's Seoul

House, England *2014: "Carlos "El Pibe" Valderrama" Futbol Artist Network, featured

"MLS Insider series", United States *2014: "Referee", Grand Prix winner (Al Sabeh Cement), "I Fell From a Unicorn", Bronze winner ( Band-aid), for Impact BBDO Dubai, Dubai Lynx International Advertising Festival,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, United Arab Emirates *2014: Speaker, Create Now 2014 - 대한민국,

Adobe Creative Cloud Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of applications and services from Adobe Inc., Adobe that gives subscribers access to a collection of software used for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, along with a set of mobile applicat ...

, Seoul, South Korea *2015: Banner illustration, tutorial, Adobe Dreamweaver CC, United States *2015: Playing Art Edition Two, "Seven of Diamonds", Digital Abstracts Magazine, Spain *2015: Speaker, TedxYouth, Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, Hoengseong-gun, South Korea *2016: Speaker, AAD International Design Exchange Seminar and Vision Get Wild 2015,

Kaohsiung Exhibition Center The Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (KEC; ) is a convention center in Cianjhen District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History Designed by Australian architect, Philip Cox, the KEC was initiated in 2006 and built by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in which ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Solo exhibitions

*2015: "Sakiroo's Illustration Fantasy",

Sejong Center Sejong Center for the Performing Arts () is the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul, South Korea. It has an interior area of 53,202m². It is situated in the center of the capital, on Sejongno, a main road that cuts through the capital city ...

's Dream Forest Art Center Dream Gallery,

Gangbuk-gu Gangbuk District () is one of the 25 '' gu'' which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Its name is derived from its location north of the Han river. It was created from the neighbouring '' Dobong District'' in 1995. The current mayor is Park ...

, South Korea

Selected group exhibitions

*2012: "Korea Sports Art 2012", Mokspace Gallery,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England *2012: "

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

F1 Sports Art 2012", Seoul, South Korea *2012: "According To Them, East! Meet West", Spaces Gallery, Wynwood, Florida and Bogota, Colombia * 2013: "I Love You Man", Bottleneck Art Gallery,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

* 2013: "Read Carefully", Kult Gallery, Singapore * 2013: "Human Movement", Surim Cultural Foundation, Galerie 89,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France * 2013: "

Artist Series",

booth at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California * 2013: "The Physics of Friendship: A Tribute to The Big Bang Theory", Gallery Nucleus and

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

California *2013: "Ichabod", Lacuna Artist Lofts,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

*2013: "From Seoul to Mississippi", Visual Arts Center Gallery, Department of Art at

, Starkville, Mississippi *2014: "Books That Moved Me",

National Library Board The National Library Board (NLB) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Digital Development and Information of the government of Singapore. The board manages the public libraries throughout the country. The national l ...

Read Fest 2014, Kult Gallery, Singapore

Publications

His Own

*Sang-hyun Choi, editor So-young Park,
Pixel Art Design (with Photoshop)
' (2003), *Sang-hyun Choi,
Sakiroo's Character & Dots
' (2005), *Sang-hyun Choi,
Sakiroo Breaking
' (2016),

Included In

* Yang Liu,
Fantastic Illustration
' (2011), * Dopress Books,
Always Me!: Self-Portraits of Global Illustrators (Inspire Series)
' (2013), * Kenny Scharf (Introduction), Andrew Kaufman (Photographer), AK Foto (Photographer),
I'm in Miami Bitch!
' (2013), * Sendpoints Publishing,
Beyond Illustration: Designs & Applications
' (2014), * Hightone,
Magic Paintbrush by Illustration
' (2015), * Chen Yu Mingh,
AAD outstanding illustration artists in Asia
' (2016),

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1980 births Living people South Korean illustrators Artists from Seoul South Korean caricaturists South Korean cartoonists South Korean contemporary artists People from Bucheon