A commissioned piece for the
“Free to Play: A Video Games Anthology”
graphic novel cover ✨🌟✨
Grateful to @hairul.amar for reaching out, and to the Difference Engine team, writers, and comic artists, each bringing their own worlds into this anthology.
Available through @differenceenginesg
#鲲鹏
Title: 九色鹿
The five colored deer/ The nine colored deer.
(In Chinese culture, 五色 ‘five colored’ and
九色 ‘nine colored’ are often used to describe something beyond ordinary colors, radiant, sacred, and almost beyond words.)
•
From heaven to earth,
and everything that lives beneath it,
the world is woven, tangled in its own songs of good and evil, chaos and creation,
of heroes, the misunderstood, and the damned.
Yet somewhere within all of it,
there is always something quieter.
Never absent, never lost, just simply existing.
Something so pure it almost doesn’t ask to be seen. Something so innocent it refuses to become armor.
A kind of strength we rarely speak of now,
the kind that doesn’t rise to fight,
but quietly heals the thing it touches.
Because it was never made to prove it was strong,
only to remain itself, even when the world forgets how to be gentle.
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#九色鹿
#敦煌
#sacreddeer
Title: 药郎。| The medicine seller.
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What is real, and what lingers?
I don’t know.
All the stories we told ourselves
laid petals along the road,
but still
the cries return at night.
Something outlived the chase.
Will the scale ever settle,
or drift with the wind,
like a rainbow after the storm?
The sky says nothing.
It is too wide to answer.
And yet
something remains
not gone,
just waiting
for the medicine man.
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6 Fan Art Theme Suggestion Credit (Mononoke) : @hanpaopaoo
∆
Historical Inspirationst credits:
Buddhism (originated in Nepal/ to China/Asia),
Daoism (China), Confucianism (China),
Classical Chinese literature & poetry (Tang/Song China),
Shinto (Japan), Onmyōdō (Japan),
Noh Theater (Japan),
Heian-era folklore (Japan),
Folk religion & superstition (China/Japan),
Yaoguai/Yokai (China/Japan),
Tang Dynasty aesthetics (China),
Edo Period aesthetics (Japan).
#mononoke
#sixfanart
The final two physical shadow puppet commissions are complete. Leather, traditional natural pigments, and my gratitude to the commissioner who afforded me the gift of patience.
My respect for those dedicated to hand crafting or the machinery that supports these disciplines has only deepened. It is a grueling, beautiful, and painful process.
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*Note: I will not be accepting any further shadow puppet commissions.
#commissionart
#originalcharacter
#fanarts
#shadowpuppet
#chineseshadowpuppets
I’ve been holding onto this since last year, you know, waiting for the right moment.
I’m hoping the physical piece can finally reveal itself this December. Fingers crossed 🤞
*I will no longer be taking on physical shadow puppets commissions.
*For those I haven’t replied to yet,
I will get back to you.
I just need a little more time.✨⭐❤⭐✨
Credit: Special thank you @medallions for supporting me with the metal plates!
#sephiroth
#finalfantasyvii
#ff7
#onewingedangel
#chineseshadowpuppets
Title: 蜡染青花
China Blue | Malaysia Batik
°
A flower cannot choose where it is born,
like a Chrysanthemum in an orchid farm.
It learns the wind’s story,
the colors of the flowers around,
the route pressed into patterns.
Growing has not been easy.
Hands cannot stop reaching for its roots,
asking it to choose.
As if a stem could divide
and still live.
It does not turn from either sun.
No root can be untwined.
It blooms, here, now,
holding more than one name.
And lets the garden take life,
wild and beautiful,
grass and flower alike,
without control,
without asking
who came from which seed.
Still, always,
a Chrysanthemum in an orchid farm.
•
#life
#batik
#blueandwhiteporcelain
#flora
#heritage
✨🧧🐎Happy Chinese New Year! 🐎🧧✨
May the year of the horse bring you fortune, love and timeless joy.
🧧
#happychinesenewyear
#chinesenewyear
#papercut
#paperart
#traditional
Call him what you will. He stood for what you couldn’t see. 💔
Drawing this piece got me thinking: many heroes burn bright in the night, their stories hidden in shadows, but those touched by that flame carry the torch forward and become the next light bringers. 🤘🔥🤘
Title: Hell Fire Club
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Credits | 6 fan art suggested by:
@s.raahini@aaron_tina_@poonai_amma
∆
#strangerthings
#eddiemunson
#dustinhenderson
#upsidedown
#sixfanartchallenge
Is Art still worth it in the age of AI? 🎨🤖
在 AI 时代，坚持画画还值得吗？
去年在 CF 访问了两位画家，聊到了每一个 Creator 都避不开的现实问题：AI 的冲击、转行的挣扎、还有无数次想放弃的瞬间。“到底是什么让我们还在坚持？”
Asking the real questions at Comic Fiesta. We talked about AI, the struggle of staying creative, and why we still keep going.
Does this resonate with you? Let me know in the comments below! 👇
你是否也曾有过想要放弃的瞬间？在评论区告诉我你的想法！
#ComicFiesta #CF2025 #MalaysiaArtist #AICreativity #ArtistStruggle
Title: Tree of life | 生命之树
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A commission for Siti and her lovely family,
a mix of Malay and Chinese heritage.
Designing this piece brought many thoughts.
In days past, families with local mixed Chinese ancestry often fell under the Baba Nyonya tradition, though history and politics have shifted these identities over time.
It warms my heart to see this family embrace both sides of their culture. Why choose,
when you can enjoy the beauty of both?
I combined shadow puppetry from my hometown,
Wayang Kulit Kelantan Siam style, with Chinese Piying (皮影戏),
and a touch of Javanese artistry,
weaving metaphoric stories throughout.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to craft something meaningful and celebrate heritage.
∆
I might share a version highlighting the history of Kelantan Wayang Kulit Siam style someday.
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#Malaysia #Malaysiaculture #familypotraits #familytree #treeoflife #kelantanwayangsiam #chineseshadowpuppet #皮影戏 #jawanese #ShadowPuppetry #sharedcultures #garuda #vermilionbird
