Lunar New Year took place earlier this February and is a big holiday within Asian cultures. With every new year, there is the return of a Chinese zodiac from a 12-year cycle. This year is the Year of the Tiger, with the last one beginning in 2010. As February and the festive season comes to a close, here are four amazing tiger-themed artworks done by our illustration students here at SCAD.
Dannie Niu, an M.F.A. illustration student, used a warm-toned palette and incredible textures to create this beautifully auspicious work featuring a woman in traditional Chinese fashion beside a tiger.
“The year 2022 is the year of the tiger in the lunar calendar, and the tiger symbolizes strength and vigor in traditional Asian depictions,” said Niu. “This painting was created by me to welcome the Lunar New Year. I hope everything will be better in 2022 and the epidemic will be over soon!”
Isabella Tallman-Jones, deeply inspired by music and pop culture, depicts two tigers on a heart set by a wavy background in this eclectic work.
“This piece was inspired by the Cure song ‘Love Cats’. The lyric ‘we move like caged tigers’ followed by ‘we couldn’t get closer than this’ describes the complexities of a toxic dynamic between partners,” said Tallman-Jones. “At times serene and at other times tumultuous, I attempted to encapsulate and abstract those contradictions in the illustration. The heart at its center takes a more literal approach to the subject matter. The tigers revolve around it, protecting it, and simultaneously causing it pain. Like the Chinese zodiac Tiger, these big cats represent the good and the bad – competitive aggression coupled with risk-taking and bravery.”
Kaelan Depape, an avid illustrator of fun creatures and animals, utilizes vibrant colors and moody lighting to create a dramatic piece that accentuates tiger stripes.
“Big cats. Tigers. Stripes. This drawing here is an experiment of trying to highlight the most well-known asset of the Tiger,” said Depape. “The Stripes. Using more saturated colors and different implied lines in the candles to spotlight this large feline. As it is the Year of the Tiger it was a natural choice to pick out this animal compared to others!”
Johnny Yat Kiu Chan’s illustration consists of a dapper-looking tiger getting groomed by a team of other animals. Using a combination of traditional and digital techniques as Chan loves the quality of line produced with traditional ink, he chose to showcase the “daily side of the jungle” with the varied expressions of each animal, which each show different sides of the story. He was inspired by his own experiences of going into different barbershops.
To view more of these students’ work, check them out on Instagram.
Dannie Niu: @dannie.niu
Isabella Tallman-Jones: @odderie2.0
Kaelan Depape: @kapaaheo
Johnny Yat Kiu-Chan: @thank.kiu.very.much