Cloud Programmer

Bringing together inspirations from fashions of the Baganda people of Uganda and the anime "Summer Wars."

Happy New Year, my beloved friends! May your creative dreams and your hopes for a better world come to fruition.

Hlayisani

Detail from Ndlulamithi Redux.

Akashinga

Detail from Dawn of the Eagle.

Dalanda

Detail from Circuit.

Mentari

Detail from Guardian of the Gate.

Nenzima

Detail from Through the Gate.

Usman

Detail from Cables.

Contemplation

Detail of the Timorese boy from Voyage.

Fantasy, Mythology and Folklore art inspired by Southeast Asia

Click below to view Illustrations, fine art, and graphic novels created by artists from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United States:

Fantasy and folklore art inspired by the African diaspora in the Americas

Click below to view Illustrations, fine art, and decorative figurines created by artists from Jamaica, Europe and the United States:

Voyage

Inspired by the East Timorese myth of "The Boy and the Crocodile".

Here are 3 different versions of the story:

• Legend of East Timor: The Crocodile Story (East Timor and Indonesia Action Network)
• The crocodile that became Timor (from Fernando Sylvan's "Cantolenda Maubere")
• Some cultural notes, humors and myths from Timor-Leste (Diak Ka Lae? A Dummy's Guide to Timor-Leste)

Print available!

This is the third and final piece in the giant robots series. Many thanks to the kind friends who assisted with critique.

Wires

Inspired by (but NOT claiming to be an accurate representation of) the accessories of the Iban people of Borneo.

Check out the beauty and complexity of the marik empang, a beaded shoulder covering worn by Iban women in traditional garb.


There are approximately 1 million Iban people living in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Notable Iban people include Rentap, a war leader who fought against British colonial rulers, and Golda Mowe, a novelist who writes fiction based on Iban history and mythology. Golda Mowe was critical of Hollywood's treatment of Iban culture:

"it was turned into some form of white man’s fantasy of having a child-like beautiful Eurasian woman come willingly into his bed. The Sleeping Dictionary continues to nettle me, even today..."

Dawn of the Eagle

Inspired by giant mecha anime and the soapstone eagles from the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, a royal city active in the 11th-14th centuries. Robot design influenced by the African fish eagle, which is called "hungwe" in the Shona language..

Many thanks to the kind friends who assisted with modeling and critique.

• T-shirt available on Printify!
• Stickers, laptop skins, and more available on RedBubble.
• 11x8.5 print available on storenvy!

Ndlulamithi Redux

Inspired by the late Ndlulamithi, a famous large elephant whose name means "taller than the trees" in the Tsonga language. (See Kruger National Park - The Magnificent Seven.)

Additional influences: Japanese giant mecha comics and anime. :-)

Many thanks to the kind friends who helped with modeling and critique :-)

Get the print on storenvy!

Also available on RedBubble as stickers, iPad skins and more.

Cables

Available a T-shirt on Printify.
Available as laptop skins, stickers and more on redbubble.com.

11"x 8.5"print available on storenvy.

Character's hairstyle influenced by Peul (Fulani) hairstyles from the Malian period costume movie Yeelen. Clothing inspired by (but not intended to be an authentic representation of) attire of nomadic Fulani.

The Fulani, a widely dispersed ethnic group, are among the many ethnic groups inhabiting the city of Timbuktu.¹ A center of scholarship from the 13th-17th century,² Timbuktu presently has more than 2 dozen libraries of medieval manuscripts.³

Circuit

Available as stickers, magnets, prints, and more on RedBubble.

Available as a T-shirt on Printify.

Combining influences from Japanese cyborg comics and the metalwork of Fula (Peul) people, and circuit boards I ripped out of (old, non-functioning) computer accessories.

Hairstyle, costume and accessories inspired by (but not claiming to be an authentic representation of) Fulani clothing, facial tattoos and jewelry. The Fulani, a widely dispersed ethnic group, are by no means homogeneous in terms of dress styles. Fashions vary according to geography, as different Fulani communities absorb influences from other ethnic groups around them.

Many thanks to the kind friends who helped with modeling and critique :-)

Ksitigarbha Online

Print available on storenvy.com
Phone/iPad skins and more available on redbubble.com

The name of Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha / Ksitigarbha, aka Dizang (Chinese), Jizo (Japanese), Dia Tang (Vietnamese), Jijang (Korean), literally means 'Earth Store' or 'Earth Treasury.¹ This illustration combines influences from Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell and traditional East Asian religious iconography, notably medieval Dunhuang Buddhist paintings that also show concentric rings within double halos.

According to the Ksitigarbha Sutra given by Sakyamuni Buddha, the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha was, in a past life, a Brahmin woman who sought to save her mother from hell.² The countless incarnated forms of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha gathered in Trayastrimsa Heaven and coalesced into one form, vowing to Buddha to save all beings.³)

Guardian of the Gate

Background graphics combine influences from Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell and decorative art from the Malay world.

Patterns on the outfit also inspired by (but not claiming to be an authentic representation of) fabric designs from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Print available on storenvy.com.

Phone cases, stickers, and more products available on redbubble.com.

Through the Gate

Print available

Also available as laptop skins, stickers, and more on redbubble.com.

Influences: Ghost in the Shell meets Mangbetu style ;-)

Background graphics inspired by Mangbetu mural painting; character design inspired by (but not intended to be an authentic representation of) Mangbetu body painting and hairstyling.