Zeen Chin is a freelance illustrator and concept artist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has worked on RGP game ‘Legend Of The Cryptids’, the cult phenomenon board game ‘Kingdom Death’ and Applibot’s card game ‘Galaxy Saga’. His personal work is inspired by Asian folklore and explores themes of childhood.
Chin is completely self-taught and began painting digitally after falling in love with Katsuya Terada’s artwork. He tried to emulate Terada’s style with watercolour to no avail. He sought advice from a friend who suggested he try working digitally. Chin bought a Wacom and started practising digital art.
Currently, most of Chin’s personal work is focused on childhood, which he describes as ‘the happiest time of [his] life’. Ghosts and witches also feature heavily in his illustrations. This is due to his love of the many Hong Kong horror films he watched as a child. When Chin combines these joyful memories with vibrant colours and bouncing characters they oddly gain an eerie element. Chin is working towards releasing his own art book next year. It will feature his current childhood series of illustrations, short comics and some tutorials.
You can see the children that appear in my works over and over are pale and look like demons. For me, children are pure and innocent, but also evil. They do whatever they want to do.
— Zeen Chin
You can find more of Zeen Chin’s work on ArtStation, DeviantArt and Facebook. You should also read his interview with Key Frame.
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