Illustration

I am Caitlin Seohyun Kim, a visual communicator who aims to craft conceptual designs and images through multilayered research.
As an illustrator by nature and a designer by nurture, I blend my passion and experience to approach my work through a storytelling lens.

In my downtime, I like to cook and obsess over my tuxedo cat Kubo. Actually, I like to obsess over any cat. Feel free to send me cat content anytime!

Let's connect!

caitlinseohyunkim@gmail.com

instagram

dear.kubo

Currently
Available for Freelance!

2023-2024
Cheree Berry Paper & Design ↗

2023
Washington University in Saint Louis
BFA in Communication Design ↗

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Kumiho

48" x 36"

Figure Drawing

Pen and ink

The ‘kumiho’ is Korea’s nine-tailed fox spirit said to seduce men and eat their livers! However, behind this horrifying ritual is a lonely and jealous soul who just wants to be human like everyone else. In my illustration, I wanted to show this vulnerable side of her through a more realistic rendering of the figure and solemn expression while keeping her tails fantastical and violent to retain her mythical and dangerous energy.

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Welcome to the Cheshire Grin Cat Cafe!

Booklet, Live Drawing

Pen, Digital

The Cheshire Grin Cat Cafe is a non-profit cat cafe I worked at during my time at university. This short visual journal records the features I wanted to highlight to encourage viewers to visit and discover the charms of rescue cats who are ready for a new home. Adopt, don't, shop!
The drawings were made with live sketches that were edited and colored digitally.

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MCpM:: sun1. EGYPT=[RA]

11" x 17"

Drawing

Pen,, Watercolor, Embossing

An Ancient Egyptian painting of Ra, the god of the Sun, reimagined with a cyberpunk theme.

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Overgrown

11" x 17"

Drawing

Graphite

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MCpM:: sun2. SCANDINAVIA=[SOL +MANI]

Stop Motion Animation

Cut Paper, Lasercut

A stop motion animation that acts as a sundial, animating as the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
This piece was inspired by a Norse mythology story where wolves Skoll and Hati chase Sol (Sun) and Mani (Moon), creating day and night. During the day when the wolves chase Mani, the wolf's shadow in my piece casts over the moon, and as the Sun goes down west, the wolf casts its shadow on the Sun.

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Still photo to show the 3D layers and cast shadow from the central wolf.

Line illustrations prepared for the lasercutter. These include the layers for the sun and moon, the layered border, and the central wolf.

The Loved

Figure Drawing

Digital

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Kubo Stickers

Animation

Digital

Six emoji stickers of my cat Kubo!

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A.I. is Not A-OK

Editorial Illustration

Digital

A mock editorial illustration for The New York Times article A.I. is Not A-OK written by Maureen Dowd. It discusses the social developmental dangers of letting AI run rampant without limits.
The illustration references Titian's painting Venus of Urbino which shows a female figure, widely theorized to be the goddess of beauty Venus, reclining on a couch seductively. By replacing Venus with an AI robot, I wanted to imply that the pinnacle of human beauty is becoming advanced technology. I added a human servant in the shadow to build on the eery atmosphere and reinforce that the AI robot is uncomfortably in command of the space.

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Woodstock Snapshots

Figure Drawing

Digital

Illustrations of scenes from the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in 1969 through figures and props.

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Escape to Summer Reading

9" x 15.5"

Editorial Lifestyle Illustration

Digital

A mock lifestyle illustration for the prompt "Escape to Summer Reading."

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A Stuffy Situation

Comic

Digital

A nine-panel comic made during the spike of COVID-19. It illustrates the dangers of not following the health guidelines during the peak of the pandemic.

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Bowood

Book

Pen and ink, Marker

A double-sided accordion-bound book that observes the different ambiances of Bowood's two sections: the restaurant (bowoodbyniche.com) and the plant nursery (bowoodfarms.com).
All drawings were done from life and then digitally scanned and collaged to create the pages of Bowood.

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