Cheeming Boey (born 12 April 1978) is a Malaysian artist. Primarily known only by his last name Boey, he is best recognised by his illustrations on foam coffee cups, his daily webcomic I Am Boey, and his autobiographical graphic novel When I Was A Kid.POP Club Magazine, May 2012 When I Was A KidMPH Online Bestseller List for local non-fiction.Samurais Squids Zombies and Daft Punk in Styrofoam interview by La Belle Nuage, Lost in a Supermarket, February 2012.Coffee Cup as Canvas interview by Tom Berg, OC Register, June 2009.
Early life and career Boey was born in Singapore and grew up on a song bird farm in Malaysia. He initially went to the United States to study advertising at the Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco, but later switched to Computer Animation. After graduation, Boey returned to AAU to teach in the Computer Animation department. In 1999 he began working for game developer Blizzard Entertainment as a lead animator on Diablo II and Diablo III.Diablo II – Lord of DestructionDiablo II CreditsDiablo Battle Chest credits During that time, Boey briefly left Blizzard to work at Factor 5 on Lair.Metacritic Lair credits Today Boey writes full-time and does freelance design work. His clients include; Mattel, Disney, 7-Eleven, Esquire, Vittoria Coffee, and draftfcb. He is also a travelling lecturer and has spoken at Ted X Weldquay. Boey currently has a weekly comic published in The Edge.
Projects
Graphic novel and webcomic In 2007, Boey began a daily webcomic about the experiences of his day. He currently posts six days a week. Boey's book, When I Was A Kid, is meant to be a prequel to the blog of his adult life. In May 2012, When I Was A Kid became a local non-fiction best-seller in Malaysia. He is currently focusing on distribution in Asia, but his book is available internationally through the Blurb website. Boey published his second book, When I Was A Kid 2, in July 2013, and it was a success.
Coffee cup art Boey began illustrating on polystyrene foam cups in Southern California; first because he had no paper, and then out of appreciation for the results. by Connie Norman, February 2011. Artist A Day selected Boey for Best Illustrator in 2011.Artist A Day, top rated artist in Newport BeachArtist A Day He has said he is inspired by artists such as Hokusai, Kieth Haring, Moebius, Lat, and Doraemon. Many of his pieces are also inspired by his travels and personal experiences. Today, his works are featured in galleries in the US and Asia.Styrofoam & Fine Art interview by Carolyn Edlund, Artsy Shark, February 2010.
Start with Sharpie Campaign
In 2011, Sharpie took notice of Boey's cup art and featured him in their Start With Sharpie advertising campaign. Director Shal Ngo's Sharpie commercial, Sharpie: Coffee Cups to Canvas, featuring Boey and his cup art, was a recipient of the 2012 TED Ads Worth Spreading award.TED Ads Worth SpreadingTED Start with SharpieThe Institute Ad of the Day: Sharpie celebrates magic-marker artists like cup-doodler Cheeming Boey by Tim Nudd.Capitalism Gone Right, vol 14: Styrofoam Cup Art For Sharpie, March 2012.The Lucrative Styrofoam Cup Cartoons of Cheeming Boey by Andy Khouri, Comics Alliance, September 2011
Listing of selected work
Publications I Am Boey (webcomic blog, weekly comic through The Edge (Malaysia)) When I Was A Kid (webcomic, book series) How Was Your Day Gallery Presence Coffee Cup Art Video games World of Warcraft Lair Diablo II Diablo III
Awards 1999 — Indies Film Award, Best Animated Short for "Olive" 2001 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Interactive Achievement Award, Game of the Year for Diablo II 2012 — TED Ads Worth Spreading Award, Start With Sharpie 2013 — Popular Books Malaysia, Readers' Choice Award 2013 — New Man Magazine, Young Entrepreneurs nominee 2013 — BMW and Men's Uno Malaysia, Men of Substance Award: Most Influential Artist of 2013 2015 — Popular Books Malaysia, Readers' Choice
References
External links I Am Boey Behance Gallery Cheeming Boey on Tumblr