KUCHING: For the uninitiated, 3D murals are artworks that create the illusion of depth and dimension on a flat surface yet these are not something that we can see much anywhere here.
To become a 3D muralist, one must possess artistic talent, spatial perception, and knowledge of painting techniques to produce visually stunning artwork that plays with depth and optical illusions.
For Aries Kong, also known as JAGUNG, he has poured his time and passion to be a full-time 3D muralist since 2015.
He shared that his passion was inspired by an artist based in Penang, Ernest Zacharevic.
“When I saw his artwork ‘Children on Bicycle’, it sparked my interest to be like him. I like painting and drawing so I thought ‘why don’t I try it?’.
“From there on, I am addicted to creating pieces of 3D artworks for almost eight years now. I remember that my first piece was more to zentangle style.
“Being new in the industry, at that time, I tried to go for a safe way which is black and white. I used a marker pen then as for someone who has no experience, colouring was something difficult for me,” he said.
He said this when met by the New Sarawak Tribune at World of Manga event at Aeroville Mall here yesterday.
Adding on, Kong said that his art style now is more to photorealism in which he specialises by using spray paints instead of brushes.
“My piece is more of an optical illusion. When you sit from a specific angle, my piece creates an immersive and lifelike experience for the viewer.”
Meanwhile, when asked about the cost of one 3D mural piece, he said that he charges around RM30 to RM130 per square feet.
“For one piece, the duration of making it varies as it depends on the difficulty and the scale of the wall.
“Most of the murals that I made took between five to seven days to complete with the help of my team,” he said.
Touching on the event here, he shared that the murals that he made here are the fruit of his collaboration with Artistic, Gaming, and Entertainment (AGE).
“Because they are mostly focusing on anime, cartoons, and comics, I drew a lot of murals such as Genshin Impact, Naruto, Pokemon, Hulk, and others.
“Here, visitors can come view my artworks and capture pictures from the marked point to get the optical illusion from the piece that I created,” he said.
In light of this, Kong stated that as a travelling artist, it is his hope that more of such events that highlight artistic arts be organised.
“For artists such as me, art events like this are hard to come by. Therefore, I hope that the Sarawak government or private organisations can help us by organising such an event or sponsor us to do so,” he said.
