Department Store Illustration Interviews Member Printmaking Publication Risograph Solo artist

POP Meets | Kelly Belter

posted by Si Cunningham August 21, 2020

Our new series meets the people behind some of the industry’s most inspiring work. This week, Seoul-based illustrator Kelly Belter gives sound advice for budding ‘zine printers, and tells us about her adventures in drawing.

As a kid, I loved writing and illustrating my own stories and books.
Drawing was a natural joy for me, but I felt like the practical thing to do was to keep art…design as a hobby and pursue something more serious. It was only when doing my MA that I began getting seriously back into art and design. I happened to get a part-time job offer as an illustrator for a small company in Seoul while I was still in school, and then things picked up from there.

My first taste of professional success was in Tokyo.
It was to illustrate a series of interviews for my job at the time. It was my first international trip as an illustrator, and I felt like it wasn’t a pipe dream to pursue illustration from there on out. But honestly, it’s a bit hard to say [how this experience shaped the rest of my career], because the goal posts are always moving. These days, I’m trying to just enjoy the journey of it all.

I’m definitely inspired by living in Seoul.
The streets here are so full of things and people that it’s easy to catch a glimpse of something to work into an illustration later. I’m also increasingly inspired by 60s and 70s illustration, art and type. Of course, printing also highly influences the style of my work, and because of it I definitely favour bolder lines, blocks of bright color, and defined textures. I’ve found artists who work with both print and story inspire me most. Some current influences and favourites are Icinori, Never Brush My Teeth/Sleep On It Press, and Natalie Andrewson…

I’ve been lucky to be a member of a local studio – Miniprint Seoul.
It’s where I learned to screen print, and is owned by two amazing fellow-artists. Being an illustrator in Seoul is freeing. I’ve found other artists very open to collaborate and meet, and I’ve been lucky to meet a lot of lovely and talented friends out here. There are a few groups that regularly organise events, host exhibitions and actively support artists as well, like Crazy Multiply.

Character design has been new territory for me.
I recently did some character design for a menswear brand called ‘Beslow,’ here in Seoul. It wasn’t an area I had developed much outside my own personal work. But nailing down the concept and coming up with a final, living character alongside the brand was a really exciting process.

My approach to printing is separated into two steps: first visualise, then execute.
I like to digitally illustrate and sort everything out beforehand: my layers, colours, the way I want the end result to look and feel. All that tough stuff gets sorted before printing. Then, the print process becomes easy because it’s more about doing than thinking. All I have to do is execute the steps and make that vision come to life. However, recently, I’ve been wanting to throw some more hand drawn textures in the mix. And I’ve been experimenting with being more spontaneous, like using gouache underneath screen printed key layers, to find new methods I like.

Hanji is traditional Korean paper, made from mulberry bark.
I love it because I feel like it ties me to my current home, my ancestry, and I love how the paper absorbs ink. There are all different kinds of hanji, with some made for art and painting, and others being for decorative or other purposes.

My Riso setup came about because I was itching to print more books and zines.
I also wanted to be able to experiment with the machine without any limits. I found that if I wanted to print through a studio I, one, had less control and, two, didn’t feel as free to print experimentally or to make small, random projects. It seemed like the best bet was putting my money into my printer and giving myself the freedom to print as much as I wanted. To me, that means more output and more interesting work.

Nest is a collection of strange and wonderful tidbits of information I had picked up over the last few months before printing.
Personally, I’m always looking for little bits of oddity in daily life, and I love magical realism. So, I wanted to create a zine that highlighted hidden bits of fact and myth that are ‘nested’ inside our everyday, average-seeming world – for example, odd facts about nature, psychology, history…

Zines are a great way to get over perfectionism.
They can be short, sweet, and produced in a myriad of ways. Starting off with a general theme or concept can be a helpful way to start, and from there just see in what direction it takes you. It can be helpful to go into it without expectations. I say, use them to explore your own interests and obsessions!

As told to Si Cunningham