Stan: This is Kim Jung Gi. You’ve probably heard of him. He does these amazingly accurate drawings
from his memory, without any construction lines. Everybody is amazed by his memory. Even me. Especially me. My memory is embarrassing. My name is Stan Prokopenko, in this episode
of Proko I’m going to try to figure out why Kim Jung Gi is so good. What makes him one of the best draftsmen in
the world? If you like this video, please subscribe. In this video we use a voice actor to translate
Kim Jung Gi. He’s from South Korea and doesn’t speak English. KJG: I don't think it's gonna go well today! Stan: Oh, and if you’re sensitive to nudity and
sexual drawings, proceed with caution. I drove up to LA when I heard he’s performing. Maybe some of his skill will rub off on me. He does events like this frequently. He travels half the year. The other half he spends with his family. He said he tries not to draw too much when
he’s home. I don’t believe him. He’s always drawing. He draws on paper that’s way too big for
most people to fill in an afternoon. Not for him. He’s the master. And I said that he's performing. It pretty much is a performance at this point. He’s there to entertain. Half the time, he’s cracking jokes. KJG: I just made 3 mistakes. Just now! Stan: People sit and watch him for 3 hours,
completely mesmerized by the magic. Some people ask questions. Many are about his ability to visualize the
drawing before he begins. Audience: When did you realize you had a good
memory? Stan: Everyone wants to figure out how they can
get this good. How can I draw anything from imagination? How can I get such a giant visual library
in my brain? Tell us the secret Kim Jung Gi! I couldn’t help myself. I asked about it too… Do you think you were born with a better memory
than most people? KJG: I’d say that I’m able to remember
and recall images for a much longer period of time than most people. But I also drew so much. I probably drew way more than people think
I have. I never cared for academics, so while I was
attending school I would be drawing from the first period to the very last. Stan: Most people assume he has a photographic
memory. But when I asked him about it, he said he
doesn’t. Of course some part of it is a talent he was
born with, but we can’t overlook how much that talent was developed. Are you tired of everybody asking you about
your amazing memory? KJG: Yes, I wish they’d stop asking me about
that. Or about my brush pen. If they ask me one more time, I’m going
to refuse to do a live drawing session. Audience: What kind of pen do you use? Stan: Maybe we can find the secret in his
childhood… So what do you think are the main parts of your childhood that made you become such a great artist? KJG: I’ve always liked drawing, even from
a young age. I’m not sure why, since there was no one
else in the family that shared that interest. But as for me, I’d draw on any blank piece
of paper I could get my hands on. I was already more visually advanced than
my peers in kindergarten, drawing three-dimensional objects when they were drawing in 2D. And when people around me noticed my skills,
I’d get compliments and affirmations, which probably motivated me to pursue the arts even
more. I started drawing things that interested me. As I grew I started being able to draw a lot of different things. It’s definitely the support from my friends
and the people around me that made me want to try harder to improve. And, ever since I was little, I had a specific
dream. I only had one dream. So I never thought I had any other option
but to become an artist. My school life can be summarized in two activities:
kicking a ball around and drawing. Yeah, I was horrible academically. I used to get scolded quite often. And because I was the eldest son, they weren’t
so keen on me pursuing the arts. So although all my school reports said “artistically
talented, would be good to encourage him to pursue that field,” my parents never let
me take any art classes. It wasn’t until high school that they allowed
me to, probably because they feared that I wouldn’t get into any colleges at that rate. They preferred that I go to a college of fine
arts than no college at all. They actually regret that they didn’t give
me an art education earlier. But aside from that, they were very supportive
and great parents. After high school-- I mean, even before high
school they supported me in my studies, although I had no interest in academics, buying fruits
for me and sending me to private tutors, and so on. In a lot of Asian cultures, there are bigger
expectations for the eldest child, and they had big dreams for me. It’s just that I didn’t follow them. Stan: Kim Jung Gi doesn’t seem like the
type of guy that would follow someone else’s dreams. He does what he wants. He says what he wants. He draws what he wants. What do your siblings do? KJG: Uh. One, my little brother, works for a pharmaceutical company, and my little sister is married and is an ordinary housewife. Stan: Are they happy? KJG: I think I’m the happiest. Stan: So what do you think about political correctness? KJG: I’m not a fan. I do try to be presentable, but I’m horrible
at packaging myself up as something I’m not. Stan: Are there any drawings you’ve done
that are so offensive that you had to cut them from your books? KJG: Yes, actually. I’ve been told that my drawings are misogynistic,
and I’ve had people ask me why I draw genitalia. Well, I draw them because they’re there. And when I was younger, I found erotic content
very fun and interesting. Not to say that they don’t interest me anymore. I still have a lot of naughty thoughts inside
me. I just have more people around me that keep
me under control. My managers, my co-representative Kim Hyun
Jin, my disciples, and such. They tell me, “stop drawing stuff like that!” I used to draw whatever I wanted back when
I wasn’t famous, almost like thought vomiting. But since I now have a reputation to keep,
I have limitations. That makes me a little sad. Stan: That makes me a little sad too. The guy wants to draw genitalia. Let him draw genitalia. They’re his drawings. It’s his art. His expression. He kinda had his last hoorah in 2015 with
the release of “Omphalos”, a collection of the naughtiest of his naughty works. What does your wife think of it? KJG: She asks me, “how old do you think
you are, to have so much naughty energy? Just think about it, you’re the father of
two children!” Stan: Do your kids see those drawings? KJG: Yes, I don’t really hide my drawings
from my kids. When they want something to draw on I give
them my sketchbook, and sometimes it has erotic drawings in it. They seem fine, to me at least. My son just says, “dad, you’re a pervert.” Kim Jung Gi isn’t the type of guy that does
what others want him to do, but he had no choice when it came to the military. In Korea, every man has to serve 2 years. Yet even in the military, he would find clever
ways to avoid doing some things. Before I joined the military I heard that
people, mostly those of a higher rank than you, would ask you to draw all sorts of drawings
if they knew that you were an art student, like their girlfriends or their families. So I pretended to draw badly on purpose, and
they didn’t really ask me too many favors. I really disliked these types of commissioned
works. I don’t even draw my own family, so why
should I have to draw someone else’s? There was another art student that joined
a few months after me who ended up shouldering a whole lot of this burden, and when he later
found out that I was actually very good at drawing, he got a little annoyed. Stan: The first year is so intense, he says he couldn’t
draw at all until he became a corporal, about a year and a couple months in. KJG: I would draw in my head a lot. For example, when I was inside a military
aircraft waiting to parachute down, I would observe the internal structure of the aircraft
and draw it in my mind. Of course, it was a little scary, but my interests
overrode any fear. I would keenly observe the gears and the guns,
and try to touch and feel them if I could. Stan: It seems like there’s 2 major things
he does that makes him, him. He’s always observing. He’s always focusing on how things look,
and saving that into his visual library. Audience: What traits do you have that make
you a great artist? KJG: Uh, first of all... Observation skill? Stan: See... Told ya. KJG: In Korea, there’s a public bath house. So let’s say, if I want to draw humans,
then it’s an easy access. Instead of drawing in a sketchbook, I would
just sit there inside of a hot tub and I’ll just watch how people scrub their back. Yeah, then it would just be a study. People used to look at me in the public bathhouses
like, “what are you doing here?” Stan: When you learn how to draw a human,
or you understand the mechanics of the human body, it’s easier to learn how to draw animals. There’s a lot of similarities between the
anatomy. After you learn how to draw a lion, drawing
a tiger becomes easier. It’s just a matter of studying them enough
to figure out the differences. KJG: So once you start to understand the content,
you can manipulate them or you can change them however you want, and even merge them
with mechanical elements, or human to an animal. It's really just… it’s an application. And that’s how you can be more free while
you draw. To deliver your ideas. Stan: He said he drew this helmet based on
a helmet he saw at an exhibition in New York. The aviator goggles are from the Air & Space
Museum in San Diego. But he’s not drawing the exact helmet and
goggles he saw. He’s adjusting them and combining them with
the other helmets and goggles he’s seen in his life. KJG: How I work is not to deliver 1-to-1 accurate
photo image to you guys, it’s more about using visual communication to make you believe
what you see is correct. Stan: The other thing, the second thing that
makes him, him, is of course, he draws a lot. He reinforces things in his visual library
by drawing them. KJG: I think the foundation is drawing a lot. And as for myself, I alternated between drawing
whatever I wanted and studying basic concepts. When I get stuck in my drawings, then I would
go and flip through some books or observe the world around me. And when I figure out the answer, then I’d
go draw some more, and repeat. The fans on the facebook live streams are
telling him he needs to rest. This is nothing guys. I mean I did this when I was in kindergarten,
this is nothing guys, cmon. Stan: In Korea there’s an arena for the
League of Legends video game. He was commissioned to do a drawing 3 meters
tall by 8 meters wide. That’s 10 feet by 26 feet! He said he drew for 2 weeks straight with
breaks to sleep and eat. Probably to use the bathroom too, although
he didn’t say. Maybe he never takes bathroom breaks. Maybe that’s his secret. Lim Hur: I told him he can take a break, it’s
been an hour, and he says “no, I have to finish this.” KJG: Guys, don’t move, okay? No bathroom break! Stan: Do you enjoy the process
more, or the final result? KJG: I enjoy the process more. First of all, nowadays I draw like it’s
a habit. I sit down, and I draw. So it’s as natural for me as breathing. I’m not even thinking about what I’m drawing
most of the time. If I can’t think of anything to draw, I
just draw a person first and keep adding to it. See, I still find drawing fun. And I hope that I don’t lose that sense
of joy for a long time. Stan: He said that in 10 years, he doesn’t
want to travel so much. KJG: I hope to be a little more relaxed and
composed. I don’t want to draw so much for the purpose
of showing other people, but rather for my own sake. And I hope that I still have the joy for drawing
that I have now. Stan: When he’s not drawing for the show,
he’s in the back, drawing in books that people bought. Everybody that comes buys a book. So he does 30+ drawings that day. And that’s in addition to the 1 big one
he spent 3 hours on. It really is like breathing to him. He even draws during our interview. He says that when he travels he’s always
drawing to discourage people from asking him questions. I don’t believe him. I think he looks for any excuse he can get
to draw. Drawing is breathing. As long as he’s breathing, he’s happy. He’s happy because he follows his gut, he
does what he wants. He’s happy because he gets to do what he
loves, all day. Lim Hur: Thank you everyone for watching the
last 3 hours! Stan: This is Kim Jung Gi. You’ve probably heard of him. He draws a lot. Everybody should be amazed by how much he
draws. Even me. Especially me. I should draw more. KJG: Bye bye! Thank you!
This was amazing. Thank you.
Typical art improvement video that can be summed up into "draw a lot, and observe carefully". Just see him as a source of inspiration, this is a guy who loves drawing. "Deliberate practice" is another good one.
Maybe Kim Jung Gi studied the drawabox website and Andrew Loomis as well. Since the best resources available to artists are apparently 70 year old books and a website ran by someone who took a Peter Han class once 5-10 years ago. Then he watched a proko video on Bridgeman and suddenly became an expert like a lot of people on the internet. "oh you need to learn anatomy before you tackle bridgeman because once I heard Jeff Watts say that on a livestream I think"