Boey

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Boey, whose full name is Cheeming Boey, is a Malaysian artist born on 12 April 1978. He is best known for his foam cup illustrations, his daily webcomic I Am Boey, and his graphic novel When I Was A Kid.

Boey was born in Singapore and grew up on a songbird farm in Malaysia. He studied advertising at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, later switching to Computer Animation. After graduating, he taught in AAU’s Computer Animation department. He then worked in the games industry as a lead animator for Blizzard Entertainment on Diablo II and Diablo III, with a brief stint at Factor 5 on Lair. Today he works as a full-time writer and freelance designer for clients like Mattel, Disney, 7-Eleven, Esquire, Vittoria Coffee, and draftfcb. He also travels as a lecturer and has a weekly comic published in The Edge (Malaysia).

Projects

Graphic novel and webcomic: Boey started a daily webcomic in 2007 and posts six days a week. His graphic novel When I Was A Kid became a local non-fiction bestseller in Malaysia in May 2012 and is distributed across Asia, with international availability via Blurb. A sequel, When I Was A Kid 2, followed in 2013.

Coffee cup art: He began drawing on polystyrene foam cups in Southern California, first out of necessity and then out of appreciation for the result. In 2011 Artist A Day named him Best Illustrator. His work is influenced by artists like Hokusai, Keith Haring, Moebius, Lat, and Doraemon, and his pieces are shown in galleries in the US and Asia.

Start with Sharpie Campaign: In 2011 Sharpie featured Boey in its Start With Sharpie campaign. The Sharpie commercial, Coffee Cups to Canvas, won a TED Ads Worth Spreading award in 2012.

Selected works

Publications: I Am Boey (webcomic blog), When I Was A Kid (graphic novel/book series), How Was Your Day.

Gallery presence: Coffee Cup Art.

Video games he’s connected with: 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

Background
Boey is of Malaysian nationality with Chinese heritage. He remains active as an artist and storyteller, sharing his work across Asia and beyond.