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World Building

The Art of Monolith

The One Who Knocks (2013)

This illustration was created a few months before the Breaking Bad series finale. Like many fans, I was captivated by Vince Gilligan’s storytelling and wanted to imagine how it might all end. The idea of Walter White being caught felt like a fitting close to his descent toward madness, boomeranging back toward redemption. This piece explores that possibility—not just as punishment, but as the inevitable result of the choices he made. It remains one of my more personal works—a reflection of the tension, anticipation, and admiration I had for a story that redefined television.

Piccolo: The Namekian (2013)

This piece began in 2013 as a personal tribute to one of my favorite characters in anime history—Piccolo. My goal wasn’t just to recreate him, but to reimagine him: What does Piccolo really look like? How would his alien physiology translate into realism? What texture does his skin carry under the weight of countless battles? What lives behind that stare—so focused, so measured?

Dragon Ball had a profound impact on my life. Akira Toriyama’s work—his art, his storytelling, his worldbuilding—played a major role in shaping my path as a graphic artist. This piece reflects that influence. Though slightly unfinished, it was meant to be the first in a full series depicting the Z Warriors in a grounded, realistic style. With today's AI tools, that vision might now be easier to complete—but this rendering started as a horrible scribbling on paper, ultimately evolving over time. A product of perseverance, study, and admiration.

New Worlds (2018)

This piece captures a lone explorer on the edge of an alien world—somewhere in a distant galaxy. He stands in a vast, Mars-like desert beneath the fading light of a setting sun. In the sky’s periphery looms a massive, ringed planet—like Saturn, but far more brilliant, its rings glowing against the deepening horizon.

In his hand, the explorer holds a strange, luminous object—his first encounter with the unknown.

Human exploration has always fascinated me. As artists, we may never set foot on another world—but through our work, we reach for that experience. This illustration is a glimpse of that longing: to discover, to witness, and to wonder.

“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.”
― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale

David (2016)

This painting is a tribute to the many incarnations of David Choe—his raw stories, creative chaos, and fearless self-expression. Depicted here are fragments of those identities: the painter, the musician, the addict, the muse.

As a fan of David’s work, this piece is rooted in deep appreciation. During a time when my artistic direction felt uncertain, his voice—especially through the raw honesty of DVDASA—cut through the fog. That podcast, that era, and that crew were a creative lifeline for me. It was the kind of chaos that wakes something up in you.

This painting is a thank you for the spark I needed.

" ...Be Scared. Learn what it's like to be scared. Struggle. Fight. You're a Fucking Artist. What are you saving it for?"

-David Choe

Oculus (2014)

This piece is a surreal, exaggerated depiction of the human iris—vivid, luminous, and alive with color. It’s a tribute to the vessel through which we experience art, emotion, and the world itself.

The eye is more than just an organ of sight—it’s a symbol of perception, vulnerability, and connection. We use it to take in beauty, to witness others, and to be witnessed in return.

This illustration is a reminder: the ability to see, to truly observe, is a gift—and it must be protected at all costs.

This piece began in 2013 and took nearly four months to bring to its initial form—though due to its scale, it continues to receive spontaneous touchups. The focus was on capturing the human anatomy with extreme precision, particularly the intricate muscle structure of the dilator pupillae. Every fold and fiber was treated as its own world, emphasizing the complexity within the eye that so often goes unseen.

Synthiant (2019)

This piece explores the form of a male android—part character study, part visual experiment in anatomy and identity. His left side is damaged, exposing the raw internal workings beneath synthetic skin. No 3D elements were used—this is a purely hand-rendered approach, layered and built by eye, emphasizing the tactile nature of the process.

The design leans into cyberpunk aesthetics, but its deeper focus is the transition we’re witnessing in real time: the slow shift from human to machine. As technology continues to blur the lines between biology and circuitry, this illustration poses a quiet question—what remains when the human form is modified, restructured, and ultimately redefined?

It’s not just a look at the future. It’s a reflection of the present.

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