The South Korean illustrator Rudcef makes comic book-like works that range from celebrity portraits to dark ruminations on identity and mortality. He turned to art after the death of a family member while studying statistics, and has said he draws for “compathy”, sharing his feelings through art to fill an absence of communication in his life. His subjects have included A$AP Rocky, Lana Del Rey and Kendall Jenner.
After the loss, he has said he spent a year drawing before entering the PUMA T-shirt graphic design competition, and winning its Grand Prize became his opening to paint professionally. He has since made illustration and cover art for clients including Nike, Adidas Originals and Samsung, as well as A$AP Rocky and Sony Pictures. In 2024 he illustrated a variant cover for Dark Horse Comics' Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown #1.
