How did begin your career in art? 

Growing up in my family, and in my school, drawing was mostly prohibited unless you were in an art class; I had to secretly draw on tiny piece of paper under my math books to let my artistic urges out. When I was outside, or in a situation that I couldn’t draw, I was very eager to get back to my desk and draw. Back then, it was mostly circles and sticks that combine to something that looked like faces, but I wasn’t thinking about being good at it yet. When I went to middle school and my parents and I started talking about my future college, I decided to be a professional artist. I took art classes in high school and I was trained in a very academic art style of pencil drawing and water color painting. Later in college, I took animation courses to explore my artistic interests in motion picture.

What is your favorite subject to draw?

I like drawing children. They always show very honest emotions which is very interesting to draw. Also they are so round and small, so when I usually draw children, I start with one big ball with one slightly smaller ball on top of it, and then add a lot of detailed circles for eyes, noses, and cheeks.

Besides computer-based illustration, what other mediums do you like to use?

Oil painting is my favorite. I can’t wait to move out from my tiny apartment so that I will have more space for oil painting.

What is your favorite WonderHill item you’ve created to date?

The Easter Bunny. I had so much fun animating it.

What is your favorite type of item to create for our WonderHill games?

I really like them all. Some days I like to do fountains and waterfalls, other days I like drawing animals and plants. I am beginning to get more comfortable painting backgrounds as well.

What are you inspired by? 

Seeing other artists’ works. They make me so humble (and jealous….) We already have so many amazing artists in WonderHill, I feel so lucky I don’t have to look too far to get inspired.

If you were a tree what kind of tree would you be?

I think I would be a pine tree. They seem to find very cool place to stay.

Fairy Rescue is one of WonderHill’s Casual Games on Facebook.  It’s an explosive color matching game. The goal is to destroy all of the orbs, ultimately to rescue Felicity Fairy from the Tobias Troll’s trap!

Take a look at the vibrant game screen:

Early Sketches of Fairies:

Keep an all time high score by winning games and leveling up, or participate in weekly ‘High Score Tournaments’ with your friends. There’s a quick tutorial to teach you how to play. Try your skills at Fairy Rescue on Facebook today!

Play Fairy Rescue

In our gardening application on MySpace, Green Spot, users were challenged to make an ‘Animal Garden’. We left it open to interpretation, to use animals from the store or create their very own. There were some VERY creative entries that were so much fun to see! Take a look at the winning gardens:

Play Green Spot

Our WonderHill artists find inspiration everywhere- even from people in our office! Several animals were created to resemble them. One artist, Jake, created Evan Ponguin- a character for Green Spot, inspired by our own Evan. Let’s get to know the real Evan:

Would you say you are pengiun-like? How so?

Yes. I have black hair and a white belly. I waddle when I walk. And sometimes I eat raw fish.

In your opinion, what is the coolest thing about penguins?

The way they slide on their bellies into the sea all the time; it’s like living at Raging Waters.

How does it feel to be made into a virtual character?

Totally awesome. I’m extremely narcissistic, so it went straight to my head.  I dressed up as Evan Ponguin for Halloween, and bragged about it to all my friends. I currently use a draft of the Evan Ponguin character as my IM chat icon.

If you were an animal, what would you be? (Besides a penguin, of course) Why?

A kangaroo, so I could jump around all over place.  Plus, they just look kind of funny and cool. My other choice would be a killer whale, because no one messes with a killer whale.

What is your official position at WonderHill?

I’m the Director of Engineering.

If you were could have lunch with anyone famous, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?

Leonardo da Vinci.  I’d spend the whole lunch trying to convince him he should paint or draw me. I’d probably also ask him what’s up with the Mona Lisa smile, since apparently I am always smiling (see the last question).

 If you had to describe yourself in ONE word, what would that be? 

Lazy.

Why do you always talk with a slight smile on your face?

I’m trying to show off my fake tooth.  Maybe I should cap it in gold to really make people notice.

In the midst of our ‘Office Beautification’ we got a beautiful WonderHill sign made. It is 5 foot long and 3D.

We submitted our logo as a jpg, and the craftsmen used CAM software to mill the 3D aspects of this sign. The letters are recessed, the middle layer is walnut veneer, and the top layer has 3D ‘vines’.

The layers were sanded, painted gold, or for the veneer, oiled, then glued together.

Et, voila! It is hanging proudly in our office.

Here’s the fabulous company that made this masterpiece: http://www.becausewecan.org

Play Egg Scrambler in Furry Farm

Play our newest mini-game on Furry Farm! Buy a Chicken Coop in the store, it doubles as a game and decoration for your farm. Clicking on the Coop will bring you inside of it, into a fast-paced egg catching game!

As we need hens to lay eggs for the game, you need to have at least 5 adult Female Leghorn Chickens to play before the game is unlocked. You can use our minigames to earn a lot of coin, as your points will be converted to coins.

Catch eggs, win coins, and have fun! Challenge yourself up to 3 times a day!

 Play Furry Farm

How old were you when you discovered your artistic talent?

I was just a wee lass when I discovered my passion for drawing. My dad, who is a biology professor, would bring huge stacks of test papers home for me draw on, and I would spend hours each day making my own characters, stories, and worlds on the blank sides of these papers. My mother, who loved to paint scenes of her village in Malaysia, also encouraged me to pursue my passion.

What’s your favorite color and why?

I love blue. I find it to be the most thoughtful and calm color. It’s a nice break from the rest of the crazy colors!

If you were a tree what kind of tree would you be?

I would be a baobab tree.

What is your favorite subject to draw?

Animals and children.

Besides computer-based imagery, what other mediums do you like to use?

Oil, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, paper cutouts, ink and colored pencils

What is your favorite WonderHill item you’ve created to date?

Hobart Goblin

What is your favorite type of item to create for our WonderHill games?

Animals. I’m a huge animal lover!

Although we had some egg-cellent contenders, there were only 3 top spots in Green Spot’s Easter Contest. Check out the winning Easter-themed gardens:

Our gardening application on MySpace, Green Spot, holds a monthly contest open to all who want to join. 

Play Green Spot

Our gardening application on MySpace, Green Spot, holds a monthly contest open to all who want to join. Our latest contest was to create the best St. Patrick’s Day themed garden. Our users are wildly creative and the latest contest was a huge success. Take a look at the winning gardens:

Play Green Spot

How did you discover your artistic talent?

When I was a kid I was terribly uncoordinated and didn’t do well at sports, dance, or other common activities at my school. In fact, I was so ungraceful my ballet teacher stopped the music in the middle of a class to encourage me to pursue something else. I always liked to draw and was pretty good at it so that sort of made up for the other things I couldn’t do. I explored several different mediums and when I was an undergraduate I started learning computer animation software. I really enjoy working in groups and collaborating, and during that time I found that animation was a perfect place to do that.

What is your favorite subject to draw?

Kids on a playground. They’re so expressive and dynamic which helps give a lot of energy to a drawing.

Besides computer-based imagery, what other mediums do you like to use?

My weapon of choice is the 2B pencil, but when I need to really focus I’ll go for Col-erase pencils because they’re more controlled. Sometimes i’ll use ink washes on a sketch, and when I’m feeling very ambitions I’ll bring out my acrylic paints.

What is your favorite WonderHill item you’ve created to date?

Shasta the Sheepdog and Samothet Camel. Also the hoppity bird on a branch.

What is your favorite type of item to create for our WonderHill games?

I love working on the quirkier animals with funny personalities.

What do you enjoy most about working in this medium (of computer animation/ online/ on screen)?

The versatility. You can combine several techniques to create an item and aren’t constricted to one method.