This artist channeled his heartbreak into striking character designs

Daniel Chang is a Korean-American character designer, prop and FX designer and illustrator. He graduated from College for Creative Studies with a degree in entertainment arts and has since worked for the likes of Nickelodeon, Netflix and HarperCollins Publishers.

In his personal work, Daniel says he draws many artistic inspirations from his childhood experiences, cultural backgrounds, or simple everyday observations, usually working in Photoshop and Procreate (see our guides to digital art software and the best drawing tablets).

Below, Daniel shares four examples of his art. For more inspiration, see our collection of features on digital artists.

01. Doom Core

“At this time, I was going through heartbreak and other personal obstacles, and I wanted to create a piece that could capture the state of my emotions and frustrations.”

Mail Boy

“A fun design inspired by the US Postal Service. I wanted to show the future of the postal service while keeping it grounded in modern simplicity.”

Quietly Blooming

“This was part of a mini illustration series where I was experimenting with rendering and vibrancy by using only black backgrounds. I was deeply into bubbles, for some reason.”

The oracle

“Slightly borrowed from The Little Mermaid story. I wanted to portray the character as more empowering and triumphant with a delicate and expressive shape design.”

You can see more of Daniel's work on the his website.

For more inspiration, see our feature on what is concept art? and our character design tips.

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.