Kim Jung Gi has died

Update post title to be more descriptive for those who may not know:

Kim Jung Gi, acclaimed comic book artist, has died

I often come back to this video of Kim's process, which is a delight, and now only adds weight to the loss:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmqFbgKWoao

“When I decide what to draw, I think about what. And then I create another me in my mind. Another me, a.k.a. mini-me, will be travelling through the space of what I want to draw. … Now, I send a bunch of my mini-mes all over the space to find the best suited location for me to draw. Which perspective should I use? Where is the coolest angle or composition with the most impact?”

It reminds me of Nikola Tesla, "Before I put a sketch on paper, the whole idea is worked out mentally. In my mind I change the construction, make improvements, and even operate the device. Without ever having drawn a sketch I can give the measurements of all parts to workmen, and when completed all these parts will fit, just as certainly as though I had made the actual drawings. It is immaterial to me whether I run my machine in my mind or test it in my shop."

Huh. This is the first time I read this quote, but it resonates so well. Does anyone else program this way? I usually sit for a while thinking about the problem, write the program mentally, try out edge cases, sometimes rework the program a few times, then once I feel it's correct I type out all the code, with that phase taking much less time than the "mental work". I'd estimate my usual process is about 90% thought, 10% typing. Anecdotally, from some teams I've worked in, people often find this process quite strange.

I'm the complete opposite. I'll think about the issue a little, but I'll just hack on it until it looks (and performs) right. Lots and lots of trial and error.

I draw the same way. My sketches are tons and tons of lines in the wrong places that somehow end up looking right, because the majority of the lines are near to or in the right places.

This is how I often program as well. I’ve realized that when you do this it’s crucial to have lots of tests to validate the program’s behavior, because it can easily look right and mostly run right without actually being correct.

Though this only works for the implementation side of things in my experience; you still need a good mental model of roughly what you’re aiming for architecturally, I think.

I have coded with a lot of people like this, and I think it is absolutely a fine way to approach things, and can even be good, but one piece of advice I always tell them:

The job has only started when it is working. That doesn't mean you're done! :)

I find this the most effective way to do things as well, although at times I lack energy to do it properly, and end up banging away on the keyboard before I’ve properly thought things through (spending more net energy than if I’d done it properly, by the time I’m done).

Reminds me of Rich Hickey’s Hammock Driven Development https://github.com/matthiasn/talk-transcripts/blob/master/Hi...

Well, its a comfy way to make water tight state machines? Is that the question?

The quote from Kim Jong Gi reminded me of the quote from Tesla (as well as other notes I've read) because it seems to indicate that they can visualize at extremely high detail and do this at very high speed... while also accurately retaining the information for use later.

Some writers work this way, mostly famously George Simenon, who was possibly the most prolific writer ever.

Corin Tellado's 4000 romance novels[1] would like a word. For reference, Simenon would be between Asimov and Stine on this list, I think.

[1] https://thebookslist.com/most-prolific-authors/

It isn't strange, but I've found that writing code as I'm thinking helps me think about the problem.

Also, the domain is so large in programming, it is impossible for me to contextualize the entire set of edge cases. From remembering what exceptions to handle to library interactions, types, etc.. returned from various methods, it is just not really possible to think about even a small system this way (as in a system with 4-5 methods that perform real logic beyond "format this"

But, yeah - definitely large picture before I start to code. "Huh, yeah that calls that... ok.." but once I need to solve a problem "oh, this queue needs to be maintained this way... I need to compare these values against these values, oh, I need a second queue... I need to take this lock... oh this returns this type, which needs to be serialized so I need to figure that out..." - all of that stuff needs to be hashed out in a combination of paper & code. No way I can hold that in my head.

I've read anecdotes about genius programmers who just sit around playing videogames or watching movies for a bit while they work out the details of complicated problems in their heads and then just finish up and start typing out the right solution in one shot.

I saw someone on Twitter say that this isn't drawing, it's sculpting with Ink. Insane that he's able to do this.

Holy crap, not a single line of sketchwork! Amazing.

Yeah it's unreal. And the result is so well-proportioned and 3-dimensional as well. I wonder how much of it was in his mind before he started, and how much was about figuring out what would fit along the way.

That guy has a really good sense of proportion.

what’s going with twitter’s mobile video player (on safari). literally no way to just watch the video without it being half obscured with the tweet it’s attached to

He died of heart issue based on some replies to that tweet?

Unfortunately your other reply got flagged but I was able to read it in time. I was thinking the same thing. Sudden chest pain suggests some manner of myocarditis/pericarditis. Makes you wonder for sure; these are troubling times and sad way to lose a genius.

My uncle died of heart attack at age 40...40years ago.

"Makes you wonder for sure"

What are we talking about here?

He did a live drawing session 3 days ago in Paris and apparently died flying out from Europe.

According to his Facebook:

> It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we inform you of the sudden passing of Kim Jung Gi. After finishing his last schedule in Europe, Jung Gi went to the airport to fly to New York, where he experienced chest pains and was taken to a nearby hospital for surgery, but sadly passed away. October 3, 2022 After having done so much for us, you can now put down your brushes. Thank you Jung Gi. October 5, 2022 Hun Jin Kim If you wish to send a note or a drawing to his family, please send it to [email protected]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid037QzdzNrwP...

A few years ago I decided I wanted to buy one of his limited prints with some extra money I was to earn. Then I pushed it off for a bit due to a few poor excuses, and eventually forgot about it.

And now his prints are of course ... out of print.

I'm not saying I need a numbered and signed limited print like The Tigers New Clothes [1] but it would be nice with maybe just a regularly, unsigned, unnumbered poster on my wall.

Are there any for sale?

[1] https://www.liberdistri.com/en/accueil/100--the-tiger-s-new-...

Can someone point to some of his famous works? Frankly it is the first time I’ve heard of him.

I think his drawings are great, though the big kicker is that he draws them without reference and without sketching or erasing.

He is almost like a human printer, drawing one character or object to completion before moving on to the next.

I particularly like his dragon hunter

jpeg: https://www.liberdistri.com/359-thickbox_default/dragon-hunt...

video: https://youtu.be/uNtmdB6N5Qo

He is all over YouTube and did exhibitions around the world -- I'd check out his drawing show videos.

But are the drawings any good? Feels weird to have to watch a video instead of seeing the finished art.

Presumably his finished work is for sale and display so naturally it's a bit less likely to see it up online in an easy viewing format. Check some of it out here though:

https://www.kimjunggi.net/

To answer the question though, yes wildly and objectively talented. Part of why you would want to watch a video is to see how he works, his competence is on full display more so than in the finished product perhaps.

The drawings are amazing, but the reason he is so well-known is his process, which you can only see in the videos.

I like some. Not all. I'm afraid I fail to get enthusiastic about knowing how they were done, sorry.

His process is impressive, no sketches or hesitation; he just "prints" whatever was in his mind. The scenes are incredibly detailed, with complex perspectives

If there was one thing that I thought all HN users had in common it was the appreciation for a tremendous intellectual gift and better yet, doing no evil with it. I guess you proved me wrong.

That is because the way he draws is part of fascination with his art. The speed of it, that he does not need guidelines for perspective, that he just goes from top of head.

If you are curious whether drawing is to your liking, you can just skip to the end of the video. Or, google his name and filter for images - the filter is in top bar.

I know several people that have died or almost died from Widowmaker heart attacks. Seeing a cardiologist and cardio in general is one of those things that a lot of men ignore because they feel healthy but it cannot be stressed enough, once you hit 30/40s, find a good cardiologist especially if you have a history of heart attacks in your family.

This is really sad, I used to see his drawings all the time on my Instagram and it was so sudden. He got me into drawing and really thinking about understanding perspective; I'm not good at drawing but man did it help my photography.

Absolute loss. I don't know if it was a heart attack or maybe a pulmonary embolism... he had covid before and I think the long flights might have been taking a toll.

Someday soon people will have to stop pretending at what's killing people with heart attacks. Unfortunately, a global censorship campaign as stopped the truth from coming out.

Stop with the conspiracy nonsense already. You are not the holder of "tHiNgS THEY DoN't WaNT U tO KnOW!!1~", as much as you'd like that to be the case.

It's not a conspiracy theory, it's in the data quite clearly now.

Kim is quite famous in the art world. I remember a livestream where people sent it challenging ideas of things to draw, and he just casually draws them, entirely from memory, no references or googling of any images. Died way too young.

Is it confirmed? I just recommended him to a friend yesterday. I can't believe it.

Yes his personal account posted the news in both English and Korean. His friends and the art community have been mourning and cancelling their combined appearances at light box (understandably)

Probably better served by the direct site:

https://www.kimjunggi.net/

Edit: ...which still does not contain this critical piece of news. I cannot avoid thinking of that of Martin Perscheid, which on 5 August 2021 had an update "Unfortunately I currently find myself incapacitated, and responding to your queries will take a while". And ended with the same formula of former posts: "Thank you for your attention".

This hit me hard. I just recently got his 2022 sketchbook and it really got me hooked. So sad to see such a talented artist pass so early

not having any art background I was captured by the mesmerizing technique he used to create instant universes, what a loss

I honestly don't know, what is wrong on question about his vaccination status? Multiple vaccine-related posts here are down-voted/deleted without simple answer.

Sudden death of someone who looked in perfect shape and was only 47 brings a lot of questions. If someone find it inappropriate... Are those question appropriate to ask during entrance to restaurant?

There is no reason questions seeking the truth should ever be censored/shunned. The truth is a lot of users here likely took it, and don't want to even consider the possibility of side effects. Its disappointing but easy to understand the human nature behind it.

Man that is heartbreaking, I hope his mind put on an absolute banger of a lightshow for his road out. RIP

What a tremendous loss for the world. RIP Mr. Kim :(

Heart attack at 47, and he looks reasonably fit too in that linked video from 2019 (age 44).

What to do with this information? I don't know. Maybe work on cardio, stop coffee?.

you cant talk about the potential causes in here.

Does he do any planning or prep behind the scenes. I can't tell if this is magic or well rehearse magic. Either way, incredible talent.

None. It's from his imagination to the paper.

Heart attack at just 47 years old. And not because of obesity. Maintaining his unbelieviable skill level must have been pretty stressful for him.

The biggest surprise to me is that he died of a heart attack in an airport, where presumably AEDs are in ready supply and people are everywhere so it'd be immediately noticed. I really thought the survival rate in such a circumstance, even for catastrophic heart attacks, was pretty good!

I was recently taught in first aid class that the survival rate of an out-of-hospital heart attack is about 10-12%. Heart attacks have a ton of causes, lifestyle is just one of those. Sometimes, things go very wrong without an apparent, explainable cause. Medicine hasn't yet figured out everything that might cause a heart attack.

Even with help on scene, people still die in hospital a few days later because of a mix of underlying causes.

CPR on scene doubles the chances of survival, but they aren't a guarantee someone will survive. The entire point of learning CPR is to maximize the number of people that don't have to die in the event of a heart attack, no matter how minute that fraction.

About 800k people suffer a heart attack in the U.S. yearly accordign to the CDC (this is both in-hospital as well as out-of-hospital).

That’s pretty scary having had one a few years ago I didn’t realise the risks of dying were so high. Is that for a specific case (e.g. heart stopped completely) or for all the stuff that gets lumped in there for example I was still walking around and so on despite the clot forming which probably has a more medical name but colloquially gets called the same thing.

For context when I had mine at 39 I was swimming so swam on for another thirty minutes at a reduced pace, got changed, walked home, lay down for a bit before getting my wife to drive me to the hospital. Ended up with a stent put in. Got lucky I guess from being reasonably fit as there was no visible damage to the heart on an ultrasound.

> I was recently taught in first aid class that the survival rate of an out-of-hospital heart attack is about 10-12%.

In my first aid course we were taught that the speed in which an AED is applied is the main contributing factor. Giving that most workplaces/homes/restaurants ...etc don't actually have an AED you would normally get one when the ambulance arrives.

Someone in the NHS had worked out the graph for distance from ambulance and % survival. He gave us all our % chance survival if our office didn't have and AED based upon the average rate from our work places and that we needed to wait for the ambulance. This was under the assumption that someone would start CPR almost straight after the arrest.

In our office this % without an AED was < 10% something insane like 6% chance survival. With an AED survival is much higher. He gave the figure of 95%+ survival rate for offices that had AED in them.

I brought this up in a company meeting with all staff there and the question was how much is an AED. I had already asked this and it was £750 for an older second hand one and £1100 for a brand new one.

Never bought the flipping AED.

So from what I made out my life was worth < £750 to the CEO.

Imagine if there was a meteor shield the company could buy for £250. If they didn't buy it, is your life worth less than £250 to them?

You have to divide the cost by the likelihood of a life being saved to find the proxy figure for what that's worth. If there's a 1% chance that an AED will save a life during its useful lifespan, that suggests that they're valuing the life at less than £110000 (assuming a company would be inclined to buy new and that there are no required inspections along the lifespan of the AED).

I think the actual likelihood that any individual AED located in a company's workplace will save a life is much less than 1%.

The individual likelihood is not <1%. It's probably more like 10-15% per person. some would be low some much higher. But I wasn't the only employee there there was around 12 employees in that office. There were several who were > 50 years old and in the high risk category which could put them up to 25%.

So given this plus your statement about the £1100 for a brand new one divided by the lifespan which I think is 5-10 years for each £110 per year I would say the value my life < £1000.

The CEO himself was very high risk and had actually been in the hospital recently for a suspected heart attack (a small one that didn't require intervention).

> Imagine if there was a meteor shield the company could buy for £250

The chance of being hit by a meteor is several orders of magnitude smaller than having a heart attack so this comparison is invalid.

A better comparison is being in a car crash and yes if they didn't spend £250 per 5 years to drastically improve my chance of dying in a car crash my life is worthless to them.

The company never listened to me on any of my suggestions so I think they were not listening and just denied my request the same as ever other request of mine they denied. I once asked for a new mouse and they denied that as well some CEOs are just like that.

The likelihood is not "10-15% per person" that, during the operational lifespan of any given AED, that someone would have a heart attack at work, be treated by that specific AED, and have that treatment be life-saving. (That was the point of the meteor comparison.)

The lifespan is 10-15 years depending on the model. Most people were at moderate risk, unfit, drinking alcohol, poor exercise, high stress job ...etc. For moderate risk 10-15% is the stat over a 5 year period. Most where moderate a few, 2 I think, were low and we had a few high and one very high risk given he'd possibly already had a small heart attack.

Also note that you didn't take into consideration that the device is used for all in the office so over the 5 years it's cost must be divided by the number of employees it will cover which in this case was around 12.

Again your Meteor comparison was extremely poor. You are comparing something that is very common, a middle aged person having heart attack, to something extremely uncommon a similar demographic being hit by a meteor. Also to note that you can't say it it £250 to protect from a meteor strike it would likely be extremely expensive to protect an office from that versus the insanely cheap £1100 to almost guarantee that any of us survive a heart attack.

I've eddited to show the actual lifespan of the AED which is 10-15 year

Insurance would probably pay them out nicely - your death at work is probably worth +1x your annual salary - maybe more.

> Insurance would probably pay them out nicely

I wouldn't have bet any money on that. The dude was unwilling to pay £1100 for a life saving device what makes you think he would buy insurance that would pay upon employee death.

I know for a fact I didn't have any of that cover as my current company does pay death in service and it's like 4 times my yearly salary to my wife. So if he had anything like that he would have said so.

He's was just a cheap fuck. Companies often cheap out of safety gear to make a quick buck happens everywhere all the time.

Or he enjoyed it tremendously and it had nothing to do with stress.

You can enjoy things that are bad for you... Polish film director Zanussi said that it was always his goal to have poor health in the old age, because, if he didn't, it'd meant he hadn't push himself hard enough in the pursuit of excellence in his art.

Just because some person said this doesn't make it here suddenly true.

I personally find this anecdote really shitty to be honest. Only a balanced mind and body can sustaine quality over a long time.

Also bad health in old age is super critical for living long and bad. Would never thrive for this like laying in bed having pain every day being dependent

He was certainly very busy, always traveling. This happened (from what I read) as he was leaving a show in Paris for a flight to New York.

id be pretty interested to see the number of not that old male dying from heart attack since covid. not pointing the JAB (while it is one of the known side effects) but I think the big one is the confinment, forcing people to stay home, bringing a lack of exercise and mental fatigue would definitly put a toll on the heart. not even talking about the increased absorption of alcohol to fight depression from being isolated and not able to live like before.

We do know that in USA, republican males are dying faster then democrat males.

Also, there is no reason to imply that Kim Jung Gi had increased absorption of alcohol or was depressed last years. Especially since you are just speculating in order to push for political agenda.

Yes and this news should make us all reflect on those habits and try to improve.