Dramatic Collage-Like Illustrations by Minjae Lee

I must admit that at first glance I assumed these beautiful designs had to have been made digitally. I was surprised to find however, that they are tediously and delicately drawn with good old fashioned pens and markers.

Minjae Lee is a young illustrator from Seoul, South Korea. His bold and colorful collage-like drawings are extraordinarily detailed, drawing the viewer in to the halting imagery and ingenious juxtaposition of beauty. Each piece seems to have the perfect clash of fragility and brash, innocence and aggressiveness. His expressive works are all about pattern and texture that just add more authenticity to his illustrations. Lee, who is mainly self-taught, uses old-fashioned tools  such as markers, pens, crayons and acrylics to create his dramatic illustrations. View more of his fantastic work at his Deviant Art gallery. For an added bonus, here’s the Making Of video for his piece Circulation, made in 2011. It really is worth the look!