Boey facts for kids

Cheeming Boey, born on April 12, 1978, is a talented artist from Malaysia. Most people know him simply as Boey. He is famous for his amazing drawings on foam coffee cups, his daily online comic called I Am Boey, and his graphic novel When I Was A Kid, which tells stories from his own life.

Boey's Early Life and Career

Boey was born in Singapore and grew up on a bird farm in Malaysia. He moved to the United States to study at the Academy of Art University (AAU) in San Francisco. He first studied Advertising but later changed to Computer Animation.

After finishing his studies, Boey returned to AAU to teach Computer Animation. In 1999, he started working for the video game company Blizzard Entertainment. He was a lead animator for popular games like Diablo II and Diablo III.

Boey also worked for a short time at another company called Factor 5 on a game called Lair. Today, Boey spends his time writing and doing design work for different companies. He has worked with big names like Mattel and Disney. He also travels to give talks, including at TED X Weldquay. Boey has a weekly comic published in The Edge newspaper in Malaysia.

Boey's Creative Projects

His Graphic Novels and Webcomics

In 2007, Boey started an online comic, or webcomic, where he shared stories about his daily life. He still posts new comics six days a week.

Boey's book, When I Was A Kid, tells stories from his childhood. It's like a prequel to his online comic about his adult life. In May 2012, When I Was A Kid became a best-selling book in Malaysia. He also published his second book, When I Was A Kid 2, in July 2013, which was also very popular.

Amazing Coffee Cup Art

Boey started drawing on foam coffee cups when he was in Southern California. At first, he used cups because he didn't have any paper. But then he really liked how his drawings looked on them.

In 2011, a group called Artist A Day chose Boey as the Best Illustrator. He has said that other famous artists like Hokusai and Kieth Haring inspire him. Many of his drawings are also inspired by his travels and personal experiences. Today, you can see his unique cup art in galleries in the United States and Asia.

Boey's Start with Sharpie Campaign

In 2011, the company Sharpie noticed Boey's amazing cup art. They asked him to be part of their Start With Sharpie advertising campaign.

A commercial called Sharpie: Coffee Cups to Canvas featured Boey and his art. This commercial won a special award in 2012 called the TED Ads Worth Spreading award.

Selected Works by Boey

Publications

• I Am Boey (an online comic, also a weekly comic in The Edge (Malaysia))
• When I Was A Kid (a graphic novel series)
• How Was Your Day

Video Games

• World of Warcraft
• Lair
• Diablo II
• Diablo III

Awards and Recognitions

• 1999 — Indies Film Award, Best Animated Short for "Olive"
• 2001 — Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Interactive Achievement Award, Game of the Year for Diablo II
• 2012 — TED Ads Worth Spreading Award, Start With Sharpie
• 2013 — Popular Books Malaysia, Readers' Choice Award
• 2013 — New Man Magazine, Young Entrepreneurs nominee
• 2013 — BMW and Men's Uno Malaysia, Men of Substance Award: Most Influential Artist of 2013
• 2015 — Popular Books Malaysia, Readers' Choice