I am Kevin Kia!

I started drawing as a kid—my fingers dancing in the air each night before bed, tracing worlds only I could see. But I was told I was destined for medicine: "You’re too bright for art," they said. Now, at 44, with two PhDs in the medical field, I’ve learned that each of us is born with a purpose, our Dharma, that quietly calls to us every day, urging us to take it out, polish it, and share it.

It took time and courage, but I finally listened. I am a seer by nature: I see things, feel their vibes, and transform those energies into art that lives on your walls. Every piece evokes something—Happiness, Peace, Serenity, or Solitude—and you feel it the moment you look.

Art is more than decoration; it’s a bridge between memory and emotion. When you bring one of these prints home, it’s not my story you’re seeing—it’s yours.

My Creative Process

Each Art Academi print emerges from three core stages, crafted with both vision and precision.

1- Imagination

I begin with concept ideation: gathering visual references, exploring color palettes, and mapping emotional beats. Using a digital mood board (often in Milanote or Adobe Bridge), I lay out inspirational images side by side, annotate key hues in hex codes, and sketch rapid thumbnails by hand or on the Wacom to lock in composition, lighting, and feeling before any pixel is placed.

2- Digital Drafting in Photoshop & Illustrator

Photoshop Roughs: On a 300 dpi canvas, I draft core forms using textured charcoal or round brushes (50–70% opacity), organizing elements into named groups (background, midground, foreground). I utilize Smart Objects and masks for non-destructive adjustments, experimenting with blending modes (such as Multiply and Overlay) to refine color harmony.

Illustrator Refinement: I import the refined rough into Illustrator, tracing key shapes with the Pen and Curvature Tools on separate layers. I employ variable-width strokes for dynamic line work and use gradient meshes or solid fills to create crisp, scalable vectors—exporting as SVG or high-res PDF for versatility.

3- Final Polish & Quality Check

After reassembling raster and vector elements in Photoshop, I fine-tune overall color balance with Curves and Selective Color adjustments, sharpen details using High Pass filters, and proof in both Adobe RGB and sRGB profiles. Exports include 72 dpi JPGs for web previews and 300 dpi JPEG/PNG for print. Finally, I package the assets into organized folders, ready for instant download.