Bringing a tiny piece of heaven to you.
LA Times
client: LA Times
ad: Nicole Vas
Even in the midst of darkness and storm, we can open ourselves up to joy. I wanted to capture the idea of joy flowing in like waves.
Sketches
Oh Reader Magazine Cover
client: Oh Reader
client: Oh Reader
art director: Gemma Peckham
Oh Reader Magazine is an independent literary magazine that explores books, reading, and the visual culture of literature.
I illustrated the cover of Issue 22 for the publication. The client and I wanted to capture the cozy and comfortable vibe of reading at home while it’s snowing outside.
LA Times: LA Affairs
LA affairs is a pouplar feature about dating and love. This story is about a man who was encouraged by his mother to find a nice Jewish woman to marry, but though he started out his search in earnest, the scope of his dating life in L.A. grew much bigger than what his mother may have envisioned. He recounts many dates before meeting his future wife, who is Korean American.
I captured the date spots mentioned in the story including Little Tokyo, the Griffith park, Universal Studio walk, Santa Monica Pier, Koreatown, LACMA, and more.
client: LA Times
ad: Nicole Vas
LA affairs is a pouplar feature about dating and love. This story is about a man who was encouraged by his mother to find a nice Jewish woman to marry, but though he started out his search in earnest, the scope of his dating life in L.A. grew much bigger than what his mother may have envisioned. He recounts many dates before meeting his future wife, who is Korean American.
I captured the date spots mentioned in the story including Little Tokyo, the Griffith park, Universal Studio walk, Santa Monica Pier, Koreatown, LACMA, and more.
Sketches
Tape Op Magazine Cover
client: Tape Op Magazine
client: Tape Op Magazine
Tape Op Magazine is an independent, ad-free publication dedicated to the art of recording music.
I illustrated the cover for Issue No. 170, inspired by the hands-on, analog spirit of music-making and studio culture the magazine celebrates.
The poster version of the cover is now available on Tape Op Shop.
Grand Central Market Elevator Vinyl
client: Grand Central Market
ad: Tim Aaron
Grand central market, one of LA’s most popular tourist spots, commissioned me to design their elevator vinyl. We decided to go with a map of LA with sports stadiums surrounding GCM. I used a rough ink sketch style to capture the LA vibe.
Illustration Assets
The client asked for a few illustrations of objects from GCM to put up around the building
Great White X Ruthy Kim
I had the exciting opportunity to design chore coat and drink menu cover for the renown restaurant.
AD: Tim Aaron
I had the exciting opportunity to design chore coat and drink menu cover for the renown restaurant.
Seasonal Drink Menu
Parchment Paper Design
T-shirt Design
Spring Wedding Project
For my Wedding that just took place in 2025 May, I illustrated the save the date, welcome sign, 176 guest portraits, and custom wine bottle labels.
Save the Date
Wine & Champagne Bottle Labels
Persona: Exploring Self-Portraiture
museum director: James Fishburne
client: Forest Lawn Museum
museum director: James Fishburne
exhibition date: April 26 through Aug 10, 2025
title: Spring Bride Series
When James first contacted me about the exhibition, I was skeptical. I would love to work on other people’s portraits, but self-portraits? I was busy planning for my wedding, and I was wondering if I should participate at all. Then I decided to draw myself as a bride- an imperfect bride.
Ruthy Kim is a Los Angeles-based illustrator and designer passionate about sharing stories through illustrations that commemorate the joyous moments in life. The Spring Bride Series is a personal exploration of transformation and celebration. As Kim prepares for her own wedding in the spring, these self-portraits capture the anticipation and joy of a life-changing moment. This series features vibrant digital compositions, incorporating spring flowers to symbolize growth and renewal. It also embraces the beauty of imperfection, reflecting on how individuals enter marriage as their imperfect selves, and through the shared struggles and joys, marriage helps people grow and evolve together.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes
client: The Kitchn
AD: Melissa Fernandez-Davila
an editorial piece about the feast of the seven fishes for the Kitchn.
Percy Jackson Season 2 Opening Title Sequence
Following the Emmy Award–winning Season 1 opening sequence, I had the opportunity to collaborate again with Imaginary Forces as a painter on the Season 2 opening title sequence.
studio: imaginary forces
role: painter
credits
creative directors: karin fong, tosh kodama
lead animator: merrill hall
animator: henry chang
illustrator: jorge artola
editor: lexi gunvaldson
painter: ruthy kim
animation intern: david oye
producer: jake fritz
associate producer: nic luong
executive producer: renée robson
Percy Jackson End Title Sequence
I had a wonderful previlege of being a part of the title sequence project as an illustrator.
studio: imaginary forces
role: illustrator
credits
creative directors: karin fong, tosh kodama
art director/animator: henry chang
designer: brandon savoy
designer/lead illustrator: jorge artola
illustrators: ella lee, ruthy kim
animators/compositors: merrill hall, alex rupert, christian arnsparger
animation interns: jeffrey su, michael wang
editor: lexi gunvaldson
producer: jordan sharon
coordinator: nic luong
creative directors: karin fong, tosh kodama
art director/animator: henry chang
designer: brandon savoy
designer/lead illustrator: jorge artola
illustrators: ella lee, ruthy kim
animators/compositors: merrill hall, alex rupert, christian arnsparger
animation interns: jeffrey su, michael wang
editor: lexi gunvaldson
producer: jordan sharon
coordinator: nic luong
Legends of Runeterra Social Design
client: Hammer Creative, Riot Games
ad: Matt Winkel
Amazon Prime Black Friday Football
studio: imaginary forces
role: illustrator
The Moth Podcast Teaser
The plot of the podcast, Opposing Forces, centers around Martha Ruiz, a young dentist student, faced with death andtime pressing against her. My teaser is about pressure. We follow a character version of Martha as she finds herself in a surreal world of symbolic images such as the clocks and guns that represent time, pressure and threat. Using the powers of ten, to heighten the contrast of close-up shots to wide shots, the camera finally zooms out to reveal her running, until she is finally at gunpoint.
The plot of the podcast, Opposing Forces, centers around Martha Ruiz, a young dentist student, faced with death andtime pressing against her. My teaser is about pressure. We follow a character version of Martha as she finds herself in a surreal world of symbolic images such as the clocks and guns that represent time, pressure and threat. Using the powers of ten, to heighten the contrast of close-up shots to wide shots, the camera finally zooms out to reveal her running, until she is finally at gunpoint.
Process
I focused on the intensity of the pressure she went through to show her internal struggle visually and to captivate viewers.
I decided to use illustration as my approach to lighten the tone of the sequence and make it more visually appealing while still staying true to the story.
Many sketches and styles were explored to make the sequence to be tense and engaging, letting the audience be curious for what’s to come.
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I focused on the intensity of the pressure she went through to show her internal struggle visually and to captivate viewers.
I decided to use illustration as my approach to lighten the tone of the sequence and make it more visually appealing while still staying true to the story.
Many sketches and styles were explored to make the sequence to be tense and engaging, letting the audience be curious for what’s to come.
I chose deep blue as the main color to make the sequence feel like a nightmare.
The traumatic event happens overnight, making the entire sequence dreamlike and surreal.
In my illustration work I’m often tempted to settle early for my sketches, but this time I decided to not settle until I get something that feels just right.
So each iteration is a jump from the one before, because I kept exploring. You can see in my sketches I created more and more depth in each pass.
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So each iteration is a jump from the one before, because I kept exploring. You can see in my sketches I created more and more depth in each pass.
Goose 3D Reels Project
Goose 3D Reels Project consists of three 20-second animated reels that introduce viewers to the character and his world.
Goose 3D Reels Project consists of three 20-second animated reels that introduce viewers to the character and his world.
Goose’s Day Off
What does the goose do when he has all the time to spare?
He engages himself with his favorite acitivities: working out, making art, and watching TV.
Even in his free time, he doesn’t mess around. Take a sneak peek into the day of a life of Goose.
What does the goose do when he has all the time to spare?
He engages himself with his favorite acitivities: working out, making art, and watching TV.
Even in his free time, he doesn’t mess around. Take a sneak peek into the day of a life of Goose.
Banana Land
Welcome to the mini banana-themed amusement park full of rides and attractions.
Come spend a day having fun riding our banana rides!
Which ride would you try?
The Journey of Goose
Floating in the space, he decides to launch himself and see where he ends up.
He is then transformed into an egg, and then into something larger than himself. Follow the journey of Goose and discover where he will go next!
Process
Using C4D, Arnold, Greyscale gorilla plugins, and aftereffects, I wanted to create a 3D world for Goose that is simple and yet visually strking. To create visual consistency throughout the projects, I limited myself to using simple geometry shapes to build its world.
Little Goose Children’s Books
Banana Goose recounts the beginnings of Goose as a special bird born from a banana.
Different from all his fellow geese, he goes through a major identity crisis. He then realizes
that the very thing that made him different and lonely is what makes him strong and unique.
Banana Goose recounts the beginnings of Goose as a special bird born from a banana.
Different from all his fellow geese, he goes through a major identity crisis. He then realizes
that the very thing that made him different and lonely is what makes him strong and unique.
Little Goose, Big Dreams
Little Goose, Big Dreams is about the goose in denial of his dream. Even though he badly wants to go explore space,
presuming that he never would be able to, he convinces himself that he doesn’t want to go to space after all. Meanwhile,
he keeps trying and failing… until he finally becomes honest with himself.
