Artworks that speak volumes

World of auto art: Yap at work.

FOR those who see their rides as an extension of their personalities, Yap Bu Kiyang’s air brush illustrations are likely to speak volumes about their owners.

Having found a partner in his trusty air gun in 1990, Yap eschewed the traditional canvas in favour of bonnets, engine covers, helmets and motorbike gas tanks in 2000 and found a new legion of fans in the world of motor heads.

Yap, 43, a former art lecturer who used to run a duck noodles stall in Sungai Besar (north of Kuala Selangor), revealed that it was serendipity that had initiated his debut into the world of auto art.

The father of two had just given up his noodle stall and was working at re-establishing his artistic career in Kuala Lumpur when a former student came to him and asked if he could do some airbrush illustrations on some display bonnets in his father’s garage.

Yap complied and to his surprise, his illustrations of Kabuki characters, animals, scary monsters and cartoons had attracted the attention of a Japanese automobile company which in turn sent two of their representatives to train with Yap for six months.

But Yap reckoned that his biggest break had been in 2004 when Debetz, a car audio company, gave him a free hand to work on a Toyota Supra.

“I jumped into it without even negotiating payment terms because I knew this was going to be my demo car as well as the audio company’s,” said Yap whose charges are RM2,000 and upwards for car airbrush works.

After two months, the cheetah theme that he had chosen was considered “too fierce” for on road use and was transported via truck to make its rounds at the auto and saloon shows as the owners did not want to risk scratches on the paint work.

“There are no rules to state that one cannot have airbrush illustrations on a vehicle but the saloon community practices a code of self censorship. For me, I am against nudity and offensive images,” said Yap.

Standing out: Yap’s Pink Lady on a Kenari and Robot Surfer on a Toyota Vios.

Crucially, Yap stresses that air gun positioning techniques and a through knowledge of auto paint work will play a part in preserving a completed image.

“What you want is a well laid primer so that if anything goes wrong with the illustration, it can be wiped off without damaging the under layer. Unlike water-based paints, car paints have to be diluted with an acid solution,” said Yap who works with 2K auto paint and protects his works with a 2K clear coating.

Yap said the detailing of the airbrush drawings were done freehand. To produce accurate images with correct proportions, stencils were made from prepared retouched visuals.

“The retouching is mainly to ‘correct’ a selected part so that the details, such as the fingers or physical adornments can be seen clearly,” said Yap.

Speaking of inspiration, this Morib native revealed that his works were largely about fulfilling client compliance.

As well as Jolly Rogers, Grim Reapers and fanged predators, he is equally at home with angels and dolphins.

“The first thing is to assess what the client wants before starting work. To ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises, all visuals are presented on paper for final approval before the paints are applied on the selected spot. Delivery time of course depends on design and complexity,” said Yap.

BK Airbrushing, 57, Jalan PJS 11/9, Bandar Sunway, 46150, Subang Jaya, Selangor. Tel/Fax: 03-56369989. Open from 10am to 8pm. For details, visit www.racing artstudio.com.

Published in The Star, Saturday, 1 Aug, 2009.