Q&A For Ideabook by Ray Toh

TOYSREVIL: What made you decide on the direction and concept of the Ideabook? Versus what you released last year?

RAY TOH: The inspiration came from a few sources. I was showing two students from laselle, right before my workshop, my sketchbook. I was hoping to kind of inspire them to keep drawing but out of the sudden one of the student suggested that I should sell my sketchbook. The idea just click and it started to linger in my head. I started to show it around, to different groups of friends and quite a few of them suggested the same thing, out coincident. That’s roughy how the concept came about.


RAY TOH: Since I have never plan to sell my sketchbook, a lot of the content is very personal. Sketches and ideas that I am experimenting and exploring with. Basically, I’m trying to grow something original out from all this. R and D work mainly. The Ideabook is very personal compare to my old book, RayToh Voyage, which is mainly a showcase of my skill and what I can do, digitally a few years ago. The Ideabook is a showcase of random ideas that I am trying to develop and developing.


TOYSREVIL: What is the concept of the Ideabook? For the readers? What is the pencil/pen attached for it for?

RAY TOH: I’m hoping that it may inspired them to, first keep drawing and second to do more R and D work. Design to some level is like a science. Without experimentation and exploration, it’s hard to grow anything original out from it. I’m making it sounds boring and non-artistic but the thing is you need a lot of creativity and knowledge to conduct all this so call experiments. In this case, sketches. The pencil is there to encourage the reader to keep drawing. They can use it to draw if they want.


TOYSREVIL: Are you happy with the ideabook (I know I am with my copy lol). And what do fans have to look forward to after that?

RAY TOH: I’m very happy with how the book turns out. It’s designed and handled by my Friend, Jasmine from You&Me. If you are wondering how my real sketchbook looks like. It’s slightly bigger with a hardcover but the content and the look is exactly the same. The feeling that my Designer friend is trying to project is that everyone is holding onto a real RayToh’s Sketchbook. No fancy layout and no fancy design. I hope whoever buys it will enjoy it as much as I do.


[I started sketching on the book already!]
RAY TOH: I don’t have a solid plan at the moment but I’ll definitely be planning another book. The working title at the moment is “Hunt for the White Colossus.” Hopefully I can pull it off within one or two years, juggling it with bread and butter work.

Ray Toh's Ideabook debut at last weekend's STGCC and features 208 pages worth of sketches - pages of which is previewed in this post. Sized 18.5 x 14.4 x 1.6 cm - the Ideabook can currently be purchased online here for SGD$32 per (sans shipping), as well a bundle together with his earlier Ray Toh: Voyage for SGD$42 total.

As well check out Ray's website @ www.raytoh.com and blog @ www.torei.blogspot.com.