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South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Meet the Hong Kong artist behind the comic book adaptation of Star Wars: Thrawn
Every week, Talking Points gives you a worksheet to practise your reading comprehension with exercises about the story we've written. A huge stage. A sea of fans. Hong Kong comic artist Man Tsang Wai-man was surprised when he saw his art on the big screen and heard cheers from the crowd. It was the Star Wars Celebration 2025, held last month in Tokyo. For an artist from Hong Kong's small comic scene, Tsang had achieved something special: working with Disney on the comic book version of a novel, Star Wars: Thrawn. The original book is by an award-winning author, Timothy Zahn. The comic book will be released later this year. 'The idea that people would cheer for something we made? It's unimaginable ... Just being part of it, even in a small way, was exhilarating. It actually made me tremble,' said the artist, who is in his 40s. Hong Kong's comics industry For Tsang, his experience in Tokyo was unforgettable. But it was very different to what he faced back home. 'In Hong Kong, we draw comics, and no one really notices,' he said. 'Hong Kong comics have been dying for over two decades.' The city's comics industry was successful in the late 80s and early 90s. But since then, local graphic novels have not been very popular. 'Given the way things are in Hong Kong now, you have to hustle,' Tsang said. For example, he often takes on commissioned projects to make a living. Tsang has been dedicated to art ever since he was a child. When he was just 17 years old, he became a full-time comic artist. In 2022, Tsang won the Gold Award from the Hong Kong Comics Support Programme. The government initiative supports comic publishing. This helped him release an original title, The Zeros (0課特工). After Tsang showed his comic book at an international festival, it became popular and has been published in countries around the world. Through these international editions, Disney noticed his work. Drawing the mind of a villain When Tsang was illustrating the story of Thrawn, he faced some unexpected challenges. Unlike most Star Wars characters, Thrawn does not have special powers or weapons. 'I figured I'd get to draw some cool battles. Those are easier to handle,' Tsang said. 'But Thrawn was a completely different story.' The artist found himself drawing a calm, calculating general – a villain defined not by strength, but by his brain. 'Thrawn is like Sima Yi from Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' Tsang explained. 'He doesn't overpower his enemies – he outsmarts them.' And the real challenge, Tsang said, was showing what happens in Thrawn's mind. 'He's up against someone with a nuclear weapon, and all he has is his brain. He has to win using mind games. That's way harder,' he said. A new path for local artists Disney's collaboration with Tsang could create a new path for Hong Kong's comic scene. He hopes this progress does not end with him. 'If a major international company has worked with someone from Hong Kong and had a good experience, maybe they'll start to take us more seriously,' he said. 'Maybe we'll see something shift – maybe we'll be known as Hong Kong artists who specialise in international comics.' To young artists, Tsang offered advice: do what it takes to get your chance to shine. 'Don't be too proud to fight for opportunities,' he said. 'Sometimes, you have to be willing to crawl and clutch for your shot.' Reflect: Do you know of any famous Hong Kong comic books? To test your understanding of this story, download our printable worksheet or answer the questions in the quiz below.
South China Morning Post
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Amid AI threat, Hong Kong artists say they must hone what makes art uniquely human
Artwork made by a human and another by artificial intelligence (AI) can be hard to tell apart these days. To create or not to create? That is the question facing young artists in the age of AI. In March, a new version of ChatGPT's image generator sparked controversy after producing visuals in the style of Studio Ghibli, which is renowned for its hand-drawn animations and fantasy worlds. This led to a flood of social media posts with AI-generated images mimicking the legendary Japanese studio's distinctive style, raising concerns over creative integrity and artistic ownership. Critics accused the tool of exploiting the legacy of Studio Ghibli and its co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki, now 84, has long been an outspoken critic of AI in animation. He called it 'an insult to life itself' in a 2016 meeting where he was shown an AI-generated animation demo. ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli-style AI images go viral, copyright questions loom For many, AI's rise evokes a sense of existential threat reminiscent of sci-fi films in which humans lose control to machines, said Hong Kong comic artist Man Tsang. 'It makes us feel like we're not important any more – disposable, even,' he said. 'It's natural [for artists] to feel insulted. Not just as artists, but as humans. And that insult feels real.' But for Tsang, this fear is not new. He sees it as part of a historical cycle. 'During the agricultural and industrial revolutions, people went through something similar. Farmers who could predict rain became irrelevant. In the UK, factory workers rioted and smashed machines – but they lost,' he said. 'AI might strip a lot from us, but over 10, 20, even 100 years of struggle, we might eventually reach a legal balance. In the short term, though, pain is inevitable.' Amid the looming threat from AI, some artists, including Tsang, believe creatives must now push deeper into what makes their work uniquely human. Man Tsang is a Hong Kong artist who is adapting a novel, 'Star Wars: Thrawn', into a comic. Photo: Sun Yeung Value of creative instinct Tsang, who is collaborating with Disney to illustrate a comic adaptation of Star Wars: Thrawn, is one of the few Hong Kong artists working at a global level. He considers himself lucky that AI did not go mainstream until after he had built a name for himself. But he is worried for new graduates. 'Take students just out of ... [a] design programme – they've trained for years but haven't had time to get noticed. And now, AI is already doing the jobs they were aiming for,' Tsang said. 'Ads that used to pay a few thousand dollars to beginners now turn to AI-generated content instead. That's devastating.' Resilience, he added, was just one part of survival – creativity would be essential for aspiring artists in this new era. 'Having a unique style is crucial. People remember me for sketching travel scenes in a notebook. That stuck with them,' he said. 'Creativity isn't about writing a movie. It's about making life a little more bearable in hard times. That's instinct.' In time, Tsang believes traditional methods may become more valuable. 'Hand-drawn work might not make you rich – but if you don't do it, it has no value at all,' he said. 'That's why I tell kids: don't just use an Apple Pencil. Use real paper and pens. If the computer breaks, you can still draw. That's yours.' He added: 'Maybe people will start noticing those who shoot on film again, or write scripts on tape recorders. Whatever it is, the goal is to be remembered.' British musicians protest government's AI plans with an 'almost' silent album The soul of art lies in lived experiences Another Hong Kong artist, Tommy, known as Tommychief Oil, said the city's results-driven culture contributed to the rising dependence on AI, and with it, growing concerns about whether human artists can stay relevant. 'Today's artists need to think about what elements they can incorporate to set themselves apart from AI,' said Tommy, who preferred to share only his given name. According to Tommy, that edge lies in storytelling rooted in lived experiences. 'When I look at a piece of art, I'm not just looking at the result; I'm thinking about the artist's journey and how their experiences led to that work,' he said. 'I think truly complex works are something AI hasn't quite mastered – at least for now.' Cultural context, he added, would be key. 'Hong Kong artists should lean into our own culture. If we don't even understand our roots ... then we've lost our unique voice,' he said. 'Storytelling, research and history matter because new audiences are looking for something they can't find anywhere else.' Tools like ChatGPT and Deepseek are forcing creatives to consider what makes their work special. Photo: AFP AI as an asset For Hong Kong graphic design student Kane Dalangin Harold, the future still looks bright. The 32-year-old, who chose to study graphic design for a career change from charity work, said he was optimistic that AI would be more of an asset than a threat. 'As a graphic designer, AI is a useful tool – especially for research and organising content,' he said. 'It can help generate ideas when resources aren't available, like specific photography styles or mock-ups that require human subjects.' Dalangin sees AI as a way to boost efficiency. 'It ... allows me to focus more on the design aspect. We can generate a range of visual possibilities based on ideas, then refine them,' the student said. He added that the refinement process was where humans held the advantage, and designers should equip themselves with AI tools to keep up with these changes. Educators, students discuss how ChatGPT is changing the future of learning 'We know how to make decisions that reflect the message we're trying to convey. AI still needs ... instructions to produce something of equal quality,' he said. 'That ability to interpret and communicate ideas visually – that's our skill.' He said the real concern would come if AI could eventually learn to independently make creative decisions. For now, even as companies adopt AI for basic design tasks, Dalangin believes graphic designers are essential. 'Sometimes, businesses get what they think they want from AI, but the message still doesn't come across,' he said. 'That's when a designer can step in and solve the problem in ways AI can't.'
