What would it be like to live in a world where everything is made of desserts?
Step into the imagination of Hong Kong artist Thomas Napoleon and you might find an answer. His series, A Life of Sweets, depicts a universe filled with whimsical happenings, delectable confections, and pocket-sized characters with distinctive eyebrows and pleasured expressions. From swimming through syrup atop a piece of french toast to scaling scaffolding made of chocolate Pocky sticks, Napoleon’s signature characters lead lives that revolve around an assortment of delicious desserts.
如果生活在一个全部由甜点组成的世界里，将会是怎样？
踏进香港插画师托马斯·拿破仑（Thomas Napoleon) 奇想世界，你可能就知道答案。他为我们建构了一个充满甜蜜的趣味梦幻世界，并以“生活中一点甜”来命名。跟随他笔下有着标志性粗眉、带有微妙陶醉表情的迷你小人物，去体验在法式吐司上的糖浆里游泳，到踩着 Pocky 巧克力棒搭成的脚手架上绘制户外广告。在这个城市里生活的人们，和各种甜品融为一体。
Since starting the series, Napoleon has found himself fixated by the details of every dessert he sees. He’ll immediately think about how it’d look within a scene. From there, he thinks about how he can elevate it into something more playful and charming. Once inspiration strikes, he’ll quickly begin sketching.
He admits that his nitpicking tendencies can be a drawback at times though. “I like making changes a little too much, so it takes me quite a long time to finish a drawing,” he says. For Napoleon, deciding on color, texture, and composition are matters of careful deliberation that require multiple revisits—only after this painstaking process will he feel like he has something that’s ready to be shown.
这个项目开始后，拿破仑现在看到一款甜品，都会驻足细细观察，“脑海总是在想象一个场景”，然后由甜品本身开始延伸，思考“怎样才能让这款食物变得更有趣、更可爱”，一旦出现有意思的灵感，就会立即把它们画下来。
提到创作中是否会遇到一些小困难时，“大概自己喜欢一直改东西吧，所以一般创作时间都比较长。”他坦言道。甜品的色泽、质感和结构比例都需经过反复考量，这些趣味盎然的“游乐场”也都是经过一次次的修改和调整之后，才得以将其呈现在大家面前的。
Napoleon has created well over a hundred illustrations for the series so far, but his favorite is still the one that kickstarted the whole project, Pancake Restaurant. “Every day, my way to school, I’d pass by a shop selling pancakes,” he recalls. “For tired individuals who walked by in the morning, these smells were comforting. So, I thought, if there was a place that was entirely made of pancakes, then people there can feel relaxed and happy all the time!”
He laughs at the memory of this early inspiration, and ultimately, this is exactly what Napo’s work is all about, bringing laughter and joy. Through his art, he wants to remind people that even when you’re stressed or in a bad mood, life can still be sweet.
从最初创作到现在，拿破仑的《生活中一点甜》系列插画已累积了百余幅、但他创作甜品世界系列的第一幅作品“Pancake餐厅”（即“松饼餐厅”），依然是他最喜欢的一张。“我每天上学的时候都会经过一间卖松饼的店，那传来的食物香气，总让早上感到疲累的人放松，当时就在想如果能进入一个由松饼做成的地方，里面的人也可以很放松快乐吧。”
说到这里，他笑了笑。这也是他在创作绘画时想要传达给观众的心情，希望“从这份‘甜味’带出很快乐的感觉”，给身处都市繁忙疲惫的人们带去些许会心一笑的调味剂，再烦闷的情绪都会被一扫而空。
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Contributor: Vinnie Fan
