Today we’d like to introduce you to Yiyi Chen.
Hi Yiyi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I recently graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design and I am now a freelance illustrator. I was born in China. When I was a kid, I showed passion and talent for drawing. So with the support of my father, I entered an art high school to study drawing systematically. Through doing portrait drawing practice and color training, I successfully passed the entrance examination for art college and got into fine art major. After graduating from my college, I decided to transfer my major to illustration and go to America to explore the commercial side of drawing and the free cultural environment.
In September 2019, I came to SCAD and started to study illustration. During this period, I experimented my artistic voice and researched the illustration market. I have met many talented friends and participated in many interesting activities. Last winter, I finish my thesis project which is a comic book called “Alienation”. After I finished this project, I started to update and share it on social media and my portfolio website. And I also did a presentation to share my ideas and the process. It brings a certain exposure to me, and many people think my comic is very inspiring and want to buy it. So I started to sell them on my social media. This project also attracted some illustration agencies. I successfully signed with an agency and started my career as a freelance illustrator after graduation.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I first entered the art high school, I was full of confidence and motivation in drawing. But under the increasing pressure of the art college entrance exam, I found that my enthusiasm for drawing was gradually worn down. Also, the repetitive and rigid portrait drawing makes me doubt if I still like it. And though I got into the art college as I wished, my confusion and disappointment did not stop. Taking classes help me to master good drawing skills, but when I faced the blank paper and tried to start my independent creation, I had no idea what to draw. I started to talk about some philosophical thoughts that I didn’t resonate with to make my work seemingly profound. But deep down in my heart, I know it’s meaningless. In my senior year, I was about to graduate and I was under pressure to find a job. I realized I don’t know who I am and what career I can pursue. I feel so lost. So to me during that time, the decision to go to America to study illustration seemed to be both an act of escape and a way of self-rescue.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I enjoy creating illustrations with strong shape languages, interesting textures and smart concepts. I collect textures from some daily life materials like trees, leaves and fabric. I often use visual metaphors to create interesting concepts. I want to visualize my concept in a smart way to impress the viewers and express my ideas. My thesis project is my favorite among the work I created in graduate school. This is a comic book called alienation which explores the feeling of alienation brought forward by three key identities: woman, child, and office worker. Alienation by definition means self-estrangement. It describes an individual that is completely out of touch with themselves, they feel more like a mere object. I utilize many little conceptual ideas to satirize the patriarchy society and express the injustice I felt from women, children and workers.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My roommate Jun who is also an illustrator always gives me great suggestions for my work. And my professor, Megan gave me great support when I was facing the pressure of graduation. She shared her experience as a freelance illustrator and help me to build up a solid portfolio.
Pricing:
- My Rate: $25/hour
Contact Info:
- Email: cyypancake@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.yiyichenart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yiyich_chen/
- Other: https://www.workbook.com/portfolios/view/yiyi_chen/all
Image Credits
All illustrations provided are created by Yiyi Chen
