Today we’d like to introduce you to Jiayi Zhang.
Hi Jiayi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your back story.
Hello! Everyone! My name is Jiayi Zhang, my English name is Tom, and I named myself from my favorite animation “Tom and Jerry,” the amazing exaggeration that appeared in this piece has positively influenced my future creative career as well. I am from Zhengzhou, a city located in the central part of China. Many people might not have heard of this place, but the famous Shaolin Temple is right near my town, which is the birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu. Furthermore, my city used to be an ancient capital of the Shang Dynasty thousands of years ago.
Accordingly, I was raised within a rich cultural and historical environment, representing not only Chinese but also the far Eastern Asian culture. Such great influence is also reflected in my artwork such as Chinese style line drawings, composition, the choice of visual voice, and the color palette. However, with the growth of my experiences, I gradually realized the importance of connecting to the entire world as an art learner. I cannot only focus on Asian culture; the world is united after all. There are so many unique cultures, traditions, races, and lifestyles that I might miss if I do not ” open my eyes” to them. Therefore, I decided to study abroad in the USA because I think it is the land that gathers a variety of cultural assemblies, allowing me to strongly broaden my horizons.
I am currently a graduate illustration student at Savannah College of Art and Design, as well as a freelance illustrator. I am keen on collecting ideas from my daily life, my classmates, professors, and even the juniors are from different countries, and different cultural circumstances. By interacting with them, I am impressed with the various ways of thinking and the unique art styles that I have never seen before.
All of those are beneficial for me in exploring my style of illustration. I inherently believe that the things we see, feel, and think can finally be demonstrated in our self-creation. In my journey of creating illustrations, I tried to combine the beautiful diversity of culture and art forms. For Instance, I depicted the figures from African and Native American totemism with Eastern Asian line drawings, filled with strong, bright colors from Hispanic architecture and finally uniting them into Western composition. Bringing strong bright colors into the figure drawings from Chinese mythology is also an interesting way to create pieces. What I have learned from these processes is that art belongs to everyone, it can be demonstrated in every form and also showcased to everyone.
I am still working on my exploration of my art style right now. I have to acknowledge that I am too young to fully understand several things so far. However, it also provides me opportunities to try, to fail, to do better. Art is an endless topic for every artist and ordinary person, the same as our life. We will never know what is going to happen to ourselves and other people in the next second.
That is the reason why I enjoy listening to other people’s stories which always impress me and bring new inspiration for me to create. Hence, I think I am not just exploring my art style, but also learning who I am, at the same time, with the change of life and experience. It will be a long and uncertain journey but that makes life more enjoyable and interesting as well.
Sincerely appreciate for reading my story.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say that it is undoubtedly challenging to explore my style as an illustrator. First, there are uncountable ways of creating illustrations existing nowadays, so it is very likely to make your style very similar to another illustrator’s. That is the worst situation I would ever want to face.
So, I decided to learn from different cultures as much as I could, seeking what is the “one” exclusively for me. Second, learning about other cultures is also a great challenge. Each type of culture has its history, goal, and perspective.
It would be hard to empathize sometimes if you had never grown up in this specific circumstance. The most crucial part of learning cultures is getting out of the comfort zone and trying to think and do things in a way like people living in this cultural circumstance.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My career mainly focuses on creating illustrations, specializing in commercial illustration. Apart from these, murals, graphic design, motion, and doodled shoes are also defined as my sideline productions. My work is always known for its highly saturated color, exaggerated shapes, and also the vivid atmosphere shown in my pieces. It delivers positive energy to people seeing my work, where they can feel the ambition and vigor of this young man. One of the merits that makes me most proud is my intricate linework.
I inherited the way of drawing lines from ancient Chinese painting, which contains numerous variations instead of a stiff line. With the help of such a variety of lines, I can enrich the abundance of my work. Another thing that makes my work stand out is my color palette, which possibly makes others feel flashy. But I would say the vital part of my illustration is drawing people’s attention so that they will have a chance to resonate with me and my world.
Last but not least, my drawing speed is rapid and effective. It gives me more time to create new pieces, as well as respond to the clients on time, so I would have more chances to further discuss the task with the clients and make adjustments as soon as possible. These are the points that set me apart from others.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Lots of people might claim I must be a very expressive and extrovert person according to the vivid shapes and strong bright colors within my work. But the truth is I am quite an introvert and a bit pessimistic person with anxiety disorder, which I am still on treatment for.
I always try to avoid crowds and social events in my daily life just because an intangible phobia exists deep inside my mind. I think the reason behind this is I care too much about other people’s thoughts about me and I am afraid of giving a bad impression to others. Therefore, oral expression has become one of my weaknesses.
I prefer to stay alone in a quiet place and do my assignments. My illustration has become the path for me to share my thoughts, feelings, and ideas which I do not dare to share in reality.
Pricing:
- (The Year of Dragon) series 50$ each piece if anyone would like to purchase
- contact to me discuss the price if anyone would like to seek collaboration.
Contact Info:
- Website: jiayizhangtom.org
- Instagram: @jiayi7755
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555883501729&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/zhang-jiayi-bb4108276
- Twitter: https://x.com/jiayi6120?s=21&t=8UG0ggD57rVTUkVPv-UNuA
- Other: https://www.behance.net/zhangjiayi
Image Credits
Dragon Year, Tokyo Halloween, Theme-Crime Scene, Gluttony, Made in China (source: jiayizhangtom.org)
