Rising Stars: Meet Jin Tao

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jin Tao.

Hi Jin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am an illustrator from China, currently studying at Savannah College of Art and Design for illustration MFA animation MA program. My undergraduate major is visual communication, mainly studying graphic design. During that time, I found that I was more interested in being an illustrator, so I came to New York in the summer of 2016 to participate in the summer illustration program at the School of Visual Arts. After that, I decided to go to the United States after graduation to learn more about how to be a good illustrator. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I was fortunate to receive some illustration jobs in China, mainly working for children’s books and commercials advertising. At the same time, I went to Central Saint Martins in the UK for a short-term study program in graphic design and printing and traveled by myself in Europe for three months. This trip opened my eye by looking at the diversity of art and gave me a lot of inspiration for my creations.

In 2019, I got an offer from Savannah College of Art and Design illustration major and came to the United States for further study. In the learning process, I also developed a strong interest in the animation major, so I applied for the animation MA program. I don’t want to limit myself in the future, and I want to be an animator and an illustrator.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
For me, the process of becoming an illustrator was not easy. When I was a teenager, I suffered from depression and bipolar disorder. This event changed my whole life. Sickness is undoubtedly painful. I went from being a great student to a dropout and tired of school. When I dropped out of school and stayed home, I lost my motivation and my future direction in life. I also didn’t have many friends of the same age then, and drawing was my only bright spot during that dark period. After I was gradually able to socialize normally, I barely kept up with the footsteps of my peers and entered a college. The illness came back and forth, and my grade was awful, becoming the biggest obstacle to applying for the MFA program. I also often doubted my ability and felt very inferior. Fortunately, my family supported me strongly. Although the process was tough, I never thought of giving up and finally came to the United States to study. At present, the biggest challenge is the brought by the double majors studying, but I believe I can handle it after all.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an illustrator. Before, I worked as a freelance in China, creating an illustration for children’s books and some commercial work such as advertising. During the working and studying process, I am trying more different types of illustration, such as pattern design, editorial illustration, and character design. I love editorial illustration most. Expressing abstract content in visuals is a challenging job.

I am inspired by various sources, including literary fiction, movies, and current events. I love the thought-provoking subject matter and want to use illustration to depict my love of literature. In contrast, I read and engage with this content boldly and engagingly, then rational and restrained when translating it into visual language through drawing. It is not easy, but this creative process is challenging, triggering my interest and passion. Those illustrations I created are traces of my thought.

I have five years of experience in graphic design, which profoundly affected my drawing style. I prefer working digitally. In the creation process, rather than realistic depiction, I will try to simplify items in the creation and build my visual language by generalizing surface and color blocks. At the same time, I emphasize the harmony of colors in the picture to express the different emotions that convey the main messages. Besides creating illustrations, I am also especially interested in surface design. I try new styles in surface design by creating patterns with more colorful styles. I also work on brand design and motion graphics with my drawing style. These motion illustrations have enormous potential to get the audience’s attention. These new experiments always bring me a sense of surprise and accomplishment.

Pricing:

• 30$

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jintao.social
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jintaoillustration/

Image Credits
Jin Tao