Meet Yuanyuan Zhou | Illustrator & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yuanyuan Zhou and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yuanyuan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I haven’t actually started my own business. I heard many people from the art community talk about how they discovered their passion at a very young age and they always wanted to be an artist. For me, I went with a different path. I have a background in accounting and worked as a teacher and an event planner for a few years. I discovered I wanted to be an illustrator recently two years ago. Actually, it was my colleague who asked me why I was teaching, and suggested I do illustration for books. I didn’t even know there is such a job as professional illustrator, I never thought about it until she put the idea in my head. Eventually, this lead me to where I am now, studying for my master’s degree in illustration. Starting my own business was always somewhere in my head. I think that’s my “accounting spirit” speaking, to have different resources for income and not putting all of my eggs in one basket.

I would like to know more about my intended audience. I am planning on doing market research, discovering what things I can be a great fit for and start from there. Participating in the art market is a way to get to know the audience directly, to talk to people who come from different backgrounds with their love for art. Pricing is a difficult issue to handle as well. During this semester we had an incredible guest critic who recommended the book The Dark Art of Pricing, which is very helpful. Now I am in the stage of putting that knowledge into practical use. I made some of my works as prints, pins, stickers, test them out with the upcoming art markets in different areas and make adjustments based on that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It was quite an interesting yet unexpected start for me in becoming an illustrator. I heard many people from the art community talk about how they discovered their passion at a very young age so they always wanted to be an artist. I went with a different path. I have a background in accounting and worked as a teacher and an event planner for a few years. I discovered I wanted to be an illustrator two years ago. Actually, it was my colleague at the time who asked me why I was teaching, and suggested I do illustration for books. During that time, I was preparing games, word cards and other teaching materials with my own illustration and been shared with other grade teachers, I really enjoyed the process creating them. I didn’t even know there was such a job as becoming professional illustrator, I never thought about it until she put the idea in my head.

I spent a year preparing my portfolio while working and applied for grad school for illustration. After I received an acceptance letter from MICA, the decision to leave my previous job and entering grad school was one of the most important decisions I have ever made. It was such a difficult decision because there was so much on the line with my whole life being completely changed based on that one decision. I needed to live in another country, start a career in a field that is completely new and unfamiliar to me with no guarantee of my success. I needed to make that decision completely relying on my belief in my talent, my work and my ability. There were so many “what-ifs:” what if I don’t like living in America, what if I find out this career isn’t for me, what if things don’t turn out as I expect and I fail what I want to do. Also, it’s not only for me, it a decision that would effect my family and friends too.

On the other hand, it was also the the easiest decision I ever made because I am entirely sure illustrating is something I want to pursue for a career. Grad school opened a door for me to enter that field and provided the support I needed, which is an opportunity that rarely appears. Now, after one year of my graduate study, I am very glad that I made that decision and I am very grateful of the support my family provides. My cohort and the teachers here are amazing. I learned so much from them, the people here are very friendly and I am very happy to work with them.

My works are full of energy, whimsy, humane, and always a tiny bit humor! and Now I am in my second year working on my thesis, which is a mini book collection that shares fun knowledge about tea. I know there is a lot information shared about tea that covers almost all aspect of it from culture, history, biology, medicine, and uses in pottery to farming and production. I want to play to my strengths by adding a unique twist of including the human aspect to the knowledge. The first book is a recipe for summer time tea, I want to make it a fantasy world. I am creating my own creatures with the ingredients I have and having them pick up those ingredients. When I creating my characters, I start to imagine their existence in my real life to picture how they look, their feelings, and their behaviors. I really enjoyed creating their own immersive world and am very excited to get to share some of my creations!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I just moved to Baltimore not too long ago, I really enjoy doing my artwork outside because of the rip-roarious environment surrounded by the people who really inspire me. So, most of places I know in the city are cafes. For me, enjoying a new place is not about the food or drinks, it’s more about the people and getting to enjoy my time together with a friend. I also enjoy being close to the nature: the fresh breeze, the vibrantly colored leaves, the hopping squirrels, and the blue skyline— everything just made the day happy and perfect. I also enjoy jumping out from my daily life and stepping into nature so I can come back with a fresh mind and appreciate my daily life more. I would really recommend going hiking or picking fruits and vegetables— the local municipal parks and the farms are amazing!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I really would like to take this chance to shout out to my family for being extremely supportive and giving me the courage and opportunity to pursue what I truly want to do for my career. I also really want to say thank you to my cohort, my teachers and tutors and all the amazing people I met at my school. They are all very talented artists and have helped me a lot in all the aspects, making my dream more accessible and achievable to me.

Website: https://yuanimosart.com

Instagram: @yuanimosart