Meet Hanzhang Mao | Illustrator & Animator

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

Hi Hanzhang, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have always loved to read, watch, imagine, and draw since I was a child. I was born in Nanjing, China, a mysterious and beautiful ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. Nanjing has enigmatic mountains, rivers, lakes and temples. I have lived in an old neighborhood since I was born for almost 20 years. I remember all kinds of plants, animals and insects in the neighborhood. I loved playing around pine trees, oleanders, fig trees and wax trees. I loved the fragrance of pine resin and yellow waxberry. I often went to the park near my home with my mother. There is an old lake in that park. My mother often told me the legend of the lake: more than a thousand years ago, a beautiful woman once drowned herself in the lake to defend her love. I not only saw the lake, but also began to imagine what was at the bottom of the lake.

My mother also bought me a lot of small picture books, about snake spirits, clam shell fairies, gods and strange cases. I loved to read Liao Zhai Zhi Yi, The Tale of the White Serpent, Grimm’s Tales, Anderson’s Tales, and picture books by Jimmy Liao about romantic city life. I loved the various character designs, plots, and world building in those books. In addition, I really enjoyed watching cartoons including Tales of the Mole, The Adventures of Tintin, and various productions of Shanghai Animation Studio; various films by directors including Tsui Hark, Hitchcock, and Roman Polański. My reading & watching experiences and playing as a child made me really enjoy the characters and their stories, so I drew various characters and their stories myself. Nature fascinated me. Nature has nurtured my ability to make wild associations.

Growing up, like many Chinese students at that time, I spent most of my time studying. I had to take extracurricular classes on weekends. I enjoyed reading novels in my free time, also because cell phones were not popular at that time. I was very fond of San Mao, Eileen Chang, Gu Long, and Lilian Li. They took me to the enchanting world they created. I want to lead people to my world too.

Then I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, for my undergraduate studies. I was not planning to study art at first because art had always been my hobby and I wasn’t prepared to make a career out of it. I took calculus, psychology, computer science, and basic art classes. Then I was going to double major in art and psychology, but I didn’t think I had enough energy to handle two majors, so I ended up choosing art, which I had been good at since I was a kid, as my major. I have been so grateful that my parents also supported my decision. My dad has always been proud of my art since I was young. In art school, I gradually picked up what I loved most as a child: narrative. I can go back to my childhood while making art, as a naive, carefree, happy kid.

In undergrad, I was exposed to different forms of narrative, including printmaking and animation. I was fortunate to meet some friendly teachers and classmates who gave me a lot of help and encouragement. I really enjoyed animation. I enjoyed every screening in every animation class I took. The learning process of animation was very free, easy and fun for me.

Then I went to Maryland Institute College of Art to pursue an Illustration Practice Master of Fine Arts degree, with a main focus on illustration, animation, and entrepreneurship. Currently in my free time, I love to read Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges, and listen to podcasts.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart from others are my unique imagination, my ability to associate, my characters, my world-building and my ability to portray subtle emotions, which comes naturally.

Being a good illustrator requires thinking as well as drawing well. I am a person with a very free associative ability, so sometimes it is also very important for me to learn to go from the end of my imagination and trace my roots back to the source. For me, touching life is a class to learn, to tell and sell my stories better. Sometimes I will record my dreams to know better about myself. In my dreams I often create ideas that I have never come up with in my daily life. I even paint in my dreams. Recently I have applied what I saw in my dreams to my experimental animation work, which was a great, unique experience.

In addition, I would like to further experiment with various drawing and painting materials.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Chicago is my favorite city in the United States, where we can go to Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium, Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park and Willis Tower. Fresh wind, black skyscrapers, beautiful grasslands and Lake Michigan…This is Chicago.

If we can go back together to my hometown Nanjing, I will invite you to take my favorite bus route #5 or #68, to travel around the city. I think taking the bus is very romantic: a bus will always be faithful to the same route. Its wheels kiss the same road every day; windows see the same road signs and scenery every day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would most like to thank my parents. My parents are glad to see I am able to do what I love. Thanks to my parents’ support, I had the opportunity to come to the United States to study art and meet good teachers and friends. I would also like to thank my mom in particular. My mom works as a science major, but she is very good at literature and art. She was my earliest guide on my artistic path.
Finally, I would also like to thank my best friend, Karen Guo. We have known each other for many years since we were young. She is very wise. She has always given me support and encouragement. This friendship is very valuable to me.

Because I am not only an illustrator, but also an animator. I would like to add two links to my animations. It would be great if you can embed them in the article! If not, links will be great too:

Website: https://hanzhangmao.com/

Instagram: @hanzhang_mao