Meet Qiyue Zhang | Illustrator

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

Hi Qiyue, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve been fascinated with drawing since I was a child. Because of the picture book of Andersen’s fairy tales that my mother bought me, or perhaps I’ve been addicted to the comic strip Dream of Red Mansions for a long time, I anticipate painting similar works in the future. Before I knew it, painting became an integral part of my life due to these works. I learned that there was a career as an illustrator when I was in high school, and it had always been my dream to illustrate the inside pages or covers of books, so I decided to study illustration.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like some of the illustrators of the 19th century, and I’m fascinated by the era of line expression. I once wanted to follow the trend of thick painting CG* (a kind of electropainting style close to traditional realistic oil painting). Still, I didn’t find any problems doing so for a while because of the excellent foundation. However, I felt I was struggling with it, and the effect was unsatisfactory. Until a senior class, the professor accidentally saw my sketchbook and “questioned” why I usually never draw like this. I explained that I felt the style was not modern enough for a small audience. “It’s vivid… I love it. Why would I be scared? You have to understand that trends in the world of illustration are always changing so fast that no one can say how long each style will last.” So the professor told me.

Since then, I have tried to explore the appropriate color style for my sketching lines, along with learning from some of my favorite artists, such as Arthur Rackham, and finally settled into my current stable style. I draw the lines in pencil first, scan them into the computer and color them for a while, preserving and strengthening the lines appropriately—the pencil step is the soul of my whole work. I like smooth, delicate, but not rigid lines.

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.
Griffith Observatory!

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 recently had the opportunity to work with KVD, a beauty brand based in Los Angeles. They asked me to make an illustration for their PR gift box. They have a product launching in August, and they had envisioned unique gifting for this launch. It is the first time I have been invited to cooperate on a commercial project, which is a kind of recognition and challenge for me. Special thanks to their senior Marketing Manager Elika, who saw my work posted online and contacted me via email. I hope this collaboration will be a starting point for me.

Website: https://www.doublemooncake.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doublemooncake/

Image Credits
Haley Richter