Meet Weston Wei | Illustrator & Visual Designer

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

Hi Weston, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Well, to me, the risk is an old friend who always comes to me no matter what I am doing. I am in the creative industry, and every piece has its bottleneck. I will know I learned something from the process and finish a good illustration when I overcome it. Also, I love challenging work and Multi-task. So there are lots of difficulties: the time arrangement, how to ensure the quality of my work, how to avoid repeating the old self, and how to make clients happy. Multi-task sometimes helps me to avoid risk or help me keep the inner balance, though it’s hard. Because when I divide my time into different sections for different works, I also split the risk. And even if one task fails, it’s still acceptable, and I can still have hope for other work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My illustration practice focuses on telling stories and conveying emotions. I love depicting negative emotions, such as loneliness, anxiety, and depression because drawing is an excellent way to help me better understand myself and reconcile with my feelings. As a story lover, I am also willing to read other people’s profound and touching stories and make illustrations based on them.

In my view, I am 55% extroverted – 45% introverted. That’s why I choose to live in one of the most crowded cities in the world – and spend lots of time alone in my room drawing. I moved from my hometown Shenzhen(the most developed city in southern China), to Shanghai(the most modern city in China), then to New York. The city tells me fantastic stories of loneliness and hope – and I draw them in vivid colors and meticulous details. Except for drawing on my own, I am open to talking with diverse people and communicating ideas with them. I think it’s an excellent way to help me build an immediate and direct emotional connection with the audience.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Brooklyn, NYC. And what fascinates me the most are the various cute shops in BK. There are locally friendly cafes, bakeries, vintage shops, and bookstores. I will take my friend to wander the street when they visit me. We can enjoy flavorful coffee and buy cute gifts and clothes in Williamsburg. And appreciate the beautiful sunset in dumbo. We can find any food we want if we are hungry.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First, shout out to my school and department, School of Visual Arts, MFA Illustration as Visual Essay. This program helps me explore my visual language and encourages me to tell image-rich stories. Big thanks to the founder of the program: Marshall Arisman. I was lucky to be one of the last students of Marshall; he taught me how to do visual narrative, shared his precious life experience, and always encouraged me. And, of course, shoutout to my family and friends; they support my creative career financially and emotionally. I can’t stick on this path without their wholehearted support.

Website: westonwei.com

Instagram: @westonweiart

Linkedin: Weston Wei

Twitter: @westonweiart