Meet Yufei Yang | Illustrator & Artist

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

Hi Yufei, what inspires you?
I get my creative energy and inspiration from many different things. Food and drinks bring a lot of colors and textures to my art, making it look lively and interesting. I also love to draw whilst sitting outside cafes, so food and drink is very relevant!

I always start with basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles to build compositions, helping me keep things clear and simple.

Nature is a big influence too, with its beautiful forms and patterns influencing my work. Editorial articles give me ideas for themes and stories that connect with what’s happening in the world today.

Films often inspire me to create different moods and emotions in my illustration work. When I am designing a character in a drawing I think about what they would be like if they came to life, and films like Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. Branding helps me focus on creating images that are not just pretty, but also meaningful and effective in conveying a brand’s message.

All these influences come together in my illustrations, making them both eye-catching and meaningful.

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.
I moved to Cambridge, England to study illustration at Anglia Ruskin University in 2018. Coming from Shanghai where I had spent all of my life it was a huge culture shock, but an opportunity to learn and develop as a person so quickly.

I went on to study a Master’s Degree in Children’s Book Illustration, and managed to get some commercial illustration work as a student. Since then it’s become a real passion, and most of my work is in advertising or editorials. There have been many challenges along the way, such as figuring out how to run my own freelance business which is a very complex task. I now live and work in London, and spend most of my days in my studio in Wapping, an old industrial area down by the river Thames full of old repurposed brick warehouses.

I have always been a visual communicator. I like to move around, I’m very energetic and gestural. These things show through in my work and are a key part of how I communicate with illustration. This is what I’ve always loved about drawing, the possibility to capture the energy of life on paper.

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.
As a resident of London and previously of Cambridge I can give my best travel guide for these beautiful cities! We’ll start our trip in Cambridge. My first recommendation is a walk through Midsummer Common—perfect for a bit of fresh air. For lunch, we’ll grab some tasty food from the Thai food van at the market in the city centre. Hard to miss, Cambridge is a small city! In the afternoon, we’ll go punting on the River Cam, checking out the beautiful colleges of Cambridge University. We’ll wrap up the day with a pint at the famous Eagle Pub.

The next day, we’ll start with a bike ride to Jesus Green for some relaxing and sketching. For lunch, we’ll have classic fish and chips. In the afternoon, we’ll explore more of Cambridge by bike, making a stop at the beautiful botanical gardens.

Next we’ll head to London for a visit to the Tate Modern. The galleries are amazing, and the bookshop is worth a look. We’ll have lunch at the museum cafe and spend the afternoon wandering around the Southbank area. There is always so much going on in Southbank!

We’ll kick off day 4 at the Natural History Museum. It’s full of cool exhibits. After lunch at a nearby cafe, we can explore more of South Kensington and its beautiful georgian neighbourhoods.

Our last day will be in Regent’s Park. We can walk around, visit the zoo, and maybe even rent a boat. For lunch, we’ll have a picnic with goodies from a local market.

A mix of chilling out and exploring—perfect for a fun and memorable trip!

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 dedicate my shoutout to The Mainstone Press. Their support has been instrumental in my journey. When I needed an endorsement letter to get my UK Visa, Mainstone didn’t hesitate to provide one, which opened up important opportunities for me. Thanks to their support I can continue to live and work in London. Their belief in my potential has been a source of encouragement, and I’m so grateful for their role in my story.

Website: https://rainbowdraws.com

Instagram: rainbow.illustrator

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yangyufei

Image Credits
Samuel Larn