We were lucky to catch up with Dong Qiu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dong, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

This is an ordinary story, and everything seems to be very logical. I have loved painting since I was a child, and I have shown some extraordinary painting talents in the small town where I live. My parents were very happy and sent me to learn professional painting skills. When I was a child, I almost painted in and out of class. I also liked to read books, comics and picture books related to painting. At that time, I didn’t think painting was difficult. It felt as simple as speaking. My mind was filled with all kinds of fantasies and was about to overflow, so I decided to record them all, and naturally began my journey of painting creation.

As I grew older, read more, broadened my knowledge, and changed my environment, I found that there were too many choices: comics, picture books, illustrations? The trial and error along the way finally made me choose illustration. Fortunately, in the second year of my work in illustration, I received an invitation from a very famous movie poster, and I completed it well. At that time, there was a big wave of forwarding on the Internet. In the following years, I worked hard and diligently, and I had a deeper understanding of the illustration industry. This year marks my tenth year as an illustrator, and I still have a lot of things I want to draw: comics, picture books, graphic novels. Maybe my choices will gradually increase?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a freelance illustrator. My job is to conceive and draw illustrations according to the needs of the brand. It also includes communication and writing, research and inspiration collection, modification and adjustment, project management, business cooperation and promotion, copyright and contract management, etc.
I am best at drawing promotional posters. The most well-known one is the illustration poster of the Chinese movie “Song of the Phoenix”, which was drawn by me. It is also a major turning point in my work.
I don’t think there is anything special about my work. The only thing I can talk about is probably the “creation”. It is sacred and private. It is an exciting and painful process to create something from nothing, just like giving birth. It is not only a display of technology, but also an expression of thoughts and emotions. Through creation, I can explore the unknown, discover myself, and communicate with the world.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Diversity and free expression, attention and love.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The originality of the work is very important. I believe that sincere expression and continuous accumulation and honing of basic painting skills are essential.
Many friends who draw have very amazing imaginations, but it is actually very difficult to maintain the behavioral habit of being willing to spend time creating and recording it. I believe I did this very well when I was a student. This is actually It is a good habit to cultivate and consolidate your own painting style. It can also exercise the brain’s way of thinking about pictures, which can be well applied to work.
As an art practitioner, it is a very lucky thing to have your own unique painting language.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://qiudong-art.com/
• Instagram: diamonster09
• Twitter: @diamonster0
• Other: https://weibo.com/u/1773643104https://www.behance.net/ashow

Image Credits

It’s all my original illustrations：）