Today we’d like to introduce you to Yao Xiao

Yao , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

From childhood, I was fascinated by stories, especially picture books. I devoured illustrated books, and the beautiful drawings from a cartoon series by Toei Studio captured my attention with its elegant details and dramatic colors. I read a lot of manga growing up, especially series by the all-women group CLAMP. When I came to America from China, my friends introduced me to independent comics — works by Art Spiegelman, Marjane Satrapi, Matt Madden, and Gene Luen Yang. These contemporary independent artists shown me a way of combining my passion for drawing and self-expression. I wanted to create illustrations and comics that convey strong emotions and communicate deeply with an audience. Following many successful graphic artists’ footsteps, I came to New York City with the dream of building my own career. I graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in illustration, and I started receiving client commissions from publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Entertainment Weekly. I started exploring stories I wanted to tell through comics, and I published my first book. Now, I am a freelance illustrator and comic artist, and I am teaching illustration and comics at the Fashion Institute of Technology while working on my memoir. I have always wanted to take different paths and challenge myself, and I am glad that I did.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

I wish I could say it is a smooth road, but as with most experiences, there have been challenges. Visual storytelling requires more than one skill; drawing and writing, building characters and storyline, and experimentation with new forms and material. It is always a challenge but also what I love about this field: there is always more than one craft I need to practice to make my work stronger.
I have always been curious about different mediums, but while working on projects I want to balance experimentation and consistency. Early on, I struggled with having multiple “styles,” but over time I come to accept that curiosity and variation has always been a part of an artist’s process. I learned that style is what the work reveals about the artist’s thinking and sensibilities; as long as I am concentrated on making my best work, style would emerge naturally.
I love my job as a freelance illustrator; but the freedom comes with many responsibilities. As freelance artists, we need to constantly promote our work, and often times uncertainty is a part of the job. Artists are some of the most brave and curious people I have met, and I am grateful for the community I found myself in.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I am an author, illustrator, and cartoonist. I specialize in personal storytelling through illustration and comics, and creating hybrid work that combine writing and drawing. As an illustrator, I illustrated Ashima Shiraishi’s picture book How To Solve A Problem, about a rock-climbing champion’s creative approach to problems. I also illustrated The Not-So-Perfect Life of Holly-Mei and two other Holly-Mei books by Christina Matula, a heartwarming trilogy about a thriving Chinese Canadian kid living in Hong Kong. As a long time New Yorker, I create cartoons not only for The New Yorker about resonating moments in life, but also for The Seattle Stranger and LA Times about life on the West Coast.
Besides illustration projects, I also participate in community conversations. Through the Define American Fellowship and the MacDowell Fellowship, I am building ideas and methods about how to make illustration and comics community-facing and community-building. Each year, I teach workshops and collaborate with local nonprofits, letting more people learn about comics and illustration.
I am the most proud of my ability to observe and find unique angles to tell a story, whether it is through picture book, comics, or illustrations. It takes a lot of research, study, and experimentation to hit the perfect pitch. and it is through a decade of self-initiated projects and community collaborations that I became the specialist I am now. My book, Everything Is Beautiful, And I’m Not Afraid is the result of every aspect of my work coming together. It is a comic collection about queer coming-of-age of a young immigrant, drawn in comic strips spanning four years of work. It is a dream come true to publish my first book, and I am extremely proud of this project. For new readers who would like to get to know my work, I recommend starting here.

What’s next?

The biggest change I underwent recently was going back to graduate school. Instead of illustration, which I thought I would study, I chose Creative Writing. Even though it seems unexpected for a visual artist, I studied literature with the intention to incorporate these learnings into visual storytelling. Mastering a new medium was so exciting, that I did not feel intimated about the amount of reading and writing. After two years of intensive studying, I am putting finishing touches on my first prose manuscript. Learning a new skill after working for a decade is extremely fulfilling; I am approaching more literary subjects with my illustrations and comics. I look forward to continue my illustration and comics practice with strengthened sensibilities. I would also like to write more about my process — go into my notebooks and sketchbooks, and share more about my travels in the United States and China. Perhaps there will be another project.

Pricing:

• Everything Is Beautiful, And I’m Not Afraid $14.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yao.nyc
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/yaoxiaoart

Image Credits

Two Photos: CAO Collective
The rest are my own.