We were lucky to catch up with Ard Su recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ard, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I was very lucky to receive a commission from The New Yorker shortly after I graduated in 2021. It was an editorial piece for a contemporary short story by Lorrie Moore. The story describes a female doing Face Time calls with her gravely sick father during the pandemic. I drew a female figure, who was trying to connect her own room to her father’s ward using a tabloid as a tunnel, but it’s so narrow and dark, and the two characters looked far away.

This was my first project as a professional illustrator. The final came out great. I received not only the first dollar, but more work opportunities. Many of them share a similar subject matter: I personally joke about it as ‘Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown’ – in a sad tone though. To be honest I don’t consider myself had established a style right after I graduated from art school, but while working on these projects, as I’m sharing the emotions and thoughts with the females – whether it’s a character or real individual – I gradually find myself drawing with my own voice.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I spent my first 22 years in Shanghai, China. I studied Japanese during undergrad. During my 3rd year, I was unsure about how my future would unfold. So, I applied for art school at the last minute (in the environment I grew up in, making a plan for one year later is equivalent to making a last-minute decision). There’s really no logical connection between this ’cause and effect’ and I would like to admit my decision as an attempt to escape from the prospect of doing a mundane office job. Anyway, I came to the US to study illustration, thinking I could work from home and make a living. I didn’t realize that by the time I graduated in 2020, I would have to do so.

Most of the projects I take on require me to visualize a concept or emotion in a creative way. The subject-matter I have worked on includes science, philosophy, literature and many other abstract ideas. I enjoy using metaphors, playing with shapes and lines, or even creating an unrealistic environment to describe the subject-matter with a tone that fits. The process of working on those projects are like solving math problems. It feels rewarding whenever I come up with a good solution.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

At this point, I still consider it money laundering. However, I do believe that the existence of NFT and AI generative art encourages people to once again pay attention to traditional media in art. It draws people back to feel the authentic feeling of tangible and fragile art that ages with time.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I recommend The Road To Financial Freedom by Bodo Schafer. Many artists tend to avoid talking about money, but I believe that money is good, and it’s important we talk about it. Having a satisfying amount of money ensures that we can create our art in a sustainable and healthy way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ardsu97.com
• Instagram: @_ard_ard