Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Caitlin Du. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Caitlin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I am currently working on an autobiographical coming of age graphic novel titled “Little Yellow”. It is about high schooler Jialin’s struggles with her college applications, self doubt, and relationship with her mother. During this process, her cat Little Yellow quietly supports her and inspires her emotional growth.

I initiated this project when my cat Little Yellow (小黄) passed away. It was shocking news to me. My dad didn’t tell me that Little Yellow was having stomach problems and was in the vet. He hoped that Little Yellow would get better and I wouldn’t be worried.

I didn’t take the news well. Little Yellow was always there for me when I was struggling in highschool. He used to sit next to me whenever I cried, or try to stay awake by my computer when I was pulling an all-nighter. I started this project as a reflection of these moments. But some of my repressed memories also came up during this process. I remembered reasons why I cried or pulled all nighters

Now I am continuing this project as a sort of a hopeful trauma dump. It has joyful moments such as the dumb things Little Yellow did, but also stressful themes such as Chinese family dynamics, self expectations as an international student and the constant feeling of isolation.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a Chinese illustrator based in New York. My work always has vibrant colors, cute characters, the theme of vulnerability, and an unexpected sense of humor. My strength is in both storytelling and illustration. That is why I mainly work with comics or illustration with a focus on story.

I started establishing my style after I took a class at parsons called “Cute, Kitsch and Horror”. I learned that the word “Kawaii” in Japanese derives from the word “Kawayushi”, which literally translates to shy, pathetic, vulnerable, embarrassed, lovable, and small. I got very inspired by this. Now my work is like a trauma dump… but funny and cute.

I recently started working more with zine, which is a form of self published books. I like the more distributable aspect of this medium. I will be tabling with my work at the MoCCA fest in manhattan this April. Feel free to come by and say hi!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My social media following is not huge, I have around 1800 followers on Instagram at the moment. But I got a lot of good opportunities from these followers, including a several commissions and zine sells.

As hard as it is, it is important to establish a brand as an artist, to have a presence. I don’t have much to say about growing followers, besides it’s good to make reels for instagram, and have 2 social media platforms (one can be your website).

I do have a lot of say about taking care of one’s mental health. There was a period of time that I want followers so bad that I would post everyday. It puts a lot of pressure on my art making. I wasn’t creating for myself anymore, instead, I was following trends and drawing what everyone would like. This severely impacted my mental health and how I viewed art. I felt like I enjoyed the posting process more than actually drawing, which is bad. Good thing that came to an end, instagram shadow banned me because I was posting so frequently that they think I am a bot. I took time off to think about my creation process. I realized I didn’t have to post everyday. Instead, it would be better to post a piece I actually enjoy drawing once a week (and it might even be better for the algorithm)

Another thing worth mentioning is that it is OK to post uncompleted art and work in progress too. I use my website to post complete art once in a while, while instagram is more of an archive of my growth journey. Also, I work a lot on projects like Little Yellow right now, so it is impossible to finish everything in a week. In order to stay consistent with social media, I always post process reels or sneak peaks of my art.

My main point is, social medias are important, but your mental health is always more important.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect for me is the sense of community between illustrators.

I am currently a senior at Parsons School of Design. Someone requested a workspace for the entire illustration major. The work space is a tiny room with no windows, it is smaller than my bedroom. But people go to this space everyday to work together, critique each other’s work and even draw collaborative comics. Someone even drew a fake window for the room, with a picture of Nicolas Cage as the sun.

But besides the physical space, there is a sense of community between illustrators. When I was in my junior year, I had a moment of crisis. I didn’t know how to make it as an illustrator, or what my future career path would be like. I sent numerous panic emails to my professor and even guest lecturers at my school asking for advice. I reached out to Jackie Ferrentino (@jckieferrentino on instagram), a guest lecturer for a class in my Freshman year. She not only replied to my email, but also scheduled a zoom meeting with me. During the zoom meeting, my wifi died, but she continued the meeting by facetiming me. She gave me a lot of useful advice regarding sending cold emails and managing social media, but most importantly, she really helped calm me down. She told me it is ok to not have everything figured out immediately. She also told me to cherish my peers/friends in the major. The illustration field is competitive, but everyone has their own unique style. So it is not uncommon for illustrators to refer other illustrators.

Lastly, it is nice for people to find a sense of connection through my art. There is a community too between me and people who read my stories. I recently finished a zine titled “I don’t wanna cut my hair”. It is based on my own experience of not knowing how to make a decision for myself. I showed this zine on instagram reels and in my class; people resonated with my story. They told me about their own stories either regarding haircut, relationship with their parents, or just not knowing how to say no. It is a rewarding experience, to spark an intimate conversation with someone by sharing my stories.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.caitlindu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phantalism/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlindu/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Phantalism

Image Credits
Caitlin Du