We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cynthia Tjhin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cynthia below.

Alright, Cynthia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was never an artistic individual growing up. I had seldom scored an A in art classes and the thought of pursuing art as a career never crossed my mind. Since I was a kid, in every ‘My Ambitions’ essay I came across for my homework, I would answer a ‘teacher’.

Then, I came across a friend who possessed a natural talent in art during elementary school. As someone who is easily influenced, I began to try out art for myself. After adopting art as a hobby for the longest time, I realized I wanted to dive deeper into the art industry in the future, but I didn’t know what form of art I truly wanted to pursue and I held onto the belief for quite some time that a career in art wouldn’t be financially lucrative.

It wasn’t until I graduated from high school that I found a passion for 2D animations, which I ended up taking as a course in college. It was, and still is a never-ending journey of discovering the curiosity I have for different forms of art. I still practice my animation skills from time to time but currently, I’m on the path to realizing my dream of becoming a professional children’s book illustrator—a career I’m deeply committed to in my creative journey.

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?

Hello there! My name is Cynthia Tjhin, an Indonesian-Chinese digital illustrator based in Brunei. I embarked on my creative journey through the Instagram art community in 2020, where I decided to choose art as a professional career.

My artworks revolve around a playful, vibrant, and whimsical theme. When I first started my art account, I solely focused on creating food art and occasionally simple objects illustrated in a cute style. After expanding my views on the illustration industry, I discovered my deep passion for storytelling through illustration.

Stepping beyond my comfort zone to explore new creative crafts was initially daunting, as I feared that something that I am passionate about not being well received by my viewers. But as I learned to start creating art for myself, I rediscovered a newfound enthusiasm for illustrating again and embraced the freedom of expressing myself without the pressure of meeting public expectations.

Besides running my art account, I also provide illustrating services for clients internationally ranging from personalized portraits, logos, and invitation cards to a fully illustrated custom piece!

As an artist, my mission is simple: to craft heartwarming illustrations with their own stories, in hopes to at least evoke a tiny sense of joy in those who view them.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

When I first started my art account on Instagram for fun during the quarantine period, my goal was solely to attract as many followers as possible. As I began taking my art journey seriously and discovering what I truly had a passion for, my goal was no longer based on pure numbers.

Currently, my largest goal in my creative journey is to illustrate my childhood in the form of a picture book one day.

Having to leave my home country to permanently reside in Brunei at the early age of 7, there were only a few memories I had in my hometown that I could still recall. Moments like playing with the neighboring kids until dusk and returning home for a refreshing drink of water might have seemed trivial at the time, but they hold a significant sentimental value now.

I firmly believe that I’m not alone in cherishing these fundamental childhood memories, hence, I aim to evoke a sense of nostalgia in those who grew up in similar environments as me through the book. A book that can serve as a momentary escape from adulthood to relive the comforting embrace of childhood memories.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As I reflect on my creative journey, I realize that there are a lot of rewarding moments as an artist! One of them was the feeling of self-satisfaction of being able to bring my ideas to life on what started out as an empty canvas. It’s double the reward when friends online engage with the artwork, it is always interesting to read the different opinions on how my work is viewed.

As someone who is rather introverted in real life, I also find it a struggle to communicate about topics I am enthusiastic about. Therefore, I truly cherish the moments when I can freely exchange thoughts and ideas online with people who are passionate about the same things as I am!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aebidraw/
• Other: Behance: https://www.behance.net/cynthiatjhin1