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

Jun, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I don’t remember a single dramatic moment when I decided to become an artist. Creating images has always been a natural part of how I process the world.

When I was younger, drawing felt less like a goal and more like a private space where I could build small emotional worlds. I was always drawn to characters and fragments of stories—strange creatures, symbolic figures, or quiet moments that carried a certain feeling. At that time I didn’t think about it as “art” in a professional sense. It was simply the most intuitive way for me to think and communicate.

Over time I began to realize that images could hold emotions and experiences that are often difficult to express directly through words. Illustration and comics became a way for me to explore uncertainty, vulnerability, and inner psychological states.

The decision to pursue a creative path didn’t happen suddenly—it slowly emerged as I understood that making images was not just something I enjoyed, but something I needed in order to make sense of my own experiences.

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’m an illustrator and comic artist whose work focuses on emotional and psychological storytelling through symbolic characters and narrative imagery.

For several years I have been developing an ongoing series centered around rabbits and stars. In this series, a group of rabbits are constantly searching for or following stars. The relationship between the rabbits and the stars is intentionally ambiguous and continues to evolve. Sometimes the stars represent emotions or inner desires. In other stories they become metaphors for relationships, such as the bond between a mother and daughter. At other times they can represent something more collective—the way people search for direction, meaning, or hope.

Rather than telling a single linear story, the series grows through fragments of images and moments. The rabbits appear in different situations and contexts, and the meaning of the stars shifts each time. What interests me most is the idea of searching itself. The rabbits keep moving toward something that may or may not ever be fully reached.

Alongside this series, I spend a lot of time working in comics. My current comic project, Black Dog, explores a darker emotional space. The story centers on a long, thin black dog figure that often appears drifting or falling through space, almost as if it exists in a suspended psychological state. Through this character I’m trying to visualize inner pain and the more difficult emotional experiences that people often carry but rarely express openly.

Many of my other comics also revolve around characters who feel incomplete in some way. They are searching for connection, understanding, or some form of healing. Instead of focusing on clear resolutions, these stories often stay within the process of searching itself.

Although comics and drawing are central to my practice, I also work across different media. I create ceramic and clay sculptures that often grow directly from my drawn characters or strange creatures that appear in my comics. Translating these figures from two-dimensional drawings into physical objects allows them to take on a different presence and personality.

In addition to sculpture, I have also experimented with animation, installation work, and printmaking. Recently I’ve been spending more time exploring painting as well. Working across different materials allows me to approach the same emotional themes from multiple perspectives while letting the characters move between different forms and spaces.

Across these different media, many of my works share similar figures—rabbits searching for stars, drifting dogs, or other strange creatures. They are fragile characters navigating emotional landscapes that don’t always have clear answers.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

A recurring idea in my work is the experience of being incomplete and searching.

Many of my characters are not confident or heroic figures. Instead they exist in moments of uncertainty—looking for something, trying to understand themselves, or moving through difficult emotional spaces. I’m interested in this state because it feels deeply human.

In a world where people are often encouraged to present themselves as stable, confident, or certain, I’m more drawn to vulnerability and ambiguity. The act of searching itself can be meaningful, even if the destination is unclear.

Through my work, I hope to create images that acknowledge those experiences. If viewers can see a small part of their own emotional reality reflected in these characters—whether it’s the rabbits reaching for distant stars or the drifting black dog—then the work has created a connection.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding parts of making art is when an image begins to reveal something that I didn’t fully understand when I started.

Often I begin a drawing with only a vague emotional direction. As the work develops, the imagery starts to form its own logic and meaning. Sometimes it reflects thoughts or feelings that were difficult to articulate before.

Another meaningful moment happens when viewers interpret the work in ways I never anticipated. Because many of my images are symbolic or open-ended, different people find different stories within them. When someone connects with a piece and brings their own experiences into it, the work becomes something larger than my original intention.

I think that shared space—where an image can hold multiple emotional meanings—is one of the most powerful aspects of visual storytelling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/junyoungillus
• Instagram: incco_