We were lucky to catch up with Peilin Li recently and have shared our conversation below.

Peilin, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Yes, I am now a full-time freelance illustrator from China.

My work involves editorial illustrations, children’s books, and advertising illustrations.

I started working on some illustration projects in my junior year, such as children’s books and editorial illustrations, which gradually allowed me to accumulate some illustration work experience. In my senior year, my works won some awards, which attracted more people to my illustrations. So I got some illustration jobs shortly after I graduated. I worked as an online illustration tutor and had editorial illustration projects for some magazines and companies. Those projects can cover my basic living expenses. But I didn’t have any other illustration projects besides them, so my overall salary was not high, and I was very anxious about it. But I knew this period was unavoidable, so I adjusted my mentality.

I stopped thinking about if I would have new illustration projects or new clients. I started refocusing on my works. It was like going back to university, not thinking about pay or jobs, and just constantly creating illustrations and improving my abilities. So in the initial stages, I spent more time creating my personal illustrations and updating them on social media. Gradually, more people noticed me. And then, I was fortunate to cooperate with SlowmMovement, a super professional illustration agency based in China. And I got some great commercial projects. I learned a lot and got more attention from those projects. Then my career as a freelance illustrator gradually started to stabilize. Of course, I can’t say that I have a lot of illustration projects now, but at least I don’t need to worry about my finances.

I am also running my own small art business. I sell my design products online and often participate in art festivals to sell and promote my works. Now I can earn a full-time living from all my creative work.

Peilin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Peilin, and I’m currently a full-time freelance illustrator. I have a fat cat who loves to bite me. The place where I work is my book room, and the layout is also straightforward, a table, a computer, and a pen display.

Thanks to my major and the teachings of my school, I got in touch with some illustration projects when I was a junior, such as children’s books and editorial illustrations. And in my senior year, my illustrations won some awards, which made more people pay attention to me. So I got some illustration projects shortly after graduating, and that’s how I got into the industry.

My current main job is to provide design and illustrations for different clients. I create illustrations for some articles, and I also create advertising illustrations for different companies. My clients include Nongfu Spring, CGTN, Xiaohongshu, etc. I still work as an online illustration tutor on the ZZCETISTAR, an illustration platform in China. At the same time, I am also running my own small art business. I sell some of my design products online and often participate in art festivals to sell and promote my works.

My strength is my personal art style. The dancing crowd, melodious music, and dizzying details are the hallmarks of my works. There is warm energy in my works, and movement can be seen everywhere in my works. My illustrations are more like moving pictures than static flat illustrations. Since I like to draw characters and objects in a state of motion. Now I am also learning animation by myself so that the elements of my illustrations can truly move. Characters are also the protagonists of my illustrations, and I like to convey the stories by drawing different vivid characters. The character design series of my works also won the Gold Medal of 3×3 International Illustration.

I am proud that I am good at conveying various stories through my illustrations and making them more interesting. I like to present some interesting things in life through my works. My works’ inspiration comes from observing daily life and the feeling of traveling. I love walking, and I often walked back to my apartment from school when I was in New York. The weather in New York in autumn is very comfortable. I like to observe people on the street. There are my classmates with a pile of painting materials, an asleep homeless man, a person with many dogs, and a group of hungry pigeons. These small details broaden my thinking, so I can always discover novel angles in daily life and bring them into my illustrations.

So I hope people can learn more about my illustrations, and I also hope my illustrations can comfort tired people. At the same time, I am constantly learning new knowledge and new media so that my works can become more interesting and diverse.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

On the road of full-time freelance illustrators, the biggest dilemma is its instability and flexible working hours. I was very anxious about this issue when I had just graduated from university because I didn’t have many illustration projects and wanted stable financial resources. At that time, I also considered going to the company to find a full-time job, but in the end, I still chose to become a freelance illustrator because I wanted more space and time to create my art.

Although I had already got some illustration projects when I graduated, I still felt anxious about the instability of freelancing. So to avoid anxiety, I would not let myself be idle. When there is no illustration project, I will create my own works to improve my ability so that I have no time to worry about not having good resources and clients. As time went by, I gradually got used to the instability of freelancing. At the same time, because of the accumulation of work experience and the improvement of my illustration ability, I got more and more illustration projects. And during work, I also found my weaknesses in the design area. When I was not working, I also prepared a portfolio for applying to Graduate School in the graphic design major. I want to learn more new knowledge and make myself stronger. I can also serve my clients better.

Take every job seriously when I have a job, and do my creation when I don’t. It is very important to focus on myself and figure out what I want to express and what I want to do. Don’t change for the sake of the “fashion trend” because the trend of fashion will change soon. Focusing on myself and improving my recognition is the best way to let others remember me. This is the most important thing I’ve learned on my current freelancing journey.

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

I want to keep creating, and seeing my work keep appearing in magazines or advertisements is the biggest goal that drives me to continue working as a freelance illustrator. I enjoy creating, and if the audience can feel relaxed when they see my work, it will make me really happy and moved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.peilinli.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peilin.515/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@peilinli6780
• Other: Weibo：@阿沛peilin