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

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

The project HOUSE is my graduate thesis project in Fashion Institute of Technology; it is a series of illustrations，inspired by a horror movie directed by Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi, which uses collage to make an otherwise scary scene funny. The story is about 7 girls who went to the protagonist Oshare’s aunt’s big house in the countryside during the summer vacation. Then, strange things began to happen. The girls are swallowed up by the house one by one, and eventually, were all turned into dolls. It turned out that the aunt’s fiancé died in World War II. She was heartbroken and turned into a ghost, constantly tricking the girls in the village to come to her house and devour them. She hoped that the girls would always be with her and she would never be alone again. This is a tragedy caused by war. The story is sad, but I used an absurd and comic way to describe the scene. The facial expressions of the characters are witty, while disdainful, and the overall color is bright and warm. This result is a unique treatment that offers another possibility of expression.

The aunt’s love was terminated by the war, and her grief turned into fright after her death, continuing the vigil in an evil way. The always present sound of aircraft engines seem to be a phantom constantly emerging, haunting future generations, and the impact of war is always there.

I’ve always been a fan of strange and cult films and stories because I believe they express something profound in a pretty weird, mysterious, and fascinating way. This project assisted me in shaping my style. I used to rarely draw people, preferring to depict a static scene, but for this series, I added a lot of my own designed characters, plots, and Easter eggs. I think it is my unique storytelling style. Predecessors always say that drawing is a process of addition before subtraction, and I think I’m still in an addition phase, but I believe I did my best. I am lucky to have had so much time and good teachers as to allow me to do what I wanted to do very carefully and attentively in school.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a freelance illustrator&artist based in New Jersey and I creates illustrations for publishers and individuals. Before coming to graduate school, I studied architectural design at a Chinese university. I eventually realised that I was more interested in creating two-dimensional images than in creating the space itself, and I drew a lot of architectural illustrations during this time. I am fascinated by mysterious traditional mythology, monsters and ghosts, and oriental strange stories. Later, I began to draw my own illustrations, cartoons, and created a series of illustrations about Chinese geomantic omen, which helped me win numerous awards, including JIA Illustration Award, 3 x 3 Illustration Show and I Jungle Illustration Awards, and so on.My early works used a lot of lines, which made the image very delicate, and with low saturated colors, it could express a very quiet atmosphere. After graduation. I gave up being an architect and came to FIT to study illustration because I was certain that was what I wanted to do. In my graduate school, I began experimenting with different styles and types of work, and I discovered that my everyday doodles frequently made people laugh, I think it would be happy to be able to draw in a way that makes people laugh rather than only for aesthetic reasons.. During my graduate studies, I drew a lot of cute little characters and comics. Now I’m working on some children’s books and picture books.

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

This is something I would say I did very poorly, but I want to change it. My friends and other illustrators also taught me a lot. Initially, I would post my work on ins and add topics to each post, and I gained some followers, but the number did not increase over time. Because I work in a variety of styles, my page appears to be somewhat disorganized. I discovered that artists with a large following have a very mature and unified style, which allows them to attract a specific audience who enjoys that type of work. Another important point is to keep your personal photos separate from your work photos. I now have two ins accounts, one for digital work and one for daily sketches and doodles, they are in two different styles. It is also important to continue updating frequently. I’m the opposite; when I’m busy with my thesis or other things, I frequently don’t update my social media platform for months. I think I would change it.

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

The most important thing is that my life has become happier because my work is something I enjoy, and while there are some tedious tasks to complete, I enjoy seeing the world through an artistic lens. When I’m traveling or watching a movie, I always unconsciously imagine what kind of painting the scenery could be with its composition and colors. Despite the fact that I am under a lot of pressure, I have something to look forward to.

Contact Info:

• Website: sewingfeng.com
• Instagram: @sewing_illus; @sewing_omelette
• Other: email: [email protected]