We were lucky to catch up with Thanh Lan Truong recently and have shared our conversation below.

Thanh Lan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

After a decade-long hiatus from the art world, my hand was stiff and quite rusty, making it quite challenging to draw again. I was super nervous to make art and didn’t exactly know where to begin, but I made this commitment to myself to invest my time and resources to improve and refine my art skills. Luckily, art education is highly accessible nowadays! I’ve studied drawing techniques from different artists and found great tutorials on various platforms like YouTube, Patreon, and Skillshare!

I was so eager to improve my skills quickly in order to find my own art style. However, I ran too fast and was trapped in an art block phase. I was clueless about what I actually wanted to achieve and what value I could give to my audience. Generally speaking, it’s easy to succumb to the pressure of wanting to improve quickly – especially as we’re in the midst of a world where it thrives on speed. When I took a break from drawing, all the spark and motivation came back to me. And then, I realized that true growth often requires time and perseverance. I’ve learned through the process to be gentle and show myself more grace.

Thanh Lan, 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?

My name is Thanh, and I am an artist based in Germany. By day, I’m a linguistic postdoctoral researcher, and by night, I’m a freelance illustrator, doodling and drawing to my heart’s content.

Ever since I was a child, I have loved to draw and create. However, as someone of Asian descent (2nd gen), pursuing a career in art was not encouraged. Instead, I went to university to study English linguistics. While still creative, it appeared to have a more professional outlook (at least to my parents). During my bachelor studies, I was enamoured by linguistics and how humans understand spoken language, so I delved into the field and am proud to say that I completed my PhD in 2023.

However, the road wasn’t always as easy as I make it sound, because life hit hard. Due to the pandemic, I wasn’t able to get the full PhD experience (like traveling, participating in summer/winter schools, and attending conferences). I mostly worked from home and therefore looked for a different outlet to make life a bit more enjoyable during lockdown.

I decided to make the jump and pursue art again. Thanks to the online world, studying art is much more accessible now. I tried out various tutorials, including from Sara Faber and Lotusbubble, and others on Skillshare. I’ve learned so much and slowly developed my style, but it was also quite challenging because I was rusty after almost a 10-year break from creating. During my art journey, I have always pursued finding my own style and drew every single day. Along that journey, I experienced major art block, like many artists do. I didn’t come as far as I wanted to – then realized, why am I pressuring myself? Art is my passion, and art should be fun!

I decided that I needed to take a break from doing art and looked for a different hobby. One of my secondary passions is Japanese stationery because the stationery world evolves rapidly, offering quite a unique experience that is oh so different from Western stationery. You can find the cutest seasonal stickers, decorations, cases, pens, gadgets, and most importantly, advanced paper for writing—paper so smooth that you can feel its texture just by looking at it.

During that journey, I discovered an amazing stationery community—people who are obsessed with fountain pens and paper – like myself! I’ve met incredible people and found the community very inspiring. That’s when I felt the itch to create and draw again. I started to doodle and draw just for fun! Eventually, I created my own original character and style: Grumpy Coffee Girl. She’s a character that’s always grumpy and in need of coffee. The idea was so simple but people showed so much love! That’s why I’m eternally grateful for this amazing community because they have been nothing but warm and supportive!

My dear friend from the stationery community asked me if I could create her own Grumpy Coffee Girl, and that got the ball rolling. Soon, I received many requests, prompting me to start accepting commissions. Then, I wanted to expand further and create physical products like stickers and postcards, which led me to launch my Patreon, and it’s been wonderful to have this community where we can all share our ideas, our obsession for stationery, and create together.

So, I would say that my art career is deeply rooted in finding and creating a community. Initially, I thought it was about growth and numbers, but I’ve come to realize that it’s more about finding your own bubble where you can obsess about the same things with like-minded people. Growth is certainly a part of it, but the main aspect is connecting with your supporters and clients on both a professional and personal level.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Yes, of course! I can think of four main guidelines: First, it’s important to find your community where you can connect and engage with people based on shared interests and passions. This connection will help you grow an audience and lays a great foundation for your online presence.

Second, participating in art challenges can be an excellent way to showcase your skills and connect with like-minded people. For example, I recommend joining the daily art challenge INKTOBER or participating in draw-this-in-your-style challenges and collaborating with fellow artists. These activities provide great opportunities to share your work, receive feedback, and expand your reach. Additionally, they motivate you to refine your skills and keep you curious about different art techniques. Also, remember that it doesn’t need to be perfect – you just need to start.

Third, consistency is key! While you don’t necessarily have to post every day, I recommend maintaining a regular schedule, such as posting twice/ three times a week. This way you can gradually build a loyal following and establish your presence in the online art community. Since you are working on having more engagement from your followers, don’t forget that you need to engage too. Take your time to respond to messages and comments.

Fourth, do what you love! Pursue what brings you joy, because staying true to yourself ensures that your creative journey remains fulfilling and sustainable in the long run. By that, I mean not solely chasing higher engagement metrics – like doing trendy and popular content (but if that’s your vibe – please go ahead). Personally, I love consuming popular content and funny reels, but if I had to create them, I know that this will quickly burn me out. Therefore, I simply stick to creating posts and reels that resonate with my personal style. It just makes my life easier, because then I don’t attempt to be someone else. Stay true to yourself!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes, definitely! In the art world, having a unique art style is what marks the success of an artist. However, art style is actually a myth (at least that’s my opinion), and that realization is what I wished I had known earlier. I pressured myself to find my own unique art style until I felt like I didn’t want to draw again. But art is dynamic—it flows, it evolves, it adapts—and it’s totally okay to change your art style because your art reflects your innermost thoughts and emotions, formed by the ebb and flow of life. Change is the only constant. As you will change throughout your life, so does your art. Therefore, embracing this fluidity means being open to change, including shifts in art styles, because curiosity is what makes us motivated and ready to explore new avenues which is as important as finding “your” art style.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thanh.illustrates/
• Other: patreon.com/thanhillustrates