We recently connected with Youran Tang and have shared our conversation below.

Youran, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

In 2020, I was in my second year at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and happened to take a course in the oil painting department. Through this course, I completely fell in love with painting, even though my major during my four years of undergraduate study was graphic design. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I was in a state of lockdown at home, and the environment was very quiet, which was perfect for focusing on painting. I created a series of illustration works and posted them on social media, which helped me gain 30,000 followers within two months. This gave me tremendous confidence, and I considered it a positive feedback for my creative career. I had the passion and ambition to develop painting as my profession. In the following years, I continued to create and accumulate more followers while seeking suitable ways to monetize my work. I found that participating in various art festivals to sell my works and offering my own illustration courses were both rewarding. It wasn’t just about financial returns, but also about receiving more recognition and encouragement, which constantly reassured me: you are suited to be an illustrator, and you are doing well.

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

From a very young age, I loved drawing, so in my second year of high school, I decided to take China’s art college entrance exam. I spent my entire final year of high school striving for this goal. I was very fortunate to be admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study graphic design. However, I noticed that most of my classmates, even though they had passed the art exam, lacked a passion for drawing. Moreover, the design department’s teachers showed little interest in drawing, even somewhat disdainful. This made me very uncomfortable, but it also made me cherish my love for painting even more. I needed this primal passion for painting to sustain my inner self.

I believe my artworks are highly inclusive and open to interpretation. I deliberately remove unnecessary elements from my compositions to purify the essence, such as hairstyles, skin color, gender, and other decorative elements. Therefore, no matter where you are in the world, I am confident that my work can resonate with you. Publishers love my paintings for this very reason. Book editors have found that my artworks often align well with the themes of certain books, even if they were not specifically created for those books. As a result, they like to purchase my paintings for book covers. This not only boosts book sales but also increases my visibility. I appreciate this win-win collaboration model.

For fans of my artwork, I produce a variety of derivative products and sell them through online stores. Fans can access these e-commerce platforms via my social media channels to make purchases. I hope everyone can easily obtain my works and let them become a part of their lives.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Many platforms provide backend data analysis on followers, and reviewing this data is very helpful for managing social media. Overall, I’ve found that the age, gender, city of residence, and interests of followers often closely align with those of the artist themselves. It’s truly fascinating how like-minded people are naturally drawn to each other, even without deliberate effort. Therefore, I believe that by improving oneself, one can attract better people. It’s somewhat similar to the process of finding a life partner—put the same level of effort into managing your social media!

Additionally, different platforms have different dynamics; some focus on click-through rates, others on shares, and some on likes… However, I’ve discovered a useful rule of thumb: the impact of a single artwork is less than that of sharing the process and insights behind multiple pieces, and images have less impact than videos. Given this situation, artists who are anxious about their data might want to give this approach a try.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When my artwork resonates with strangers, I feel that the pain of the creative process dissipates. When strangers encourage me to keep creating, I immediately feel inspired to start my next piece. When my artwork can be exchanged for money, I can sleep peacefully and wake up eager to paint again. I truly want to thank this world for being so kind to me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleell11/profilecard/?igsh=ZjJ4Zm5tZnowMWVl
• Twitter: https://x.com/vcol_?s=21
• Other: xiaohongshu：https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/60d36d8c0000000001008a9d?xsec_token=YBXOEmcxXD3t1K61tVyVpXe9e63VvthuelKhbyqUstxYA=&xsec_source=app_share&xhsshare=CopyLink&appuid=60d36d8c0000000001008a9d&apptime=1738055680&share_id=2225abb97e20471e905c4521694d3fde

  weibo:https://weibo.com/u/7193360048

Image Credits

Except for the first two photos, the following six paintings require attribution:目垂