Today we’d like to introduce you to Tevy Khou.

Hi Tevy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

Much of my work is informed by my hometown Long Beach, CA and the general Los Angeles area. In high school I would go to punk shows, take the metro to Hollywood and just bum around the streets chain smoking cigarettes and getting into all kinds of shit. You could never catch me out of a leather jacket. I’m still the same, but I don’t smoke anymore. I sketched a lot ever since I was little, and gravitated toward more outsider art like graffiti, inky sketches, and tattoos. In high school I became more serious about pursing an art career and eventually graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. After college I did freelance illustrations and had design jobs along the way. My first jobs were a lot of spot illustrations, which are smaller drawings rather than fully detailed images. From there I kept drawing what I liked on my spare time, developed my style, and shared work whenever I could. Eventually I began getting more gigs making larger scale art, both figuratively and physically. I’ve worked with clients like Buzzfeed, Apple, and the Steve Jobs Archives for example. I’ve been featured in American Illustration and won an award from Society of Illustrators as well.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

An artist without rich parents or insider connections is always going to have struggles! There were times where I was so broke that I sold my own clothes to pay my bills. All it takes is for one person to take a chance on you and say yes and that became my goal. One “yes”. After getting my first design job, it was easier to freelance and figure out how to balance the two. Along the way there were a couple of bosses I had that were honestly straight up evil people. I had one CEO who would scream everyday at employees including his VP. You could hear it through the walls, and every time I went to the bathroom there was always someone crying in a stall. I had a another boss who said something anti-black to me privately and also said something company wide basically defending racism. It was more disappointing to see some colleagues defend 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. Thankfully in my freelance work I have not had the same experiences. It’s much easier in my own network to deflect the assholes.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

I am an illustrator who draws the stories of underdogs. I love drawing portraits, and exploring the uniqueness of individuals who triumphed over adversity. I think its important to remember and highlight the struggles of people who have made large positive impact on society. I love movies and have worked in the film production industry as a pitch deck designer where I got a great outlook on how directors think about film. Much of my illustrations I try to imagine how they would look in a movie. I am also a comic book fan as well, so it lends a hand in telling a cinematic story. The work I am most proud of is my illustration of two Asian kids laying on the ground reading a book called Yell-Oh! Girls. It’s a book that got lost in media after 9/11. You can think of it like a Chicken Soup for the Soul but for Asians. It something I wish I had when I was young. I think what sets me apart from others is that I am doing the opposite style of what seems to be trendy right now, which is bright colors and quirky characters that have massive appeal, and is family friendly. Don’t get me wrong, I have friends who work in that style and see fun creative work coming out of that. I’ve even tried to dabble in it, because there’s money in it. But it just felt dishonest to who I am and my experience and a touch infantile. I think if I continued down that route it would’ve watered down the good parts of my work. I want to be more selective in who my audience is and not have a passive point of view at this point in history.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?

I never had a mentor or specifically looked for one. I learned a lot in college from my teachers and continue to learn from my peers. Networking is one of my strengths. There’s been times where someone has referenced something and I know the person who made it. It fills me with pride to be honest because those people are usually friends too. Much of my networking has been through friends and tabling at zinefests, or simply going out in the world and chatting with people with common interests or sometimes people who have zero in common with me. It’s important to build mutual trust and have good outcomes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tevykhou.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tevykhou
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/tevykhou.bsky.social

Image Credits

Please credit my headshot to photographer Lester Guijarro