Artwork From Home: Julia Yellow

Originally from Taiwan and currently based in Los Angeles, Julia Yellow’s illustrations have appeared in projects from around the world. You may have seen her delightful holiday visuals for Eclipse Hong Kong, whimsical illustrations for publications like The Wall Street Journal and Star Tribune, immersive designs for a 2019 Circle Illustration Festival exhibition, as well infographics for Airbnb China among many others. Yellow’s latest sketchbook, “Runetic-stories of an everyday life,” was recently chosen as a Staff Pick for the sweet, hilarious comics about life in her New York City apartment with her partner and cat. You can check out more of Julia’s playful, storytelling visual style by visiting her website and Instagram.

On May 6th, 5PM EST, Julia will lead a virtual workshop on working as a freelance illustrator in the lead-up to our Telethon to Benefit the Brooklyn Art Library. Make sure to sign up and join our virtual fundraiser to help support the project! 

When did you first begin making art?

Like most illustrators, I’ve always been drawing since I’ve had memories. In fact, I think most people draw when they are kids, I just didn’t stop until now. But if you are talking about making art professionally, I started to work as an illustrator in 2012. 

What does your workspace look like now?

A mess. I haven’t had friends over for a month, got really lazy, and have no motivation to organize the workspace (home and myself included) because of the stay-at-home order. 

My workstation is pretty simple. I use an iMac and Wacom tablet, and I always have an iPad in front of my computer so I can watch (listen) to crime shows when I work.

How have present circumstances affected your creativity?

Well, technically it hasn’t changed much for me because my life was pretty much the same pre-stay-at-home-order.  But I do miss going out to play table tennis, badminton, hiking, run around at a playground, etc.  Because I can’t release that energy, I found myself starting to make more handcrafted/hobby art.

What or who do you look to for inspiration? 

So many people! Besides the pretty art, I’ve always loved and admired work that is smart and witty like Brian Rea, Rose Wong, Pablo Amargo, and Marion Fayolle. 

What are some art-making materials you can’t live without?

I do all my commercial work digitally so…a computer? Otherwise, I’d say a good old-fashioned pen and paper for sure.

How do you make time for your art practice at home? 

I have a daily schedule set for myself like a class itinerary—when to do non-creative work (email, update, archive, etc), creative work (drawing while watching crime shows), exercise.  

For my free time, I have a to-do list for personal drawing projects and handcraft projects like sculpture, painting, embroidery, and wool felting. These are all the non-commercial stuff that keeps me excited and can explore and experiment freely.

How has illustration changed the way you see the world? 

I’ve always been a very visual person so rather than how illustration changed how I see the world, it’s more like I’m simply illustrating the world I see.

Your sketchbooks are full of wonderful snippets of everyday life, from travels through Hong Kong to vignettes of living in New York. Can you talk about your process when embarking on a blank sketchbook?

It’s always the hardest to do the first page so I either start on a random page in the middle or I draw what I want for the first page on another piece of paper until I’m sure that’s a ‘go,’ then officially draw it again on the sketchbook. For the Hong Kong and Bahama travel sketchbooks, I basically just draw it like a diary as the days go and allow all the “imperfection” on the pages to stay.  But it’s another story for the comic (book #3), I’ve been doing comics about stories between my partner and I in my own sketchbook and I just picked the ones I liked to redraw it on the sketchbook so it looked neat and whole.

You’ve created visuals for organizations like The New York Times, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, Cincinnati Magazine, and even designed the Chinese-language cover of Barbara Walker’s Feminist Fairy Tales. Can you talk about how you decided to pursue illustration as a career? 

I wanted to make a living by drawing so I majored in illustration at SCAD and right after graduating in 2012, I moved to New York to start freelancing as an illustrator and build up clients slowly.

You’ve also created animated works as well. When did you begin to incorporate movement into your 2D designs? Do you have any advice for artists looking to branch out into animation? 

I started making simple animated illustrations (gifs) for some clients' social media, then I met my partner who is a motion graphic designer/animator and started to get my feet into the motion graphic industry working on style frames. We also take on projects as a production team sometimes.

What role have sketchbooks played in your creative development? 

It’s like daily workout training.  It builds up a beautiful six-pack in your creative part of the brain.

It’s also a safe-zone for me to do whatever I want—explore new materials, draw silly things, observational drawings, write/draw daily life like it’s my blog/social media so I can look back.  

I like the fact that there is no control+z in real life and whatever mark you leave, it’s there forever. 

How do you get through creative blocks?

Rather than creative blocks, to me it feels more like the little mouse that falls into a bucket of cream—you keep paddling until the cream becomes butter so you can crawl out.  The thing is, the bucket is so big and endless so I’m still paddling and so much cream became butter, but I still don’t see the wall of the bucket. But hey, I’m getting so much better at this!

What I want to say is if there’s a challenge you just keep on going.  At the very least, you are going somewhere rather than nowhere. 

What’s the best piece of art-making advice you ever received?

Have fun with it. Explore.  You’ll always improve the most when you enjoy it.

How can people support your work?

Following me on Instagram and Facebook and showing your love is the biggest support for me!