Tell us about you
I am an ABC (Australian Born Chinese) raised in an artistically orientated family where I grew up watching a lot of Japanese cartoons.
My father has been a freelancer ever since I could remember, and I always thought the best path for me was to do exactly what my parents did. My mother is a housewife so that was one of my childhood aspirations too haha.
Currently I am in my final year of studying Animation & Interactive Media at RMIT University.
In your opinion, what would be the secret ingredients to become a great illustrator?
Keeping an open mind and being able to accept failures. I believe it’s also important to have faith in your works, while at the same time being aware of your own flaws.
Where are you located?
City of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, Australia.
What is the most fascinating part of being an illustrator?
The thought of bringing life to a static image and generally the self observation of changes and (hopefully) improvement in your works over time.
Where do you get inspirations from?
My works are very ‘anime’ style due to the heavy exposure of the Japanese cartoon style in my childhood, so I mostly look up to Japanese artists. These days due to the accessibility of the internet, I am constantly inspired by many other online artists.
How do you promote/ sell/ showcase your work?
I haven’t been seriously promoting my works other than just having my fun at deviantart and mangabullet. I keep art blogs such as tegaki and my own sketchblog on livejournal, and I have a wordpress blog for my potential clients to look at.
What is your long range goals in your life?
Oh boy, I always feel a little embarrassed at these kind of questions!
In terms of illustrating, I would love to be able to publish my own comics. Whether that be full-time or part-time, I’m not sure as of yet, but I do know I would like to publish my own characters some day. It would make me feel like a proud mother haha.
What types of assignment/ project are you attracted the most? Why so?
One that requires character designs and illustrating a ‘situation or ‘story’ they’re involved in. I love creating personalities and throwing them into situations to see how they would respond to their environments.
Who is an illustrator that you look up to? Why so?
Tatsuyuki Tanaka’s pencil works are so deliciously detailed, and the cinematic atmosphere he never fails to illustrate in his pieces are so believable you can’t help but become absorbed in this ‘world’ he creates.
Describe a difficult work/ project situation and how would you overcome it?
Who hasn’t experienced the dreadful ‘ART BLOCK’ situation?
During these times I lose faith in my original ideas, so I end up drawing FANarts of series I really like. Somehow or rather, I always end up drawing fanarts better than my originals… regardless, it gives me the confidence boost to keep on drawing, and I think that’s what really helps me overcome an art block by breaking the barrier of demotivation….(oops apparently that’s not a word!)
What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting our lifestyle?
The internet, while it allows us to reach out and explore the ‘world’ without worrying about physical barriers, it is also very capable of ‘shutting us in’.
It is a place abundant with information we can easily access on demand, however, unlike TV or the newspaper, users can choose exactly what they want to look at, and in that sense we are still shutting ourselves in our own little room, in our own little world while we are actually connecting to others in a world wide network.
If you could turn back time, how would you do things differently?
Probably stop drawing so much anime haha… it is a little embarrassing that I can not seem to move away from this style.
How do you keep your work fresh? Do you need to consciously adapt your style or does it progress naturally?
Glad wrap, keep it in the fridge- I mean YES, I consciously try and adapt certain aspects of other art styles I like and incorporate it in my work. I think the thought that “I’m not good enough yet” is really what drives me to seek change in my works. Whether I actually improve is a different story though!
Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
Tatsuyuki Tanaka’s ‘CANNABIS’
Robots Super Color Comic anthology series
Japanese Comickers
What is your life motto?
I …don’t really have one. I kind of just go with the flow…I guess that could be my motto!
In what kind of a work environment do you do your best work?
When I am by myself. I get really nervous when there are people watching me draw. For some reason I do better works when I am supposed to be doing homework too…
What do you like the sound of? Why so?
The click of Mahjong tiles. It’s one of my favourite games to play with my friends, even though we don’t use real money to play haha.
Chitchat: Sarah Chan
Your Full Name
Sarah Chan
Tell us about you
I am an ABC (Australian Born Chinese) raised in an artistically orientated family where I grew up watching a lot of Japanese cartoons.
My father has been a freelancer ever since I could remember, and I always thought the best path for me was to do exactly what my parents did. My mother is a housewife so that was one of my childhood aspirations too haha.
Currently I am in my final year of studying Animation & Interactive Media at RMIT University.
Keeping an open mind and being able to accept failures. I believe it’s also important to have faith in your works, while at the same time being aware of your own flaws.
Where are you located?
City of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, Australia.
What is the most fascinating part of being an illustrator?
The thought of bringing life to a static image and generally the self observation of changes and (hopefully) improvement in your works over time.
Where do you get inspirations from?
My works are very ‘anime’ style due to the heavy exposure of the Japanese cartoon style in my childhood, so I mostly look up to Japanese artists. These days due to the accessibility of the internet, I am constantly inspired by many other online artists.
How do you promote/ sell/ showcase your work?
I haven’t been seriously promoting my works other than just having my fun at deviantart and mangabullet. I keep art blogs such as tegaki and my own sketchblog on livejournal, and I have a wordpress blog for my potential clients to look at.
What is your long range goals in your life?
Oh boy, I always feel a little embarrassed at these kind of questions!
In terms of illustrating, I would love to be able to publish my own comics. Whether that be full-time or part-time, I’m not sure as of yet, but I do know I would like to publish my own characters some day. It would make me feel like a proud mother haha.
What types of assignment/ project are you attracted the most? Why so?
One that requires character designs and illustrating a ‘situation or ‘story’ they’re involved in. I love creating personalities and throwing them into situations to see how they would respond to their environments.
Who is an illustrator that you look up to? Why so?
Tatsuyuki Tanaka’s pencil works are so deliciously detailed, and the cinematic atmosphere he never fails to illustrate in his pieces are so believable you can’t help but become absorbed in this ‘world’ he creates.
Describe a difficult work/ project situation and how would you overcome it?
Who hasn’t experienced the dreadful ‘ART BLOCK’ situation?
During these times I lose faith in my original ideas, so I end up drawing FANarts of series I really like. Somehow or rather, I always end up drawing fanarts better than my originals… regardless, it gives me the confidence boost to keep on drawing, and I think that’s what really helps me overcome an art block by breaking the barrier of demotivation….(oops apparently that’s not a word!)
What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting our lifestyle?
The internet, while it allows us to reach out and explore the ‘world’ without worrying about physical barriers, it is also very capable of ‘shutting us in’.
It is a place abundant with information we can easily access on demand, however, unlike TV or the newspaper, users can choose exactly what they want to look at, and in that sense we are still shutting ourselves in our own little room, in our own little world while we are actually connecting to others in a world wide network.
If you could turn back time, how would you do things differently?
Probably stop drawing so much anime haha… it is a little embarrassing that I can not seem to move away from this style.
How do you keep your work fresh? Do you need to consciously adapt your style or does it progress naturally?
Glad wrap, keep it in the fridge- I mean YES, I consciously try and adapt certain aspects of other art styles I like and incorporate it in my work. I think the thought that “I’m not good enough yet” is really what drives me to seek change in my works. Whether I actually improve is a different story though!
Name 3 of your favorite (art) books/ magazines.
Tatsuyuki Tanaka’s ‘CANNABIS’
Robots Super Color Comic anthology series
Japanese Comickers
What is your life motto?
I …don’t really have one. I kind of just go with the flow…I guess that could be my motto!
In what kind of a work environment do you do your best work?
When I am by myself. I get really nervous when there are people watching me draw. For some reason I do better works when I am supposed to be doing homework too…
What do you like the sound of? Why so?
The click of Mahjong tiles. It’s one of my favourite games to play with my friends, even though we don’t use real money to play haha.
If you have online portfolio, what is the URL?
www.chancake.deviantart.com
www.dailyfools.wordpress.com (for clients)
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