Meet The Illustrator: Xiaojie Liu

Name: Xiaojie Liu

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less. 
Emotional, colourful, vibrant, vivid, free, flat, patterned, joyful, fantasy and abstract.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
If I create digital illustration, I will draw sketches using pencil, and then scan them, and using
Photoshop to create the final work. Therefore, the scanner is an essential part of my creative
space.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Watercolour is my favourite artistic medium. I love to see the water moves, goes where it wants to. The colour does amazing things on its own while drying, things that I can't get in other mediums.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Laura Carlin, Marc Martin, and Lisbeth Zwerger.

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
I really love fauvism. for example, Matisse. He is one of my favourite artists. I love his colour. I
love his decorative patterns, and I love his paper cut collage. As a result, I want to come
back to the early twentieth century.

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
Since I was a kid, I love drawing. I drew flowers, trees, and clouds all day. During that time, I found that I want to be an artist. Also, when I was growing up, I read many picture books,
novels, and literature, and I felt that I wanted to become an illustrator just like those famous
illustrators who created the illustrations in the books I read.

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you
work most often? Talk us through it.
I work at home. I decorated a corner of my living room as my studio. I work here almost
every day, and stay with my laptop, my scanner and my drawing tablet.

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?

The final part is my favourite part. Because whenever I'm close to finishing my work, I feel
excited. Also, I love to modify the colour of my work and make the final adjustment to my
work.

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Keep practising what you do. Believe in yourself, and never give up.

Xiaojie Liu is an award-winning illustrator who was born and raised in Enshi, China,
received a BA in illustration from the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts in 2015, and an MFA in
Illustration from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2018. Liu’s artistic focus is on
children’s illustration, editorial illustration and surface design for a wide range of projects
including children’s books, publications, magazines, branding, and packaging. She combines
mixed media and materials to create illustrations, which include digital and hand drawing,
paper cutting, clay, and fabrics. Liu has been selected to appear in American Illustration, Hiii
Illustration, and Asia Illustrations Annual Awards. In addition to doing gallery shows
internationally, she is currently working on picture book projects.

Please visit Xiaojie on her website for more information or follow her on instagram .