Meet Yimiao Liu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yimiao Liu.

Yimiao, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m an illustrator who currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Before moving to LA, I was working as an interior designer and graphic designer. After finishing my undergraduate program in China I wanted to change something in my life. Coincidentally, an art director from a Chinese fashion magazine reached out to me right after I graduated and said that he saw my drawings on social media, which he liked and asked me if we could work on some editorial illustration.

During that time, I had no experience in editorial illustration, but I said yes immediately, and we started working. I was very grateful that the art director was helpful and guided me a lot, by the end of the year I did a cover illustration for them. This experience reminded me that drawing was what I had always wanted to do in my life, and it would be amazing if I can make a living from it. Finally, I decided to go to grad school to get some professional training and the summer after that I began my studies at the California State University, Long Beach.

In the US, I was exposed to multiple cultures that gave me the opportunity to observe and think from different perspectives. Most of my personal projects explored the relationship between women and the world, by reflecting on the pervasive culture of female oppression and the ways women are rising above. I mostly use traditional media to render these thoughts and ideas, using mostly brush pen and watercolor. I love reading books about mythology and the suspense in thriller movies, these, in turn, are reflected in the quirkiness of the imaginary worlds that I create.

During my last year in grad school, I was lucky enough to have my work exhibited in galleries both in Los Angeles and Beijing. In the summer of 2018, I had my MFA solo show in Long Beach. After I finished grad school, I started trying new techniques to achieve desired works, I did a group of digital illustration for Poketo, a Los Angeles lifestyle brand, and worked on multiple projects ranging from movie poster to commercial branding.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not always been smooth, Los Angeles is a very competitive city, we are lucky that we are in this huge community and get a chance to see great art. It is hard to make your own voice heard especially in the beginning, but also because there are so many talented people with important things to say. Most of us start from doing commercial work to get their work exposed and then slowly shift into making more personal work.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I’m an illustrator who currently lives and works in Los Angeles. My work explores the relationship between women and the world, by reflecting on the pervasive culture of female oppression and the ways women are rising above.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think that the most important thing is to maintain originality in the work and to create scenarios that people who are interested in the subject tackled in work to be able to relate to it. In the beginning, it is quite normal that you have to find common ground with your client and adapt your style to the particular request.

I also dedicate a day or two in the week to work on my own drawings and focus on the subjects that I want to visualize. I also maintain a presence online by posting works on social media and reaching out to people such as art directors to disseminate my work further.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yimiaoliu-illustration.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimiao_liu/

Image Credit:
Zihui Song, Mengyue Deng

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