Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Chung.
Hi Christina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I’m really grateful to have been raised by parents that allowed and encouraged me to explore creative expression. I grew up dancing and entertained myself by drawing and writing stories.
Through my years at school, I always had a passion for art, but I’d never considered that it could be a viable career path until the end of high school. While doing research for an art class assignment, I found the works of illustrators such as Jimmy Liao, Victo Ngai, and James Jean. Of course, I’d come across illustration throughout my life, but it wasn’t until this moment that it clicked for me. I was able to follow examples of living and working artists constantly adding to their body of work, which was such a change compared to looking at the works of iconic artists throughout history.
I was drawn to illustration specifically because it’s not just about creating pieces of art, but about interpreting concepts and creating visual solutions. As someone who really enjoyed writing, I saw it as another way to explore storytelling. I went on to study illustration at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and I’ve been working professionally as an illustrator ever since.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A personal challenge that I’ve had to work on throughout my career is finding the balance between creating work for my clients and the need to create work for myself as an artist who does commercial work. One of the downsides of monetizing something that you’re passionate about is the potential to lose the love that you have for it. So, it’s really important to me to keep stoking that creative fire with each job that I take on.
With all of my client projects, I always try to find a happy medium between creating an illustration that works for the client’s needs and creating something that can still be fun and fulfilling for me to work on. I like to use metaphor and symbolism in my illustrations, which allows for more opportunity to explore a variety of visual solutions, drawing things that I enjoy. It’s also very important to me to make time to create art solely for myself, to refuel and bring fresh perspective into my professional practice.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As an illustrator, my job involves a lot of problem-solving. I like to think of it as solving visual puzzles. Clients come to me with a prompt, and that can be anything, such as an article, a book manuscript, or a pitch for an advertising campaign. I then have to figure out how to reinterpret their prompt into a visual solution that still carries the same idea or message.
I think one of the most rewarding things about illustration is how different each job is to the next. As a result, my career has allowed me to learn about so many topics and perspectives that are new to me, and I’ve been lucky enough to work on many dream jobs with dream clients. Every job is a new challenge and an opportunity to grow, and I’m so grateful for that.
Some of my favorite jobs to work on are book covers and interiors. As a kid, I was a huge bookworm, and to this day, I can still remember so clearly the covers and illustrations in my favorite books and how much of an impression they made on me. Now, as an illustrator, it’s so rewarding to see books that I’ve done illustrations for sitting in bookstores and in libraries, with the possibility of making an impression on someone else’s life.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Personally, my favorite thing about living in NYC is the large community of illustrators and other creatives based here. It’s such a vibrant, diverse city that’s full of possibilities. I especially love being a creative here because there are so many others like me chasing their dreams. I love how easy it is to meet up and hang out with such talented and supportive people that motivate me to continue improving my craft.
Of course, there are a lot of downsides to living here as well. It’s hard to pick just one, but one of the things that come with a city that’s so populated is that while you get to see the best of humanity, you also sometimes see the worst.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christina-chung.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinaillos/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/christinaillos
Image Credits
Han Alexander
