Today we’d like to introduce you to yu fan
yu, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and worked as a fashion designer assistant for a year in the city. As an undergraduate majoring in fashion design, I developed a strong interest in different materials and textures, which complemented my passion for traditional painting and became my unique artistic language.
However, despite my excitement about the intersection of art and fashion, I gradually realized that my true passion lay not in creating clothing collections but in conveying fashion concepts through illustration and the combination of different materials. In my junior year, I specialized in knitwear and delved into the transformation of materials. For my thesis project, I integrated illustration with knitwear. Initially, I designed a series of cat patterns using watercolor, and then I knitted these patterns onto garments using yarns of different thicknesses, giving them unique textures.
After working for a year, I enrolled in the graduate program at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) to further study illustration and explore the combination of different materials with illustration. I enjoy creating illustrations related to lifestyle, clothing, and women, using clothing and environments to explore human personalities, which is what I am currently experimenting with and exploring.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This path is not an easy one. I am often confused about my painting style and content. It is difficult for me to have that kind of wild imagination. Most of my paintings are based on my personal experiences and preferences. But lately, with me rarely going out and spending most of my time at home, I’m finding it hard to find inspiration for painting. And, as someone who switched from a costume major to painting, I often get stuck with a lack of basic skills. Sometimes I have an idea for a picture, but when I actually paint, it is difficult for me to perfectly present the picture in my imagination, which makes me feel very painful.
Therefore, I now hope to continue to explore new things, go to new places, meet different people, experience different cultures, and get more inspiration for my work. At the same time, I also realized that I need to continue to practice basic painting skills in order to overcome difficulties and improve my painting level.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a fashion designer and illustrator, I am passionate about incorporating fashion elements into my work to represent characters with different personalities and characteristics. I like to highlight textures and brushstrokes in my paintings, and often use strong contrasting colors to make my works more vivid. I specialize in illustration using a variety of media and materials, including knitting, clay, ceramics and tufting. I designed a range of cat tufted tote bags and cat keychains which were well received. Now that I have established my own independent studio, “Momototo”, I plan to make more tufted tote bags, knitted bags, and keychains that I intend to sell in markets across the United States.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I feel I’ve been quite fortunate along my journey. Firstly, I smoothly entered FIT to study fashion abroad and later found a job seamlessly. However, when I felt lost in my current job, I received support and encouragement from my parents, which led me to choose illustration as my career path again. I successfully applied to the MICA’s graduate program in illustration, where we had only 11 students in total for our cohort. As a transfer student, I hadn’t had much exposure to illustration before, so being accepted felt incredibly lucky. During the application period, I also took drum lessons from a professor in New York. When he learned about my interest in illustration, he invited me to draw a cover for his music score, despite my lack of prior experience in this area. Upon completing the cover, he was pleased with my work and introduced me to his composer friends, which opened up opportunities for me to create covers for many Chinese composers. Of course, this wasn’t just about good luck; it also made me realize the importance of boldly expanding my network and promoting myself. Therefore, I will continue to work hard, maintain an optimistic attitude, and seize every opportunity that comes my way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/yuqianfan
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuganida_art/
