Rising Stars: Meet Yumi Emily of NewYork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yumi Emily

Hi Yumi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and grew up in Japan, then came to the U.S. after I graduated from high school so that I could figure out what I wanted to do in my life in the new environment. I wasn’t really planning to become an artist at first. I somehow always thought pursuing art as a career was for those who are special and wasn’t possible for me. However, I ended up taking drawing class when I was in a community college and that made me realize how much I love drawing and it’s just something I wanted to do. I trusted my gut and decided to change my academic career to art although I had very few experience in that field. After I decided to transfer to an art school, I spent an year preparing a portfolio on my own and enrolled in School of Visual Arts in NY, majoring in Illustration. Learning from professional artists at SVA really made me who I am today as an artist. I think it shaped my artistic view and helped me figure out how I want to direct my creativity. It was especially, very meaningful that I got to know diverse perspective on art from teachers and classmates around me. Through 4 years of curriculum, I explored different ways of expressing my voice by doing assignments, and I was finally able to graduate with BFA of Illustration this May.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t been an easy path at all! When I first came to the U.S, I couldn’t speak English so well so it was hard to fit in and get used to the environment that’s completely different from Japan for the first few years. And almost right after I started going to SVA, Covid happened and all of a sudden we lost an access to studios at school and had to learn everything on zoom for more than a year, which was very difficult and crazy. Plus, the fear for the virus and the isolation from other people really affected my mental health.
It was also hard that at one point I had no idea what kind of art I wanted to create when I was in school. Although that’s something I was eventually able to figure out as I kept working, being surrounded by so many artist who is younger and far more talented than myself made me question my own worth as an artist. At the same time, that situation helped me get rid of my fixation on competing with others with how good you can draw, and made me focus on finding out what I can draw, my own voice that only I can express.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I always keep my self open to have more than one subject matter when it comes to creating my work. What I love doing most is character design, so I usually start from there. I like looking at different kinds of fashion items and cool interior design so I spend a lot of time thinking about designing clothes and environment for the character. In addition to that, I try to create the best composition for the specific narrative that I want to tell in the work.
I usually use digital paint tool to create my art. I can say my favorite process is drawing line art. It’s simpler than coloring but very satisfying and meditating process to me.
I think the way I draw character and use color is what sets me apart from other artists. It’s hard to describe the uniqueness of my own drawing but I try not to make my character design too generic and always try to put an extra effort on drawing small details. People around me always tell me that they can tell immediately that it’s my drawing when they see it so I think I’m doing the right thing.
Besides drawing, I do print making as well. I learned silk screening and risograph printing at school and I absolutely love seeing my illustration in a form other than regular digital prints. I saw many people particularly liking my riso prints when I participated in the art market, so I thought may be my work looks well in riso. I’m definitely thinking about making more of them in the future.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I realized that social interaction with people are one of the absolutely necessary things in our life. Going outside, walking around, and talking to people is important for both creative process and mental health. It’s hard for art to happen if you don’t engage in activity and conversation with people.

Pricing:

• Character icon/portrait $60~
• full body character illustration $100~
• Illustration with background $300~
• Prints $10~
• Riso Prints $20~

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yumiemily.com/
• Instagram: @y.emily.i

Image Credits
Yumi Emily