Wacom Community - Pro Corner | This month's Featured Artist March 2008

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Wacom Community Featured Artist of the month - Mar 2008

Name:
Pei-Chin (Page) Hsu

Country:
Taiwan

Website:
blog.yam.com/pageme/

Wacom tablet used:
Graphire4 6x8

Pei-Chin (Page) Hsu is a young illustrator in Taiwan with a flair for the cute that we couldn't resist featuring here on the Wacom Community. Having graduated from Tam Kang University in Taiwan with a B.A. in Japanese, she moved to the U.K. to get a second B.A. in Illustration and Animation from Kingston University in 2004.

Since then, she has returned to her native Taiwan and is well on her way to becoming a successful freelance illustrator with clients such as Cheers Magazine (快樂工作人), Figaro Magazine, Youth Juvenile Monthly Magazine (幼獅少年), Leo Burnett, Fullon (馥林), Eurasian Press (圓神), Readingtimes (時報), Cyworld TW, The Independent (UK), and The Guardian(UK).

Last year, she expanded her portfolio to include illustrations of books, including the Chinese translation of "31 Songs" by Nick Hornby and one soon to be released by Liu Yong (劉墉), a famous author in Taiwan. We caught up with Page, to get a hint of what makes her tick.

Interview questions for Pei-Chin (Page) Hsu, artist extraordinaire.

"31 Songs: First I look at the purse"
- Noisy music we loved when we were young.

"31 Songs: One man guy"
gives a heavenly feeling while listening.

"31 Songs: Samba Pa Tai" - Songs about making love are not necessarily suitable for the real situation...

1. When did you start drawing?

When I was very little, probably when someone handed a pen to me for the first time.

2. How would you describe your style?

Humorous and easy-going with lots of personalized objects and animals...and with sound effects!

"Monsters" - Creatures collected from sketch books

3. Did you always draw in this style? If not, how did you create it?

During my teenage years, I was a big fan of Japanese girl comics, and they have influenced me quite a lot in how I express myself on paper. The lines, conversation bubbles, facial expressions, symbols to signify sounds, light or movement -- they all come into the picture naturally.

On the other hand, I have always liked to personalize animals, to imagine what they'll do, how they interact with each other and to the world. It's a lot of fun because I get to forget my own perspective and thus get away the pressure of life for a while. If I get stressed, I draw monsters with angry eyes and sharp teeth. If I watch too much TV and feel guilty about it, I draw a man who puts his head into the TV. If I eat too many biscuits, I draw a cat stuffed to death, lying next to a giant biscuit box. It's a very good way to relieve stress.

"Soap College: Age of Brain" - The grandmother is enthusiastic about bridge and age does not stop her from learning. Now she can even play bridge online.

"Dog! Be polite!" - From the book by Liu Yung

"Let's get naked" - For an article about naturalism.

"Soap College: Division" - The author, a housewife filled with curiosity, joined a international online course "Global Management". Here is one of the subjects she mentioned in class.

4. Are there artists who inspire you?

Yoshimoto Nara, Michael Sowa, Ian Falconer

5. What are your favorite subjects to draw?

Rabbits, crocodiles, cats and dogs… Animals, especially fluffy ones.

"Hairy Rabbit" - A little comic book I'm working on.

6. What software do you use? Which Wacom tablet? When did you start drawing digitally?

Photoshop, occasionally Illustrator, with my Graphire4 6x8.

I am better at drawing lines, but when it comes to coloring, I get a bit impatient so I found myself using Photoshop quite a bit. Soon after that, I got my Wacom tablet because it is far more accurate than the mouse.

Sometimes I also use a computer during the drafting stage. I still use pen & paper for sketching, but if there is some part of the sketch I want to enlarge or shrink, I scan it into Photoshop and make changes there. That way, the draft still keeps the spontaneous feeling of the original sketch. At the same time I can check the composition, too.

"Star Signs" - For Figaro Magazine.

7. What's your passion of the moment?

Walking around, taking photos, and exploring BBC online radio stations - there are so many programs I can listen to while I'm working.

"Organize" - For an article about how to get organized.

See the last Featured Artist