Meet Peili Huang | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Peili Huang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Peili, why did you pursue a creative career?
I was an electrical engineer before, working at several electrical substations for 6 years in China. It’s a job with a decent income and I was satisfied with it initially. But as time went by, I felt it was not what I wanted. In a place filled with important facilities, I had to follow the rules to keep everything going well and safe. But I know my heartfelt love for creative jobs, I love to break the rules and think out of the box. So I quit my job and learned illustration from scratch. The power of real passion led me to this new career in art and I’m enjoying it. I believe with an engineering background, I’ll bring more fresh perspectives to the industry.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the best moments in my life is spotting my illustrations in the real world, like in a library or Amazon. I’m happy to see my art getting to more audiences. 6,805 of my first book The Golden Acorn Tree have reached more than 40,000 children in the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. You can see my newest children’s illustrations Snip, Cut, Stick in Ladybug Magazine’s 2023 winter issue at almost every library. By searching Ana’s Alphabet Affirmations on Amazon you can find my picture with a great rating.

I also feel thrilled when I get awards from organizations in the industry. This summer, my art from the story The Patchwork Quilt won the Grand Prize from The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. My interior illustration from The Golden Acorn Tree was accepted by the Society of Illustrators into their annual book and exhibition in 2022.

Of course, it was not easy to be a professional illustrator. I spent tremendous time exploring my style. I couldn’t help copying from the masters at the beginning. But my director told me he saw other artists in my art, which was not good. I needed to be a real me as an artist. So I kept experimenting and trying new techniques until now.
Passion is important, that’s the best lesson I learned along the way. When I graduated, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. I could hardly find an opportunity. At that moment, most of my peers changed their career paths. Otherwise, you would receive rejections all day. It was the darkest moment, but with passion, I found a way out and became a freelance illustrator.

I’m a children’s book illustrator. I love creating a whimsical world that is fun for kids or adults to explore. Visualizing abstracts is challenging but interesting. Animals, kids, and nature are the main themes I love to depict. With mixed media, I let my imagination fly. The combination of traditional texture and digital makes my art unique.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Speaking of restaurants, since I’m from China, there are many good places to go for authentic Chinese food. Good Harvest is my favorite even when I was in China. I’m so happy to see it is here, in Doraville. LOVE crisp fish pots, frog pots and banana charpati. The Pearl Chinese and Thai restaurant is also a good place to go. As for drinks and dessert, I recommend Meet Fresh. Don’t miss grass jelly, taro balls, red beans, shaved ice and tofu pudding!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank a lot to my family, especially my husband. Thanks to my teacher Julie Downing who is a renowned illustrator and taught me everything about children’s books, and my agent Lisa Pomerantz who introduced awesome clients to me. Thanks a lot to the Society of Illustrators, the church in my art world, and SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) for their huge recognition and great opportunities to get to know people from the industry.

Website: www.peiliart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peiliart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peili-huang-431b61184/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huang.peili.1