Meet Jiami Liang | Illustrator

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

Hi Jiami, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Hello everyone, my name is Liang Jiami, and I come from a beautiful small city in Northeast China. I have been very fond of reading manga and animation since I was a child. Influenced by these works, I am very keen on story creation, and I also like to use pictures to present fantasy worlds. After that, I started to create stories in the form of comics. For better storytelling, I chose to major in animation at the undergraduate level because animation is the combination of imagery and film and can make the appearance of fantasy elements and unrealistic themes justified. But animation and film are both regrettable arts, and it is difficult for artists to stick to the original idea, and for large-scale animation works, a strong team and financial support are essential. In order to maintain the integrity of the creation, I finally chose to create in two-dimensional images. With the help of the lens language of animation, I have a new understanding of the creation of illustrations and manga. Illustration is a very diverse artistic medium, and static images contain no less information than animation or movies. Just like novels, although there are only words, it can give viewers more room for imagination. For me, illustration is closer to literature. Every line and every piece of color in an illustration can be used to tell a story, which i s why I ended up choosing illustration as my creative medium.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think fun is the greatest strength of my work. Because I have the experience of drawing manga and animation when I draw illustrations, I will pay great attention to the story and the sense of shots in the pictures, so my illustrations look like a frame in a comic or a shot in animation, that’s what sets me apart. Because of my animation creation experience, I am very fond of and good at telling stories with fantasy and lovely images, especially very serious stories or themes, because such strong contrasts make my works more powerful. For a long time, I have not deliberately controlled myself to study a unique creative style and form, I have just followed the flow and created my style slowly. So it’s not very difficult for me to get to where I am today, the difficult thing is how to progress. I want the world to know more about the fun and potential of my work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s hard to choose because I have a lot of favorite places like Japan, Greece, etc, but my happiest trip recently was in Orlando, where I really like the climate and environment. Vacationing in Orlando’s parks is so relaxing, it’s like being in paradise. The parks are camping, and people can go boating in the park’s lakes or rivers, which are lined with waterfowl and crocodiles. I am a person who likes natural scenery, because nature can make me quiet and away from the busy city life, so in Orlando, my favorite is not Disneyland but the humble park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Many people have helped me in my artistic journey, they are all very important to me, without their support and help, I would not be where I am now. First of all, I have to shout to my mother, without her support, I would not choose to pursue art, it was she who discovered my talent and interest in painting and encouraged me, even though many people disagreed with me going to an art collage, my mother still insisted and supported me to study art. Secondly, I want to shout out to my illustration professor, Phivi Spyridonos, because I just started illustration, and I am very confused about my style and career. She affirmed my work and helped me perfect my style. That’s how I started gaining confidence in my work and planning my illustration career.

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiami-liang-420861202/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/animebaby6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100042029104515

Image Credits
©Liang Jiami