Qianhui Yu is originally from Guilin, China. She has traveled the world and settled in the UK to pursue her career as an animation director and illustrator. A graduate of the China Academy of Art and the Royal College of Art, Qianhui’s career is already off to an impressive start as she is currently working on her BFI Network-backed animated film, Statue in the Garden.
Outside of her animation work, Qianhui is also making waves as an illustrator. Her notable clients include WIRED, Hyundai, Faber and the New York Times. And it’s easy to see why Qianhui is taking off. Her colorful, surreal style is impossible to resist, not least because it comes with a sense of hope and inspiration.
It is therefore somewhat surprising to learn that Qianhui never planned to study illustration at university. “I studied multimedia art for my bachelor’s degree while studying at the China Academy of Art and then further studied experimental animation at the Royal College of Art in London,” she tells Creative Boom.
“I have always wanted to be an artist and have been drawing since I was a child, but I also know how difficult it can be, so I am very grateful that I can draw for a living.”
Qianhui cites a number of great illustrators and animators as influences, including Karlotta Freier, Marie Larrivé, Zhong Xian, Thibaud Herem, Lisk Feng and GUINEA MATE. Together they have helped define her style, which she describes as surreal, imaginative, feminist, peaceful and hopeful.
As for her motivation for moving to Stoke-on-Trent, Qianhui revealed that her partner wanted to study ceramics at the local Clay College. “We lived in London before autumn 2022, but the cost of living there is now so high that we decided to move to Stoke together,” she says.
“Since then I have been spending a lot more time indoors and in my garden, focusing mainly on my own art practice. I am experimenting more and exploring different mediums such as ceramics, brush painting, watercolor, linocut and zine making.”
“I also discovered that I have a great interest in nature. I love plant drawings and trying different crafts; they give me joy and excitement.”
Speaking of joy and excitement, Qianhui has many projects in her career so far that she is proud of. Various of them capture unique periods of her life and represent her diverse aesthetic. At the top of her list is the book cover she designed last year for Ghost Drum, a new classic surrealist fantasy fiction release.
“I spent a lot of time researching shaman culture while doing this commission and I’m really proud to see the result being sold in local bookstores and owned by different people!”
In her portraits commissioned by Hyundai for International Women’s Day, she had to compete with the clock. “The drawings are featured on her social media and on the cover of her Spotify playlist,” she says. This was a challenging project for me. From the day the customer contacted me to the final delivery date, I only had two weeks to complete it and I’m glad I finally did it.”
And then there’s this short animation, which she made for GIPHY, her most experimental project to date. “The story is based on what happened in my own garden after I moved to Stoke-on-Trent,” she says. “All the backgrounds are hand drawn with watercolors, which took longer than I expected.”
It may be time-consuming, but Qianhui still loves her calling. “As a freelance artist, I enjoy managing and running my own business. I have the freedom to manage my time and connect with different clients or artists that I have always wanted to work with,” she concludes.