Meet Jianye Zou

We recently connected with Jianye Zou and have shared our conversation below.

Jianye, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I believe that building strong and healthy self-confidence and self-esteem begins with efforts made in childhood. Looking back on my youth, I believe the first person who planted the seed of confidence in my heart was my mom. When she realized that her marriage had been a total mistake, she made the decisive choice to divorce and raise me on her own. She did it pretty well absolutely. Rather than staying at home, she courageously reentered the workforce and gradually built her own business. You need to know that in the early 2000s Asian society, divorced women often faced ridicule and cold indifference from others. It took far more effort than she could have ever imagined, but she never gave up and ultimately built a stable family that provided both emotional and financial support for me and herself. Through her own experience, mom taught me that women could be so independent and successful with a strong, stable, and confident spiritual core, and encouraged me to follow her step when developing my self-awareness. I’ve always believed that if my mom could do it, then I could too. I wanted to become the kind of person she is, someone she would be proud of. Mom’s always supported my decisions in this way. So, I think my confidence and self-esteem were shaped by her influence from a young age. Throughout my growth, I’ve faced setbacks and failures, of course, but with my mom’s help and experience, I’ve learned to solve problems, take responsibility, and do my best to ensure that these challenges don’t continue to harm my confidence or become lasting wounds. Of course, this is a difficult process, and if someone is going through this, I would say: you are amazing! It’s not easy!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I majored in Chinese calligraphy during my undergraduate years in Hangzhou, China, before coming to the United States to further study illustration. Currently, I work as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, creating custom work for various clients. I enjoy exploring original graphic art through simple shapes and minimal line work, often combining soft colors, patterns, and textures. My favorite themes in artworks include nature, comfortable atmospheres, animals, and other imaginative subjects. I also have a deep passion for designing paper products, packaging, and album or book covers, and already have some creative projects.
In addition, I’m developing an independent worldview for my character, Lonely Charlie, through comics, illustrations, and design projects such as beverage packaging and stickers. Lonely Charlie is a yellow dog who has never had a friend. I love sketching his activities during holidays like Christmas or imagining what he might do on his birthday, spending it alone. I want to clarify that I’m not laughing at him—or anyone else who spends their days alone like Charlie—because I, too, am one of those people. I can, and am free to tell the loneliness in my heart during these kinds of special days by Lonely Charlie’s actions in the comics. Like, I drew him under a classic white ghost costume, holding a sign that said ‘Ghostbuster You Can Take Me Home’. I love the freedom in this kind of creation, whether it’s a little bit of humor or my favorite color combinations. These are the things that excite me the most, whether in my work or personal creative projects.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Creative thinking, a sense of aesthetics, and the ability to steady your spirit—these are the three qualities that guide your journey I think. Creative thinking sparks the beginning of your path. Sense of aesthetics helps you go as far as possible, while the ability to steady your spirit ensures you won’t fall short before reaching your destination. My only advice is to accept that there will inevitably be a gap between ideals and reality. Do your best with every step and every struggle, then let destiny guide you to where you’re meant to be. Don’t blame yourself if you can’t reach your destination, or achieve final success in one go (Or two). This happens to everyone. Even those who are highly successful may have paid a much higher price than you realize. So, don’t be too hard on yourself, especially early in your journey. Just do what you can with the resources and abilities you have at the time.

How would you describe your ideal client?

Those who show the most respect for illustrators.
Because I can’t expect the clients to have prior experience working with illustrators, I need to bring my professional attitude and skills to the highest level every time with politeness and patience. Every opportunity could be the first time the client is seeking help from designers and illustrators. Showing your highest level of professional skills and politeness is not only important for this project, but also for leaving a good impression on this client for future collaboration with other illustrators in this industry. This is a positive circle for the healthy market, and an ideal client should be part of it, too. An ideal client will show the most respect for the illustrator, by providing clear requests before start, giving feedback on time, and establishing legitimate and reasonable contracts with illustrators to ensure fair compensation and clear expectations on both sides. Besides, the client could also give the illustrator enough freedom to fully express their personal creativity, allowing the project to be completed in a positive way. I understand that there will be differences between the client’s needs and the illustrator’s vision, but the ideal client can communicate these differences in a clear and friendly manner. That would make for a truly perfect collaboration for me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jzou08.myportfolio.com/work
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/real_jane720/profilecard/?igsh=YmVpc24wODJzeG16

Image Credits

p1-p2: Cats chocolate bars (packaging design)
p3-p5: Lonely Charlie “Say Hello” series of greeting cards
p6: Puzzle design for museum (non-commercial assignment)
p7: Postcard for Little Witch Has A Sibling
p8:Book covers design for Mona Chollet’s books (non-commercial assignment)