Illustrators We Love: Andrea Liang

INTERVIEWED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring

Cape Town-based illustrator Andrea Liang creates stylised portraits and digital illustrations inspired by nature and diversity. Here, she chats to VISI about digital art, drawing and what’s next.

How did you initially get into digital illustration?

I initially got into digital illustration as a way of art therapy during a stressful time in my early teaching career. My partner is a graphic designer and illustrator, so I borrowed his Wacom tablet and played around with Clip Studio Paint. I enjoyed digital illustration so much that I invested in my own tablet soon afterwards and eventually moved on to drawing on my iPad when I discovered the Procreate app.

What do you love about creating portraits?

When illustrating portraits, my goal is always to capture the essence of my subject. I love simplifying my subjects to highlight their key features and I enjoy adding bold pops of colour.

Which one of your portraits have you enjoyed creating the most, and why?

My favourite portrait so far would be the self-portrait I did of my cat and me! It was actually part of a “Draw This In Your Style” challenge on Instagram, with the original concept and composition done by Y. Putrii (@y.illustrations). It was the first time I had drawn myself and my cat in my semi-realistic pencil-crayon-like art style. It was quite an introspective process as I wanted the piece to resemble me, but to not look identical to me. It was also just a lot of fun to add large sections of colour in my favourite textured pencil!

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be, and why?

Wow, I have so many artists that I look up to, it is difficult to choose only one! Based on the “why”, however, I would have to say Fran Meneses aka Frannerd. I serendipitously discovered her when Googling YouTube reviews of “Drawing on the Wacom tablet vs the iPad” (as I was still considering whether the iPad was a worthwhile investment – it was!). She has an honest and down-to-earth personality and preaches a message of sustainability, ethics and empowerment through her art business.

Which local illustrators are on your radar right now?

Local illustrators on my radar are: Amy Slatem (@shmaymee), Tasmin Naidoo (@tazbedevilled), Katya Wagner (@pony_of_the_sea), Anja Venter-Rausch (@nannaventer) and Kaylee Claire (@kayworx).

Do you have any exciting projects coming up in 2020?

Inspired by my South African Pantry Essentials postcards, I am collaborating with another maker based in Bristol to design and screen-print some South African snack food-themed merchandise for the UK and SA market!

Follow @andrealiangart on Instagram to keep up to date with new work and exciting projects.