Bored Panda recently caught up with the amazing Jackie Huang, who's been doing some pretty cool stuff with paper art. We threw a bunch of questions her way to get a glimpse into her creative mind.
We first asked her about the interplay between her studies at the School of Cinematic Arts and her work in illustration. She stated, "I am a firm believer in - 'nothing you learn goes wasted.' Many of the concepts I learned in film school still seep into my work as an illustrator. In film school, a professor taught us to ask three questions when creating a new story - 1) What is this story about? 2) What is the message of this story? 3) (perhaps the most important question) Is this story worth telling? I continue to ask myself these questions, whether creating a single illustration, pop-up, or book."
Intrigued by her use of paper, we questioned Jackie about a project where the unique characteristics of paper were either advantageous or challenging. Huang elaborated on her piece, "Rapunzel 3.0", where she used a quilling technique to create the hair. She revealed, "However, I can’t exactly control how the paper is going to curl. If it’s too tight or too loose, I can try to fix it, but since paper has a memory, after a certain point, it will get confused and won’t work with me anymore."
We then delved into the idea of a turning point in her career. The paper artist reflected, "Creating my ‘Castle in the Sky’ pop-up was what solidified my love of working in paper. My ‘Long Curls’ piece is where I became interested in the ability to use different types of paper such as watercolor paper, crepe paper, etc. And my ‘Somewhere Out There’ piece is where I wanted to start exploring illustrating for children’s books."
Jackie also spoke about a project that stretched her craft, her first book, "Picky Panda". She said, "A recent project that has pushed my skill and craft into a new direction is children’s book publishing. I recently debuted my first book, 'Picky Panda'. As an illustrator, I was used to drawing a character in a single pose, but for this project, I had to draw the same character varying poses and expressions, all while making sure the character looked consistent." She shared with us.
"In addition to that, the book itself required over 25 different illustrations to be completed in a short time. Combined with additional freelance work and gallery art, it was the greatest amount of illustrating I had done in a given year! And remember, all of these were still crafted by hand too! But creating a children’s book has felt like a synthesis of all the skills I’ve learned so far from film school and illustration- storytelling, pacing, editing, composition, color, design, and more. It’s been an amazing experience and I am looking forward to seeing where this path leads."
Lastly, as an educator, Huang left us with a vital piece of advice, "As an educator, my one piece of advice is- there is no right or wrong when it comes to art. I often get asked in my workshops, ‘is this ok?’ or ‘is this right?’ There isn’t a ‘right’ way to do something (maybe there’s a ‘faster’ or easier’) but art is so subjective and the art you create will not be for everyone. As long as you’re creating something that brings you joy, that’s all that matters."
