The Learning Zone

Tell us a little about yourself?

I am an illustration student going into my third year. I like to draw whimsical characters and environments inspired by nature or surrealist paintings. My favourite mediums to work with are inks, watercolour, graphite and pencil crayons. Recently, I’ve been enjoying the process of creating textures using ink washes which I then like to scan and colour digitally.

What influenced your decision to major in Illustration?

I don’t think there was one specific moment or person that influenced my decision to pursue art. However, I remember one of my teachers asking us to envision one thing we see ourselves doing for the rest of our lives, and the answer, for me, was drawing.

I chose illustration because I always liked the storytelling aspect of illustration. In high school, I volunteered at a local art hub near my home, and I met a few artists who graduated from OCAD. Some of them had majored in illustration, and I liked their artworks, so I would ask them questions about how the program was. Their experiences at the school left a remarkable impression on me, which helped me decide on illustration as a major.

Who is your favourite Illustrator?

Victo Ngai is one of my favourite illustrators. She does illustrations for newspapers and magazines, book covers, and packaging and advertising campaigns. What I love most about her work is the surreal atmosphere composed of whimsical characters and playful environments. Her process inspired me to play around with unique perspectives to tell a story.

Rovina Cai and Zoe Van Dijk are two other illustrators whose work I admire. I really enjoy Zoe Van Diijk work because her process inspires me because I enjoy drawing with ink and experimenting with washes to get textures.

How do you discover illustrators?

I discover illustrators mainly through social media such as Instagram and Pinterest. I also look through the Design Annual books like American Illustration and Society of Illustrators annuals in the library for inspiration. For one of my classes, I used Artstor Digital Library to search for historical artists who impacted art movements.

Mia Đặng aka Miapear will be graduating this June from OCAD U’s Illustration program, with hopes to complete her minor in photography soon. Mia joined the LZ team two years ago and during that time we had the opportunity to collaborate with her on poster designs and other LZ activities, it was great to see her dedication and fun approach towards creativity shining through.

Art has always been my hobby as I painted cast figures every weekend as a child until grade 5

For Mia, studying art did not become a career consideration until the age of 18 after she was encouraged by her oil painting teacher to apply to the design program. Studying Illustration was a natural fit for Mia. Since the age of five Mia found ways to be creative by drawing, doodling, painting cast figures or working on art projects with her friends for fun.

Last month we sat down (remotely) with Mia and asked her a few questions:

LZ: What influenced your decision to major in Illustration?

MD: I initially applied for graphic design; however, my portfolio seems to fit into the Illustration program better. I found myself having fun with turning quotes and ideas into imagery and drawing, which led me into switching my application decision.

LZ: What do you enjoy the most about the program?

 MD: I enjoy the endless support from the Faculty and the community we have in Illustration. Everyone is very nice and helpful when it comes to critique and giving feedback. Another aspect which I like is the wide scope of Illustration field information we have access to in 4th-year courses.

Where are you most productive? Tell us a bit about your creative space.

I find myself working very productively all by myself in my studio. My working/creative space consists of books and art prints for inspiration, chill music, coffee or tea, a very neat table and tons of art supplies.

You said that you are interested in becoming a children’s book illustrator. What lead you in that direction?

I have always enjoyed babysitting my cousin’s kids since the age of 7-8. I love kids so much that when I found out that I could become a children’s book illustrator and read those books to them, I couldn’t think of anything else. Besides, I have a little brother who just turned two, so I can’t wait to make books and read to him.

What kind of books do you enjoy reading?

I do read for pleasure in my free time. I love romantic poetry and novels. Adolescence-centred graphic novels are also my favourite. Some of my favourite graphic novelists are Lucy Knisley, Jillian Tamaki, and Eleanor Davis. I also read self-help books to motivate myself to work and not to give up. I highly recommend The Pursuit of Dreams by Dr. Dragos Bratasanu. It’s a great read.

Who are your favourite photographers?

I have a few female Vietnamese portrait photographers that I love which are Dạ Miêu and Linh Bay Bong. You can easily look for them on Instagram. They are excellent at capturing women’s essence and intimacy.

How has the COVID-19 Pandemic affecting your routine?

I have always stayed an introvert and I spend most of my time at home. So, the quarantine doesn’t have too much negativity on my daily routine. The only things that affects me are getting art supplies, shipping out orders for my shop and getting groceries. But these tasks are not frequent so I don’t find it hard to adapt.

During this time of physical distancing, do you feel that social media is more important to your work, and in what ways?

Due to the virus, shows and fairs have been cancelled which decrease my exposure to the public. So social media has been a lifesaver these days for my works to be appreciated and showcased. People use Instagram a lot more these days which gives me more chances to sell and promote my works.

Does your work have a specific message or theme?

I want to spread the message of staying a child and look at things through a child’s perspective, which is why my works are bold and vibrant in colours with many character designs based on things we see every day like animals, fruits, nature…

Can you tell us a little bit about your thesis project and why it was important to you?

Like I mentioned, I love working with kids and children’s materials. So I came up with a thesis topic regarding children’s psychology during the summer of 2019. I also got to spend sometime with my grandmother back home in Vietnam and noticed that she was having mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

With the art direction of my thesis professor, my project Inverse Retrogenesis came to life; it explores the similarities of early childhood psychology and Alzheimer’s disease symptoms to subvert the perception towards aging process. This project is so dear to my heart since it shows how much love I pour out for kids and the elderly. Growing up as a Vietnamese in Asia, I’ve encountered how careful adults and children treat their elderly; however, I don’t see that so much in the Western culture. I feel like if I grow old here in the West, I’m just gonna end up in the long-term care home. As a result, through the thesis project, I want to affect how people think about aging and perhaps make people think twice about how they treat their elderly. Getting old is as similar as growing up. We love kids and emphasize with them so much, why not the elderly?

What are your next steps after graduating?

I want to find a full-time job in a publishing company. Ideally, the position of a book cover illustrator as the starting point would be great. Then, I’ll work my way to get my books published. Along with the stable job, I will also grow my Etsy store and make that the second source of income.

Is there anything else you want to share with us, any final thoughts?

Yes. I want to give advice to my fellow OCAD students. Don’t ever think that your art is not great or tell yourself that you’re small. Just put yourself out there. Start creating something for yourself first. We always have to start somewhere so start right now and you are more than enough.

I’d like to thank Heather Evelyn for giving this opportunity to share my love of art. I appreciate this so much.

You can see more of Mia’s work on her Instagram and YouTube channel @ Miapear.

Welcome to the student-led workshop series to be held in OCAD U Library Services: The Learning Zone. This special programming is presented in partnership by the OCAD U Library, and the Writing & Learning Centre (WLC) and supported by funding from the Ontario Post-Secondary Access and Inclusion Program, administered by the WLC.

We start this workshop series with a Character Design Workshop with Vincy Lim (Thursday Jan. 23) followed by André Freitas Digital Colouring For Comics Workshop (Friday Jan. 24).

Vincy Lim is a Chinese-Canadian non-binary sapphic illustrator and cartoonist whose work revolves around the themes of self-love, queerness, disability, and abuse. @kiwimii

Vincy will give a brief presentation about character design then share tips & techniques allowing time for constructive feedback in this hands-on workshop that will get you started on creating your own unique characters. 🎈🎈🎈

Participants are welcome to bring their own materials, such as their laptop + drawing tablet if desired, and are encouraged to bring reference photos of things that interest them in order to inspire the characters they create. Drawing materials will be provided.

The Digital Colouring For Comics Workshop led by comic artist André Freitas, will step you through various digital colouring techniques in comic design using Photoshop, including the all important flatting techniques used by colourists. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop with Photoshop installed to follow along and experiment with the techniques being demonstrated.

André Freitas is an independent comic book artist, originally from Brazil who moved to Toronto to study at OCAD U. André graduated in Industrial Design from Faculdade de Belas Artes de Sao Paulo and has worked for publishers illustrating books and making comics. Since 2013 André has been self-publishing comics through crowdfunding in Brazil. André is a current OCAD U student and the International Student Representative for the OCAD Student Union. @yescabrita

Student-led workshops are open to all current OCAD U students. Stay tuned for student-led workshops coming in February 🔥🔥🔥

Salisa Jatuweeapong, a third year Digital Futures major presents blown-up comic panels and process sketches from her most recent work, How Do You Love The Storm? a non-linear comic about deciding to love.

How Do You Love The Storm?

It’s about those summer storms in your childhood that disappear just as quickly as they come; about tornado-winds that tangle heartstrings till it’s all knotted yarn; about the hurricane’s overcast being scary, too scary, of a shadow for you to breath in. In less metaphorical terms: it’s about three teenagers on a storm-chasing road trip figuring out emotions as they go.

Salisa got a lot of things she wants to do, and a lot of stories she wants to tell! Find her pretty much always yelling about these kids on Twitter (@salsaeatschips) or Instagram (@ica_agency).

On until September 30

Natalie Mark and co-curators Yasmin Emery and Samiya Karim deliver a new flavour of an exhibition in the Learning Zone Gallery – House of Oriental: Northern Style on through May 27.

Mark describes House of Oriental: Northern Style, as an exhibition of works exploring pan-Asian Canadian foods: recipes developed from hybridity, alienation, assimilation, survival, and poverty. The works in this exhibition aim to explore not the most “authentic” or “real” ethnic foods, but to present the foods and experiences born out of the land’s rich (or poor) newcomer history. The exhibition includes works ranging from paintings to photography as well as a recipe book, compiling the foods behind the art.

Featuring artwork by:
Abbey Chong @eggba
Natalie Chuck @natachuk
Tina Chu
Kai Lumbang kai.en.tai
Mel Lou @otaku.mel
Natalie Mark @yakult.man
Loretta Miauw @loretta.miauw
Noelle Mok
Pauline Nguyen @lenorahuynh
Becky Wu beckywu.format.com