Q: Originally from Tianjin, China, what are some of your favorite things about living and working in New York City?

A: I love the richness and quality of art and culture in New York City. There are always reasons to go out of my studio and visit an art exhibit, a museum or a park. There are great communities here for likeminded people, and everyone is (in contrary to stereotypes) very open and friendly. It is easier to live in New York than anywhere I have been, as an artist. There were times when I went to the 24 hour Best Buy in Union Square to buy printer ink for a last-minute job, and the times when I was able to meet with good friends right away when I was down or anxious about an assignment.  

Q: Do you keep a sketchbook? What is the balance between the art you create on paper versus in the computer?

A: Yes. My work on the computer can be seen as having a straight-forward digital quality. When I draw in my sketchbook, I use heavy ink washes, graphite and gouache to make drawings that reflect 'mood' more than articulating realism. Making many drawings by hand helps me bring back the overall understanding of mood and emotion back to my client work and sequential art.

When I was an art student, I used sketchbooks very heavily, producing most of my drawings directly in them. However, back then I suffered from a disconnect between my sketchbook drawings and my "actual work" or portfolio/client work. I couldn't bring the freeness in my sketchbook into my finished work, and I didn't know how to have control when making an impromptu drawing. There are different solution to this problem; the one that found me in the end was to force myself to make so many finished illustrations that I had to quit keeping sketchbooks for as long as two years. It visibly solved my problem of getting too "hung up" on sketchbook drawings and allowed me to channel that energy in my finished work. Now I can keep a sketchbook again.  

Q: What is the most important item in your studio?

A: My bookshelf. I grew up with my parents having a ton of books and I got used to living with a foundation of information that I have not yet read. Since I moved out when I was 16 I have always dreamed of having a small library, and as I used to travel and move a lot, having a lot of books was too much of a luxury. I keep sections of books and I can always refer back to them when I feel “stuck."

Q: What do you like best about your workspace?

A: I love the natural light during the day and it has most things I need to relax and generate new ideas. It's colorful, too, and I get to hang out with my cat. It feels like I finally have a “home base” after many years of painting on kitchen floors and closet-sized bedrooms. I'm proud of it.

Q: Do you think it needs improvement, if so, what would you change?

A: I am trying to figure out the best way to utilize my painting studio in Bushwick. It has an awesome view of the city but has a non-digital set up. I recently started occupying a small studio space in the 1717 Troutman building in Brooklyn, and setting it up to make more paintings with wet media. The usual client work I make is all ink on paper and digital, so space has not been a problem till now. I hope in the next few months I can work out a plan to optimize the dual set-up. 

Q: How do you know when the art is finished?

A: 1. Time out/it's due! 

2. What I spend the most time figuring out is coloring. The last few hours of completing a piece consists of trying out different color swatches, pulling levers in Photoshop and sometimes making bold decisions. After many adjustments I will reach a conclusion, and the deciding factor is usually color. It often feels like I'm fine-tuning a song or trying to land an airplane. 

Q: What makes you happy?

A: Making an emotional connection with my audience. Reading books about subjects which I can't quite articulate in words very well myself. 

Q: What was your favorite book as a child? What is the best book you’ve recently read?

A: My favorite book as a child was a comic series published by NHK about the science & inner workings of the human body. 

Big Breasts, Wide Hips by Mo Yan is the best novel I've read recently. It's startlingly cruel, surreal and honest. 

Q: If you had to choose one medium to work in for an entire year, eliminating all others, what medium would you choose?

A: Digital, or writing. 

Q: If you could time travel to any era, any place, where would you go?

A: I would love to spend a day ten years down the future in New York; it would be either wonderful or really terrifying.

Q: What is preoccupying you at the moment?

A: I'm on a panel discussion for Queer Representation in Comics at Small Press Expo and I have been preparing my content. Besides that I have been thinking about more ways to get involved and participate in community improvement outside of illustration itself. The support I'm receiving for my ongoing comic 'Baopu' on Autostraddle, a major LGBT lifestyle site, has encouraged me to make more work that reflects alternative experiences and start conversations. 

Q: What are some of your favorite places/books/blogs/websites for inspiration?

A: I love visiting MoMA PS1 for fresh perspectives in fine arts, as well as visiting the Met to study the Old Masters. I find inspiration in the Arts and Social Science sections of book stores as well. I use 99U.com for tips for creative professionals. I enjoy drawing with other people outside of my studio. I do so by taking drawing lessons for professionals, going to life drawing sessions and drawing on location. 

Q: What was the [Thunderbolt] painting or drawing or film or otherwise that most affected your approach to art?

A: I remember 

watching a documentary about Al Hirschfeld in my first year at SVA. The theatrical quality and the richness of emotions expressed by just simple lines completely blew my mind. I have since tried to bring that energy into my work, whether it was done live or in studio. I was introduced to Kuniyoshi's woodblock prints in my tattoo design class in 3rd year; from there I started to understand how to design an illustration as a flat image, by organizing shape, color and typography. I would say it “saved” my portfolio and made it closer to what I have today. Most recently, a series of black-and-white sketches by Seurat has impacted my approach to illustration more than I would have expected. I'm starting to use the effect of light to model objects while still keeping them on a rather flat plane.  

Q: What would be your last supper?

A: Raw salmon, tiny pickles and cheesecake.

Yao Xiao is a China-born illustrator and cartoonist residing in New York. Her clients include the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, SXSW, Katy Perry, Buzzfeed and more. Her comics on subjects of identity, gender and cultural assimilation are published in many anthologies include sci-fi collection New World coming this year. 

Yao Xiao is speaking on a panel Queer and Here to Make Comics at the Small Press Expo in Maryland, on September 19, at 6pm. Her artwork is in fine arts group exhibition The Happening at Cloud City Gallery in Williamsburg, opening on September 19. 
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