JooHee Yoon is a Providence-based illustrator and printmaker whose delightful editorial work has been appearing with increasing regularity in a wide array of publications. In addition to posters and gallery exhibits, Yoon has illustrated several notable children’s books. The Tiger Who Would Be King, which features Yoon’s illustrations for a James Thurber story, was named one of the best illustrated children’s books of 2015 by The New York Times.

Yoon says she makes her illustrations by “printmaking with drawn elements put together on the computer.” The result is rich and organic, with a hand-crafted feel, combined with bright, graphic colors. Yoon has attracted a large fan base; her name appears regularly in the Profiles series when illustrators are asked to list their own favorite illustrators.

MY LIFE:
I am currently based in Providence, Rhode Island. I have been freelancing full time for almost five years. I knew straight out of school that I didn’t want to work a 9-5 job, and I was fortunate in that I was able to gather enough clients to keep afloat after the first year and a half. I started doing mainly editorial illustrations, but now my projects span everything from advertising, picture books, to designing beverage labels. I also started teaching screen printing at RISD last spring, which is where I studied as an undergrad. This has been an amazing and humbling experience. I am always learning something new, whether in preparing for class or through seeing what my students are doing. And I have so much more appreciation for all the teachers I had when I was a student who made running a class seem so effortless.

Both of my parents come from a background devoid of the visual arts, but I think this has more to do with them growing up in an environment where that was not a viable option, rather than a lack of creativity or talent. Perhaps because of their experiences, they have been extremely supportive of my work. I moved around a lot as a child, and looking back, I think this instilled in me a love of traveling and appreciation for new experiences. I have been extremely fortunate to have my work take me to places I never imagined I’d ever go, such as a medieval walled town in Italy, and most recently to Moscow, where I taught an illustration workshop this past fall.

MY WORKSPACE:
I work from home where I have a simple desk set up in the corner of my apartment. It gets lots of sunlight, which is the important thing.

HOW I MAKE MY ILLUSTRATIONS:
My methods tend to change depending on my interests, and also what I think will work best for a given project. It’s usually a combination of printmaking with drawn elements put together on the computer. I also sometimes create original drawings on paper.

MY FIRST BIG BREAK:
The first real editorial job I did was for Plansponsor magazine, art directed by SooJin Buzelli. I think that affirmed that I could make a living being a freelancer. The whole process of doing sketches and interacting with an art director, taking the best idea to finish, and finally seeing it printed in the magazine, was extremely satisfying.

MY INFLUENCES:
Whatever I see or experience gets filtered into my work and influences what I create. Generally speaking, printmaking has been a very big influence. I did a lot of traditional printmaking while in school. Now I don’t do as much printing on an actual press, but the majority of my work still stems from what I learned doing things the traditional way.

MY MOST ADMIRED CREATIVE PERSON:
I really admire Milton Glaser, especially the way he combines illustration and graphic design. The variety in his work is great. Also the fact that he’s had such a long career and is still actively working today (well into his 80s!) is remarkable.

MY CREATIVE INSPIRATION:
I like to visit museums whenever I am in a big city. I also read a lot—whatever I can get my hands on. I think this feeds my mind and in turn can lead to inspiration.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF WORKING ALONE:
Freelancing can be a very solitary activity. I think it requires a certain personality or mindset. I definitely love working alone and having control over my time, but sometimes I miss interacting with other people—especially since I work from home rather than in a shared studio space, and now the majority of my communication with clients is through email. In that aspect teaching has been great since it gives me more opportunities to engage with people face to face.

A MEMORABLE ASSIGNMENT FROM THE PAST YEAR:
I really enjoyed working with Nathan Huang at The New York Times on the illustration for Mark Bittman’s last op-ed column. Mark Bittman is a great food writer who has authored many books and written for The Times over a number of years. I personally love to cook, and it’s always fun to contribute to an article I have a strong interest in.

DREAM ASSIGNMENT:
I would love to try doing something three-dimensional and not confined to print. I’ve always been very interested in theater and set design. Since this is a dream scenario, I would say designing sets for an opera or theater production.

MY FAVORITE ART DIRECTOR:
One of my favorite art directors of all time has to be Matt Dorfman, who oversaw the op-ed pages at The New York Times for many years. He has such a good eye for design and makes my work even better than I ever imagined possible by integrating it with the layout. Working with him, the process becomes a true collaborative effort. Since we are always running against the clock, with extremely tight deadlines being the norm for op-ed, there’s a great back and forth in discussing ideas and sketches, trying to figure out the best solution. And I appreciate his openness to my experiments, occasionally surprising myself with the results. Also I have yet to encounter an art director with so much energy and enthusiasm.

My other favorite art director is SooJin Buzelli. Working with her, the process is completely different. Her magazines deal with the abstract world of finance, and this leaves a lot of room for interpretation. The main reason SooJin stands out is because she always encourages artistic freedom. There is a specific prompt that needs to be fulfilled, but they are usually very broad and I can find a way to create work that I find personally interesting. During my time working in editorial illustration, I have come to realize just how rare and special her assignments are. This is a recent cover I did for SooJin at Plansponsor about preparing for the new year.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE ILLUSTRATORS:
Chris Buzelli, who is not only a great illustrator, but an amazing mentor to so many students (the dedication involved in commuting from NYC to Providence every week for over 10 years is a feat in itself). He is truly supportive of other people’s endeavors and so generous—this is something I really admire.

Eleanor Davis, who is a great illustrator and an amazing storyteller to boot. I also really enjoy Lilli Carre’s illustration and animation work. Both have a great sense for telling a story through sequence with an underlying humor.

WORKING ON BOOKS:
The biggest challenge with books is that the working process is longer. This means I can explore a project in depth, but I have to think much farther ahead and plan accordingly. I think of a book as more of a personal project, since oftentimes I come up with the idea and pitch it to the publisher rather than the art director contacting me with a brief. I enjoy working with a well-written story, but I need to feel a strong connection. With editorial it’s almost the opposite; I think of each assignment as a problem that needs solving, and I am less concerned with having any attachment towards the content. But with books, since I have to invest so much time and energy, and also because it has a much longer shelf life—which is an added pressure—I don’t want to work on something that I don’t feel passionate about.

I have two books published: Beastly Verse and The Tiger Who Would be King. And I am currently working on my third, which should be out this fall.

There are so many great picture book makers I admire. Off the top of my head, I love Tomi Ungerer, whose books (especially his older ones like Moon Man) I greatly enjoy. Laura Carlin is another amazing artist, whose experimental approach to book making I find exciting.

OTHER WORK:
I try to set some time aside for doing observational sketches, just for myself. Whenever I travel or when I am walking and see something interesting, I try and record it. Not having to come up with a big concept or justify what I am doing to others can be refreshing.

HOW I STAY CURRENT:
I am not sure if this question really applies since I haven’t been illustrating long enough to weather any big changes in the industry. But I think making work that is personal and being curious is more important than trying to stay current.

HOW I PROMOTE MYSELF:
Everything I produce becomes a form of promotion, especially when something is printed in publications like The New York Times that have a wide readership. I try my best to make illustrations that not only satisfy the client, but make me happy.

ADVICE FOR SOMEONE STARTING OUT:
Be persistent, focus on your strengths, and create work that you enjoy making. Time management is key—not only being able to meet deadlines, but using your time wisely when there is a lull in commercial projects. Although it can be extremely difficult, be able to say no to projects that aren’t right for you. Value the work you do and don’t sell yourself short.

See more JooHee Yoon illustrations, new work, and updates:
Joohee Yoon website
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