Discovering Julia on Huion's Instagram, we were captivated by her illustrations, reflecting her Taiwanese-American roots and love for animals. She shares insights on developing a unique style, encouraging creative freedom.
We found artist Julia Peng, when checking out featured artists on Huion's Instagram feed, and we instantly fell in love! Julia is a Taiwanese-American artist, and her illustrations are inspired by her Asian American upbringing, musings on everyday life, and her love for animals. We love how Julia 'incorporates warm colours, intricate details, and playful elements in my illustrations to create feelings of coziness and nostalgia.' Her hope is that her art brings warmth and joy to our days, and it has! In this article, she shares insights into developing your unique art style and creating freely, without constraints, to do so.
I believe my art style is not necessarily a product of deliberate effort or practice, but rather the result of lots of art-making, art-appreciation, and just living life! Style is shaped by one’s unique personality, preferences, and experiences, and I think the key to tapping into that is to create freely and abundantly, without constraint or harsh judgement.
I’ve made bad drawings, good drawings, and so much in between. As I’ve continued to create, muscle memory and instinct have guided my work towards a specific set of shapes, colours, and ideas that I liked, and a style eventually emerged.
I'm always exploring and experimenting with new elements in my work. Even if they do not always stick, I try to embrace it as part of the journey of self-discovery. I draw a lot of inspiration from my Asian American upbringing, everyday life, my love for animals, cozy interior design, and of course the media/art that I consume. When I find other artists’ work that resonates with me, I try to identify the specific elements that stood out to me, such as the texture or colour, and try to incorporate it into my own work while infusing them with my own style and perspective.
Sketching and journaling in a stream-of-conscious way has always helped me to get into an open-minded headspace. It helps me to let go of the need for things to look “right”. Creativity also comes from lived experiences. I always find it harder to produce when I haven’t filled my cup with rich experiences. I try to make time for travel, spending time with loved ones, eating delicious foods, reading books, watching movies, taking long walks, going into nature... These experiences broaden the mind, open the soul, and eventually get distilled into the art that we create.
Style is shaped by one’s unique personality, preferences, and experiences, and I think the key to tapping into that is to create freely and abundantly, without constraint or harsh judgement.
For me, I try to get into the mindset of just creating anything--it could just be a small sketch. That usually provides a starting point from which I can iterate and build momentum. My best pieces usually do not come about from a sudden spark of creativity, but rather evolve through a steady, iterative process of reworking and refinement.
For convenient references, I like looking at imagery from Pinterest, art books, movie stills, photographs, etc. For something more immersive, I love art museums, being in nature, and meeting with other creatives. I also have started reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and so far it has been very healing for my creative soul.
I draw in my sketchbook, on my iPad, and on my Huion Kamvas. For drawing software, I use Clip Studio Paint and Procreate. For post-processing, I use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
We love Julia's work and you can find her on Instagram and via her website.
You can also learn more about the tools Julia uses, like the Huion Kamvas, in one of our latest articles here.
