We’ve taken a liking to Ping Zhu’s bright colored illustrations. Immersed in nature, her characters seem to take it in stride, inspiring us to do the same. Describing her style as “graphic yet gestural, flat yet dimensional,” Zhu works by hand. “The style is supported by the medium and I try to get along with it rather than fight against it,” she explained in an interview with the ADC blog.
Since committing to being a full-time illustrator, Zhu has worked with publications like The New Yorker, Pentagram, Penguin, and Nobrow Press. The Brooklyn-based artist has also gathered a cult following, with more than 77 thousand fans on Instagram alone.
“I’m not sure if it’s a specialty, but I feel that the most alive doing editorial work,” she said. “It’s very immediate and based on your database of metaphors, like a test of your reflexes. I admire comics very much but I’m definitely on the sidelines rather than in the playing field.”
Prepare to be inspired.
