Joanna was born in China,
grew up in Vienna and
studied graphic design in
London. She is a full-time
illustrator and designer
specializing in
kawaii
style and has worked
closely with Momiji and
Eyeko. Her manga-inspired
products have been sold in
Topshop, Urban Outfitters,
Kidrobot, Selfridges, and
featured in magazines
including
ComputerArts
,
Dazed&Confused, Grazia
and
Elle Decoration
. In her
free time, Joanna likes lazy
Sundays, soy lattés, house
music, macaroons and
collecting things with koalas
on them.
Joanna Zhou
www.chocolatepixels.com
Joanna Zhou 95
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96 1,000 Tips by 100 Manga Artists
251 Where do the ideas for your draWings come
from? hoW do you do your research? High-energy
places inspire me! I love urban cities, shops,
clubs, and cafés because they get me thinking
about the stories and styles of all the people
who go there. I travel when possible and collect
foreign magazines.
252 W
hat does your Work desk look like?
W
hat can We come across? I try to avoid clutter,
as I’m so messy by nature it might spiral out of
control. Ideally, it’s just the Macbook, Wacom,
Blackberry, water and sweets.
253 h
oW do you make your draWings come to
life? The facial expression needs to look just
right otherwise people won’t make an emotional
connection with the character.
254 W
hat differentiates you from manga’s
other illustrators? My main field is combining
manga art with graphic design to create fun
Japanese-influenced branding, products and
packaging.
255 h
oW important is promotion to you? hoW do
you promote your Work? Choosing the right projects
is the best way of getting exposure. Designing for
retail will automatically bring PR, and save you a
lot of time and money too.
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Joanna Zhou 97
260 What good habits should a comic illustrator
have? Discipline, humility and professionalism. Always
respect your clients and never ignore a deadline
because you simply weren’t feeling inspired. Your
work is just a commodity, like everything else on the
free market so force yourself to create it on schedule!
256 What advice Would you give to a novice
illustrator trying to make a name for himself? Aim
for the jobs that look good on your CV and not the
jobs that pay more but you will get very little or
irrelevant exposure. It will be an investment that
pays off much further down your career.
257 W
hat has changed about your style of
draWing since you began? I used to try very hard to
make my style look typically manga, but now I
value developing an individual style based on a
variety of inspirations.
258 W
hy is manga so popular in the Western
World? Western pop culture is dominated by
absolutes: pure good, pure evil, pure innocence or
pure seduction. Manga opens a fascinating door
of simultaneous opposites, cute yet creepy, naive
yet sexy, which can be refreshing in its honesty
and macabre in its taboos.
259 W
hat is the most important lesson you have
learned that you Would like to pass on to others?
Don’t take rejection personally. The creative
industry is so competitive that disappointments
are inevitable. Dealing with setbacks is a far more
valuable learning curve than simply powering
ahead with ambition.
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98 1,000 Tips by 100 Manga Artists
261 Where do the ideas for your draWings
come from? hoW do you do your research? I do my
research everytime and everywhere. Ideas come
from a tiny part of my mind where objectivity and
enthusiasm are fighting! I hope you understand.
262 W
hat does your Work desk look like? What
can We come across? My work desk is very well
organized but by my own rule. Maybe you find
it very messy, but in this case you would be
mistaken.
263 W
hat is the first thing you do before
sitting doWn to draW? I do everything to avoid
starting to draw! I mean, the first thing I do is to
escape from reality.
264 d
o you alWays use the same tools or do
you change depending on the piece you’re Working
on? I do use the same tools almost always. I
just change the pen sometimes. I use a drawing
pen for serious stories, and Rotrings for comical
stories.
265 W
hat are your favorite tools or draWing
programs, and Why? I love my drawing pen! I
still use my penholder, which I bought at small
stationery store in my village when I was 9. It fits
perfectly to my hand.
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Junko Kawakami 99
266 do you prefer the classic guidelines from
m
anga or experimenting With neW channels? I feel so.
But you should not be totally content with yourself
and your life. No friction, no creation! That’s my
opinion.
267 manga: is it art? Some images of manga
can be art. But in my opinion, manga is absolutely
not art because it has a different purpose. I mean,
art is made to feel it; manga is made to be read!
268 W
hat is the most important lesson you have
learned that you Would like to pass on to others?
Not to cross with your assistants when you are
stressed. And with your family, either. This is very
important.
269 W
hat good habits should a comic
illustrator have? Eating rice. Chew thirty times
each bite. Seriously.
270 W
hat is the greatest acknoWledgement you
could hope to achieve for your Work? “She did very
well.”
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