How does creativity connect to self-expression for you?
Creativity and self expression comes hand in hand. How you place and compose the subject expresses a certain emotion or a way of thinking. Colors play a huge role in my art, and a lot of the times when I'm choosing a palette, the colors are expressing a sort of mood or feeling.

How do you define your individuality as an artist, and in what ways does this uniqueness manifest in your creations?
As an Asian American Gen-Z girl currently living in Southwest England, my background and experiences play a monumental role in the illustrations that I create. Like myself, the majority of my characters have Asian features: dark hair, monolids, slender bodies. Living in New York City throughout my college years has helped shape my love for fashion and style, which is commonly seen in my characters outfits as well. Now that I'm living in England, the views through my window have shifted into green pastures, lighthouses, and crashing shores, which are now slowly becoming prominent in my illustrations.


In your perspective, what role does creativity play in empowering individuals and communities, and how have you witnessed this power in action?
I think having representation through art and media is critical in empowering individuals and communities. Growing up, I've never seen illustrations or graphic novels (other than manga) depict Asian characters in modern society. I've had a lot of younger people comment on my social media telling me they're inspired by my art and it's encouraging them to pursue the arts field.

Have you faced any challenges in maintaining your individuality in your work, especially in the face of trends or external expectations? How did you overcome them?
In the face for trends, instead of letting it feel challenging for me to mold into it, I let myself get excited with thinking: how can I take advantage of this trend to create an illustration that's still fully my style. For example, bows and ballet core have been trending the past year, so I've made a few illustrations with characters that wore a crazy amount of bows!


What advice would you give to emerging artists who are trying to find and express their individuality through their work?
I've struggled to find my own visual style for a while, but once I've got it, I've got it and it stuck with me. I would say to emerging artists who are trying to find their style, what do you like to draw and how do you like to draw it? What kind of brushstrokes, color palettes, make you happy? It has to be something that you love doing and wouldn't mind doing a lot of it.

What’s the one thing you want to accomplish this year?
This year, I'm hoping to collaborate with a publisher to make an illustrated book :)


Where can we see more of your work?
You can find more of my work on Instagram @bysunnywu or if you want to see some of my process, check out my Youtube channel @sunnykabocha.