Today we’d like to introduce you to Rui Cao
Hi Rui, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a Chinese-Canadian illustrator. I was born and raised in China. Throughout my childhood, I was lucky to read many books other than school textbooks. My parents bought me a lot of children’s illustration books and fantasy narrative novels, which had a huge impact on me. It was one of the reasons that led me on the path of art. I believe a lot of people were attracted to drawing when they were kids, and so was I. I started drawing and doodling as a kid. At first, I was just drawing my family, houses, animals, trees, and clouds. Then I started copying the drawings from my illustration books. Soon enough, I began to be creative and made my drawings more like ‘illustrations.’
Of course, when I grew older, my father started to take me to art lessons, developing my fundamental skills. By the age of 16, I made the decision to take art as my future career path, so I applied to OCAD University (Ontario, Canada) the following year. I had the chance to learn and illustrate what I liked in school. It was at that moment I first knew what exactly ‘illustration’ means and what I can do as an illustrator. But four years of study was just the beginning for me. After my graduation, I felt like a baby deer who had just learned how to stand and walk, but I wanted to know more about this field. I wanted to run. So, I came to Baltimore and studied at MICA’s MFA Illustration Practice program. With more advanced learning in the past two years, I saw more possibilities in illustration, and I was more sure of what I wanted to do as an illustrator.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall, it seemed like a smooth road for me. My family was supportive of my choice, for which I am truly grateful. The only struggle for me was the process of finding what I wanted to communicate through my artworks, and it definitely took me a long time to figure out. At the beginning, I was able to draw pretty images with good lines, compositions, and colors, but there was no meaning behind them. So, the process of finding meanings was my biggest challenge at that time. My thesis work for my undergrad was the breakthrough moment where I slowly found my way of expressing my language in art.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At the current stage, my work contains a lot of narrative and storytelling art. Like I mentioned in the beginning, the illustration and narrative books I read when I was a kid have impacted me a lot. I really enjoy creating a world or an environment, slowly building up a story as I put more life forms and objects into this little world, illustrating what I feel and what I want to communicate through those characters’ lives.
My art is not about isolating reality and fantasy, but finding a way to merge the two. This means that other than using 2D formats, such as watercolor, colored pencil, acrylic, and digital art materials, I also bring my world into 3D through wood sculpture, tufting, and ceramics. I hope when people are viewing my artworks, they are not only standing above from a third perspective, but they can be a part of it, physically experiencing and being immersed in the world that I’ve created.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’m working on opening an online shop that sells both prints (digital and original) and 3D handcrafts. If you are interested, please follow my Instagram @rui_0524 where I will update the status.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ruicaoillustration.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rui_0524/
