comic bits online: A Re-Post: The Yishan Li Interview!

Back in 2007 I raved about Yishan Li. I said it was possible that she could hit the US scene with a comic one day. Seven years on Li is now drawing Blue Beetle for DC. How cool is that? So I dug up my old interview and thought it might be amusing to re-post. So I am!

The lady works hard and now it's paying off.

I'd like to apologise for the Blogger tech problem at the start of this interview. The white text SHOULD be black but I've typed and re-typed and white is what we get.

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Yishan Li is without a doubt one of the rising stars of Manga/Manhua. Having been published in China and also in the USA by Yaoi Press and UK by Markosia Press,Li has been a guest at US conventions,Angouleme in 2007 and this May at the British Comic Expo in Bristol. Li's artwork is,obviously,inspired by Manga but there is that unique Chinese Manhua look to it.

So,read on and learn more about Yishan Li!

above:YISHAN LI

TERRY:I got a little confused when I read your name first time as I had assumed that Yishan was your family name and Li your first name -or am I all mixed up?

YISHAN:Well,Yishan is my given name and Li is my family name. People always get it wrong and I am so used to it now –ha ha!

"AFTERNOON" c.2014 Yishan Li

TERRY:Where and when were you born?

YISHAN: I was born in 1981 in a city called Tianjin,in China. It is close to Beijing with a population of over 10 million but strangely people,especially here in the UK,have never heard of it.

TERRY:Quite a large city,then –I’ll have to learn more about it. So, a child did you get to read much -when did you get your inspiration to draw --and do you still have any childhood drawings?

YISHAN:I loved drawing when I was a kid –my grandma still has the bed sheet I messed up by drawing on when I was little. I just drew anywhere!! However,when my parents wanted to send me to drawing class I refused to go after one lesson –I cannot remember exactly what happened but my mum says that I hated to be told what I should draw.

TERRY :I’ve taught kids to draw to a degree and the ones who usually refuse to draw what you suggest and are quite independent usually turn out to be the most creative and imaginative –maybe that’s what it was with you….that or you were a stroppy kid!

I suppose a lot of youngsters would have seen childrens books [lianhuantu] at one of the temporary kiosks set up to rent and sell them. Can you recall what the first book or comic was that you read?

YISHAN:SAILOR MOON! My best friend in primary school loved it and she forced me to draw those silly girls while I thought,at the same time,these girls looked so strange because they have huge eyes!

TERRY:I’m afraid that’s what puts me off a lot of Manga –Manhua characters tend to have more realistic eyes! I guess the next question really has to be:when did you first become aware of Manhua and what effect did the discovery of this art form have on you?

YISHAN:As I mentioned before,my first awareness of Manhua was totally forced on me! But then I started to read some,for example RUNMAN1/2 and DRAGON BALL,and I fell in love with them. The effect on me…emmmm…probably made me study less hard because I spent most of the time drawing on my text books at school!

TERRY:Ahh –the evil influence of comics on the minds of youth!

I know you attended Nankai University in the Peoples Republic between 1999 and 2003. You got a BA in Sociology,but were you more exposed to manhua there, and if so,how did it change your view of the art form or the style you were using -if at all?

YISHAN:Life in the university was very inspiring in many ways. I enjoyed the time there so much and even did a comic serial titled “My Dormitory” which is based on my own experiences! I started to think of character development more,and consider characters as individuals who have their own feelings. And to be honest,if I had chosen a science subject I would probably have had much less time to draw.

TERRY:For all those out there interested;what did you use,equipment-wise to draw at the beginning? A number of us in the early 1980s used to visit London's China Town to purchase Chinese ink and brushes. I could never get used to using a brush though a lot of artists I knew started to!

Above: CONTES DU BOUDOIR HANTE

YISHAN:I used very basic equipment,and I still do. A4 copy paper and gel ink pens are all I need to draw. I never felt the need to use real toning paper,so I normally use the computer to tone the pages --cheap and easy.

TERRY:Which is quite right. Why use expensive art pads or pens costing huge amounts when copier paper and gel pens work? Every artist I’ve met who is trying to get into comic art keep asking what is best to use paper and pen wise. At one point I used italic pens,Gillotte nibs and cheap drawing ink. I moved on to Berol fibre-tip pens. Now I use brushes to add to various pens….and copier paper.

And what type of equipment do you use now -you do great black and white work and the SUPERB colour art look like two distinct art styles?

YISHAN:These days I tend to use a graphic tablet to do everything. For black and white pages I use Manga Studio and,for colour pages,I use Photoshop or Corel Painter.

TERRY:Do you find it easier to work in black and white or colour and do you prefer one to the other?

YISHAN:No,one can be as hard as the other and also equally expressive.

TERRY:Talking about the creative process you go through....do you come up with an idea and then write a script or do you go from concept to thumbnail sketches then full art?

YISHAN:Normally,the writer will come up with ideas and write the scripts for me,and of course in the process we will discuss together how to develop the story. Once the script is done I will do character designs,then pencil pages,ink and tone [and colouring if it’s colour Manga.

TERRY:And the preparation is more complicated for colour art?

YISHAN:Not really,as I do them on the computer anyway.

TERRY:Oh,I see,I thought you might do preliminary colours on paper as a guide [you can tell which interviewer doesn’t use computer in his art work!]

Right,having jumped ahead of myself a little there....back to some order! From Nankai University you moved on to the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne which is a loooong way from China! How did this move come about?

YISHAN:In my last year of university I still didn’t know what career I wanted exactly,so I thought,oh,maybe go abroad and study more –it could be really interesting! I could only speak English [apart from Chinese of course!] so the UK was the best choice,and Newcastle is famous for crazy parties --that just sounded perfect!

TERRY:So,basically,you decided on the UK for the party life ? Shame on you!

And did you begin to get exposed more to Western comics or had you seen them before -and,do they ever influence you?

YISHAN:Certainly! There were mostly manga books in China so I didn’t get the chance to see much of Western comics. After I moved here I started to read lots of comics and they definitely give me a lot of inspiration!

TERRY:Your first manhua work,"Our Dormitory",was published in parts between December,2001 to February,2002 in Ka Tong Wang [Comic King]. This was later gathered into a graphic novel,in China,in 2003. So,while you were still at Nankai? And your second published work was a 36 paged black and white strip, "In My Memory",that appeared in Shaonian Manhua [Youth Comic] in 2002. Can you tell us a little about these and whether they are semi-biographical?

YISHAN:I did both of these stories when I was studying in university. I still remember the days when I was drawing in lectures! “Our Dormitory” is based on my Room-mates and myself. At the time we did a lot of funny things so I noted them all down and the drew the story. All my room-mates asked me to draw them prettier!

TERRY: To set things straight for people reading this who haven’t seen your work, I've put together a stripography - please correct me if anything is wrong!

OUR DORMITORY [parts] Ka Tong Wang Dec 2001-Feb 2002

IN MY MEMORY Shaonian Manhua 2002

OUR DORMITORY[GN] 2003

SPIRIT MARKED Yaoi Press Oct 2005

ALURIA CHRONICLES Yaoi Press Mar 2006

DARK MISTS 1-4 Markosia,UK #4 June 2006

THE GUARDIANS vol 1 QTK Anime [US] Sept 2006

TIZZLE SISTERS & ERIK Markosia [UK] Sept 2006

RELUCTANT SAVIOUR:80pp bonus book

with SAI HOSHI THE GUARDIAN vol.2 Yaoi Press Oct 2006

Then we have the "works in progress" (in 2007) such as CONTES DU BOUDOIR HANTE, MIDNIGHT BLUE,DILLUSION, STORY OF LEE,CUTIE-B AND ZHENNY

This all seems to range from what we would call "slice-of-life" --stories of everyday life- to fantasy. As an artist do you like the idea of moving between genre types or is there one genre you would really like to concentrate on?

YISHAN: I love to draw all types of genres and particularly girly stuff. Only problem is I cannot draw machines well,so I normally avoid drawing sci fi.

TERRY: Actually,that need not be a problem! Because so many bulky Manga books are weekly the artists cannot spend time drawing figures and all the backgrounds and there are commercially available “background” transfers [only seen the toner packs in the UK] !

Which of the strips/books you have worked on is your personal favourite -and why?

YISHAN: ”Our Dormitory” is the one. It reminds me so much of my time in the university and all my friends. It is like reading a diary –although not all the story is true!

TERRY: Now,I love the look of CONTES DU BOUDOIR HANTE,which seems to have a more traditional look to it. But "IN MY MEMORY" and "THE STORY OF LEE" really have so much going on in the panels that it looks great but have you ever thought "I've put too much in that one panel!"?

YISHAN: I won’t have time to think of that! If I feel there is the need to put a lot of details and backgrounds in,I will just do it and don’t care how much time it will take. In my opinion,backgrounds and details are very important in story-telling. In the end,I am a professional and I need to make things as perfect as it can be. But I feel there is always lack of detail in a lot of original English manga drawings these days. Too many panels with bug faces but never a background….don’t like that too much.

TERRY: Yes,I’ve seen lack of background in US manga as well. I’m wondering whether it’s because these artists have had access to only the cheaper and less well drawn manga that seems to get into shops almost in bulk!

Back to subject! So,you moved from Nankai University to Newcastle-upon-Tyne but now live in Edinburgh --do you see yourself settling down to live in the UK or is that decision some way off and dependent upon how your career goes?

YISHAN:Ah! The truth is I am married to a British man and he works in Edinburgh! And for my career,I can live anywhere because everything is done online.

TERRY:You are known and published in China and the UK and USA but you are also receiving recognition in Europe now -France in particular. Is this all a surprise to you and did you ever think you would travel and be published as you have?

YISHAN: I didn’t think that I would become a full-time manga artist at all. I went to university and thought I would be an international business woman or something,and draw as a hobby. But now I find it is the best job in the world because it is something I really enjoy and I can arrange my own schedule.

TERRY:You have attended UK conventions {Birmingham,December 2006 and the up-coming Bristol Comic Expo 2007], Angouleme in France [2007] and the 2006 Yaoi Convention in the US,so you have travelled and seen fandom far and wide. Can I ask:have you noticed any differences in how fans treat or approach you in the various countries?

YISHAN: They are very similar….may be I need to be more famous to see the clear difference!

TERRY:So,do you have any projects or ideas in mind for new comics that you are excited about?

YISHAN:I just signed a contract with French publisher Dargaud for two books. One of them is called CUTIE-B. I really love this one. It is a very cute story of the day-to-day life of a normal teenage girl. There will be a lot of funny little things happening to her and I will change her outfit frequently.

TERRY:And getting a deal with Dargaud is something to shout about! They are one of the best publishers in France and that’s saying a lot because comics there [or Bande Dessinnee] are much more respected than even in America.

So,Yishan, can I ask --any last words for the comic buying public out there?

Character sketch from Guardians c.2014 Yishan Li

YISHAN: Check out my website: www.liyishan.com and see if you really like my style first. If you do,then please check for up-dates every now and then to see my progress [believe me,I always try to make improvements in my art],and then,the most important thing is buy my books if you happen to see them in book stores!

TERRY:Yishan Li,thank you VERY much for taking the time to do this interview -and here's wishing you well in your future work and life!

YISHAN: Thank you!

fin

Thursday, 4 December 2014

A Re-Post: The Yishan Li Interview!

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