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.
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.
*******************************************************************************
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?
Above: "Coffee" (c)2014 Yishan Li
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.
"Dark Mists" (c)2014 Yishan Li
"Dark Mists" (c)2014 Yishan Li
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!
Above: Dark Mists (c)2014 Yishan Li
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!
Above: Cover to "Aluria Chronicles" (c)2014 Yishan Li
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.
"Fishy" (c)2014 Yishan Li
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!
"Our Dormitory" (c)2014 Yishan Li
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.
Above: "In My Memory" (c)2014 Yishan Li
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
![[Steve Yeowell signing Zenith: Phase Two]](https://dyn0.media.forbiddenplanet.com/event/2014/09/24/zenithphasetwo.jpg.size-230.jpg)
![[Steve Yeowell signing Zenith: Phase Two]](https://dyn0.media.forbiddenplanet.com/event/2014/12/03/zenith2.jpg.size-230.jpg)
