Lee Mei-yan does not go out much; she stays at home to draw pictures. Her parents were once much worried about how their art-loving daughter could earn a living in the future. But for Mei-yan, a girl who has always been absorbed in comic creation since childhood, the colorful world of comics is where she enjoys herself. She is so determined that she devotes all her time and effort after school to comics. She frequently exchanges ideas with other creators in the U.K., U.S. and France on the Internet. Her unique style impressed a poster production company in the U.K., and they published her poster design worldwide. She then got chances to participate in international comic exhibitions in France and the U.S. where her works were showcased and won lots of prizes.
Aged 20, Lee Mei-yan is studying a higher diploma in visual communications in the Hong Kong Design Institute. She fell in love with comic creation since childhood but the most popular Japanese style was not her cup of tea. Instead, she was attracted to non-mainstream British and French comics. She was particularly fond of showing her works on the Internet. It was also through the Internet that one of her works The Rainbow World caught the attention of a well-known British poster production company which contacted her and bought the copyright of the work with a few hundred pounds for publication. So far, more than a thousand copies of the poster have been sold in Europe. Later, a band in the Philippines also asked her to design a record sleeve. Now, her parents have changed their minds and they give full support to her work in the field of comics.
Dense composition and vibrant colours are the signatures of her works but Mei-yan also loves to add animal characters to her pictures. She hopes to inspire people with positive energy through colorful comics. Her plan is to develop a career in arts overseas after graduation and she dreams of having her own gallery in Hong Kong where she can host solo exhibitions of her pictures and albums.
■Translation by開明
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