Tell us a bit about yourself and how you found your way to a creative career.

My name is Ma Shuai, I’m an illustrator from Guangzhou, China, currently living in Bologna, Italy.

I think I’ve always been interested in drawing. Back then I liked reading comics—I remember receiving a full set of The Adventures of Tintin as a child, which made me really happy. Once, when I went home after many years, I happened to flip through an old diary and saw that I had written, “I want to become a little artist.” That moment made me realize I’ve liked drawing ever since I was little.

I enjoy observing shapes and exploring visual expression—these might have been the starting points of my path.

I studied Decorative Arts in Florence for my undergraduate degree. It happened to be during the pandemic, so I had more time to explore different forms of creation. After graduating, I began submitting works to open calls and sharing my art on social media. That’s how I got my first children’s book illustration job—illustrating The Golden Key, a story related to Pinocchio. This experience made me truly enjoy the process of creating illustrations. After the first book, the editor invited me to illustrate a second one, and these experiences made me want to keep creating more imaginative work.

What’s your current favorite medium or style to work in?

I like things that are flat and design-driven.

I mainly work by hand—I enjoy the texture that hand-drawing brings. Before coloring, I use Procreate to try out color palettes, but in the end I still hope the colors, textures, and lines blend together naturally, until I find the one that fits the narrative best.

I lean toward a warm, cute, and sometimes slightly absurd or surreal visual language. I like to include a bit of humor or emotional contrast in the image—like using cute-looking characters to express feelings that aren’t so lighthearted. I also like visuals with a retro, nostalgic feel.

Who or what influenced you the most in your career so far?

I think I’ve been influenced by many things: comics I read as a child, games I played, and movies.

Films have had a big influence on how I compose and create atmosphere in my images. I often draw inspiration from movie scenes and transform them into my own visuals—that’s also why I pay close attention to composition, rhythm, and use of space.

My illustrator friends have also had a big impact on me. They’ve shown me different ways of storytelling and expression in illustration, and they’ve pushed me to think about how I can express things in my own work.

I’m also influenced by games I liked—like the classic side-scrolling structure of old Nintendo Mario games.

So the people around me, visuals, stories, and games all come together in my work.

What subjects and themes are you most fascinated with?

I like cute things, because they bring warmth into an image.

My inspiration often comes from everyday life, like watching movies, playing Nintendo games, or even my own puns and wordplay. Sometimes I feel like what I want to create is “visual language”—the “mischief” in language gives me inspiration for images.

I like turning everyday emotions into something powerful through imagery, and I enjoy adding game-like elements to my work, like progress bars, buttons, or dialogue boxes.

I especially love visual storytelling—particularly picture books and narrative illustration. They allow me to build my own world and connect text, images, and characters.

I hope every project I do is different from the last, so I always want to explore new ways of expression, both visually and in form.

How do you approach color in your work?

I like using bright, high-saturation colors that make people feel happy and full of energy.

Before coloring, I test out a lot of palettes to find the one that best fits the mood and tone of the story. When working on a series of illustrations, I usually decide on one main visual color that sets the tone for the whole set.

I really enjoy the coloring process—different colors bring different feelings. Depending on the story, sometimes I deliberately create contrast between color and content to add a touch of humor.

Share a recent favourite project and talk us through its process and creation.

A recent project I really enjoyed is an ongoing illustration series based on the novel The Nightmare by Shirley Jackson. After reading the story, I felt it was very surreal—I really like that kind of feeling.

The setting is New York, which made me think of those futuristic city scenes I imagined as a kid, like in The Fifth Element, or the retro-futuristic architecture from A Clockwork Orange. These are styles I hadn’t tried before, so I was eager to explore them.

And since it’s a dream-world setting, all kinds of illogical objects and scenes can exist—it gives me a lot of creative freedom.

Describe your dream project.

I want to design album covers for bands I like—I love when music and visuals come together.

Besides music, I’d also love to design covers for films I enjoy, or work on key visuals for pop culture events.

What’s next for you?

I want to create a graphic novel that’s different from what I’ve done before. I’ll be working on my graduation project soon, and I want to try some new creative approaches.

At the same time, I hope to explore a wider variety of illustration projects and keep growing creatively.

Rapid Fire Round - Quick answers! And add a few words if you like :)

Working alone or in a team?

I like the feeling of teamwork, but maybe I’m more suited to working alone.

If you could time travel, which year would you go to?

I’d like to see what the world looks like 100 years in the future.

What superpower would you like to have?

I want the power to fly—with wings!

Trends - follower or hater?

Maybe a follower—it depends on the trend

AI - embrace and adopt or scared and avoid?

I’m more inclined to embrace it, as long as it’s used properly.

Work earlier or later in the day?

Ideally a morning person, but in reality I work better at night.

Thank you Ma Shuai!