Illustrator Jiatong Liu fuses handmade and digital art to explore the color blue

Jiatong Liu is a Chinese illustrator living in London. Last year he graduated from Kingston University in Illustration and has since worked as a freelance illustrator and teacher.

He has already won several prestigious awards such as Communication Arts, Young Ones ADC and 3X3. And now, his senior year college project, Blue Things, has been shortlisted for this year’s V＆A Museum Illustration Awards.

The project was to create a non-fiction picture book about the color blue. “Blue has a torturous history,” says Jiatong. “The ancient Romans thought it was a low color. However, it was loved by people in the Middle Ages and even became people’s favorite color.”

Blue Things is the perfect showcase for Jiatong’s distinctive style, which combines hand drawing and digital art, and reflects the visuals of his wildest dreams.

His process usually involves creating handcrafted textures and applying them to the designs. Dynamic color and sophisticated detail are other common traits of his work.

“I’m passionate about storytelling and love using Illustration as a journal to visualize my emotions and memories,” Jiatong adds. “Everyday life, literature, music and cinema can always inspire me to create many unique pieces.”