Yang Sio Maan illustrations are made to look textured, layered, and soft, making for a soothing effect. Colored in washed-out colors, they form dreamy landscapes and mesmerizing settings. As an emerging illustrator, Sio Maan’s works were awarded New Talent Category Winner at the World Illustration Awards by the Association of Illustrators (UK) and Best of the Best at Hiii Illustration by Hiiibrand (China).
But though clearly talented, Sio Maan actually majored in English Literature in college, before going off to explore illustration. “I didn’t even know that there are college majors in illustration,” she admitted in an interview with My UM. So she first decided to take several painting classes and compiled her assignments from these classes into a collection. These painting assignments earned her a place at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in the UK, where she graduated with an MA in Illustration.
Now based in Macau, where she shares a home with two cats, she’s learning how to fully become a visual storyteller. “I never expected my works to end up on the other side of the world,” she says. “Pursuing arts full-time is not easy, but it gives me a lot of satisfaction, so I will keep going.”
As for her inspiration, she admits it varies. “It could be anything: the music I suddenly hear, a joke my friend tells, or something funny I see on the campus… they attract my attention, and I record what they make me feel at the moment by sketching.”
Take a look at some of her work in the gallery below: