Meet Jaeyyelle, The Rising Gen Z Illustrator Behind Our Sep 2022 Covers
The contributing artist for our Sep 2022 issue reveals her creative process – and how her generation’s obsession with nostalgia is providing her with plenty of inspiration.
By now, you might have spotted 23-year-old illustrator-slash-animator Jaeyyelle’s whimsical and dreamy artworks at some of the coolest stores around town. For a recent supermarket-themed Adidas pop-up store in August, she collaborated with Adidas and Zalora to design the cute retro-packaging for an Alice & The Hare-inspired tea pouch. She also produced 3D graphics for the event’s in-store digital posters.
The artist's Gen Z-inflected illustrations add the final touch to two covers of FEMALE's youth-centric Sep 2022 edition.
During her stint at creative studio Tell Your Children as an intern and later on as a freelance contributor, Jaeyyelle, whose real name is Hoon Jialing, also created motifs and small illustrations for Nike By You and Uniqlo. These illustrations were part of a series of options available to customers to create collages for their own T-shirt designs.
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This month, her signature throwback-inflected aesthetic pops up on the the double-cover edition of FEMALE – as well as the accompanying spread inside. With the edition billed as The Kids Are Alright! issue, this Gen Zer's work is a highly appropriate tie-up given youth's penchant for the “good old days”. She tells us more about her creative journey thus far.
"I was always doodling on all my books and homework as a kid. My mother eventually started photocopying 'connect-the-dots' drawing activities for me because I vandalised all my encyclopedias so I guess she really honed my love for art. She also supported me going into the art stream in secondary school! I knew I wanted to do something arts-related and graphic design seemed to be the most relevant option for me. Initially, it was a struggle for me because I majored in branding but I naturally gravitated towards illustrating so I just threw caution to the wind and ended up here."
"The idea of creating a fantasy world seems so romantic to me. I really love the Shrek trilogy because of the world they created (the kingdom of Far Far Away) and their extensive storyline of how the people there lived and behaved. I also like to try to digest slices of life and recreate them in light-hearted visuals – somewhat a mini storytelling of my personal thoughts and my inner child!"
"I still think I have much to learn before I settle into a style that can define me but as of now, round organic shapes and dark contrasting shadows appeal to me most. Not forgetting sweet pastels and candy colours too."
"It is a rollercoaster for me and my sleep schedule. My process is extremely haphazard. I can go uninspired for days and then a movie will inspire me to sketch till 5am. It is actually really unhealthy for my sleep schedule because inspiration can substitute my need for rest."
"I went into it thinking about the shows I grew up watching and how we all love some nostalgia now and then. The art styles of animated shows such as Alice in Wonderland, Totally Spies or Sailor Moon really resonated with me and I do see more and more people sharing these core throwback memories online now that we have TikTok and other forms of social media. Aside from the art styles that I already naturally gravitate towards, subject matter such as chains and cupids seemed fitting considering the comeback of The Y2K aesthetic. Us Gen Z kids love a good throwback even when it's not the era that we actually grew up in."
"I myself am obsessed with nostalgia. I guess the environment that we are transitioning to adults in is quite hectic. How do we become an 'adult' defined by the societal norms of another generation when we grew up in an entirely different world? I guess that is where nostalgia comes in as a form of comfort and familiarity in a simpler and safer environment.
I mostly draw inspiration from movie sets and costumes. I am very motivated by trying to recreate a visual that you would realistically see in that era. Take for example Disney’s Snow White animation – I learnt how the finish of the illustrations might look a bit blurry due to the illustrators working on celluloid sheets over hand painted backgrounds. It is not so much about the aesthetic that's important to me but more about the tools and circumstances a piece of art was creating with."
"Definitely to take life in our own hands and to kick societal norms to the curb. It is all about inclusivity and acceptance. We definitely grew up having to absorb a lot of information through social media – is a trait unique to Gen Z – so we do not really struggle with things that we are not familiar with. Hence, acceptance comes naturally. It is also maybe a Twitter war or two."
"The Gen Z art scene is still a young baby. My inspirations are my peers like @juicyJuiceVevo (JJ), @maxinengps or @zayrerboy. We just started doing whatever we want – out of nothing! Interning and working freelance with creative studio Tell Your Children also opened up my eyes to the possibilities of creating in Singapore. The TYC crew definitely nurtured and refined my artistic taste and creative ethics and I would not be so knee-deep in illustrating if not for them!"