Neko Jiang, based in New York City is an award-winning illustrator from Chengdu China. Jiang graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology with a Master of Fine Arts degree in illustration. She lives in New York City and works as a freelance illustrator.

Neko is using her skills and imagination to create a unique “NEKO” world, inhabited by funny and adorable characters who express themselves in extraordinary colors.

NEKO World was first described by a friend as my artistic style, and I found the term very interesting. It’s like I’m the creator of a world where I can decide what the characters look like, adding personality to them, as well as creating the stories behind them.

Neko Jiang experience of living in NYC for the last four years has become the most significant source of her inspiration. We asked her she marries her origins with her experience of New York.

I’m from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, which is a leisurely and livable city, exactly the opposite of NYC. As a result of this collision of contrasts, I was looking for some moments of calm in the chaos and hustle of New York City. Like my Zine “Asian Restaurant Guide in New York City”, which is my attempt to find a sense of cultural identity in this completely different world. And my single illustration “A Raining Day in NYC”, I wanted to show the most comfortable moments of NYC for me.

Most of Neko’s current works are done by sketching in Procreate on the iPad and then finished in Photoshop. However, for experimental works, Jiang uses traditional materials such as gouache, colored pencils, ink washes, etc.

I usually limit myself to a theme and then create a series of illustrations based on that theme. One theme will keep me working for around two months.

If you’d like to learn more about Neko Jiang or follow her creative process, visit her Instagram account @nekoojiang or her website www.nekojiang.com, where you’ll find the archive basically of all her creations.