Stefandersson

We’re continuing our Pride celebration with a series of interviews from celebrities and artists on Tumblr, getting their thoughts on how they navigate their identity. Please meet the illustrious designer Zipeng Zhu (@zipeng).

How do you express yourself on a day-to-day basis?

What is the relationship between your art and your identity?

The relationship between my work and my identity is that my work is my therapy.

What advice would you give your younger self about exploring your identity?

One piece of advice I’d give to my younger self would be “do not try to fit in and be like everyone else, because you are fucking special!”

Judges?

Me: (hesitating, because the last job was hell) Okay, what is it?

Client: Here you go!

Me: …This is the exact same project we just finished.

Client: Yes, I want you to redo the whole thing.

Me: But, I thought you liked it?

Client: I do! But we’re going to do it all over again.

Me: Okay, well…can you tell me what you didn’t like the first time so I can make those changes?

Client: No, I want you to go into it with an open mind and just do what you feel.

Me: Well, that’s what I did last time…

Client: Exactly!

I stumble through the project, trying to guess what changes he wants. After many hours way above and beyond the cost of the project, I submit it.

Client: Actually, can you make all of these changes?

He then hands me an ENTIRE LIST of changes he wanted from the first time. This means I will now have to start the project for the third time.

I’m Batman!

In Sweden Batman is called Läderlappen which translate to The Leather Patch. Originally Denmark used this name too where it could be translated as The Leather Flap (as in piece of cloth), taking it directly from the Swedish word, but it has since gone out of style. So yeah, I suppose Sweden should be saying Leather Patch but Leather Flap is so much funnier.

In Norway he was known as Lynvingen, The Lightning Wing, for a while.

I’ve tried drawing “actors who are friends and appear in a lot of movies together” before, but this was by far the most fun because Simon Pegg and Nick Frost change their appearances so much for different roles.