Interview With Xin
Location: Lightbox Expo 2022
Interview Date: 10/15/2022
Anime Herald: What is your origin story as an artist?
Xin: I started when I was very little. I’ve been interested in art for a very long time, even since I was five years old. I would say the real start was from manga and anime. I really liked Digimon back in the day. This was in elementary school.
That’s how I started with character design and stuff. The teacher thought I was talented. I really enjoyed drawing. They recommended that I go to an art high school, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Art. I studied the academic fundamentals there.
After that, I started to draw my own characters and stories. Then, I was accepted at an American school. I came here to study illustration. My whole background is kind of academic. Now, I do manga, illustrations, webtoons, and a bunch of narrated illustrations. That’s purely from my own interests. I didn’t get taught that in school. I taught myself digital art, as well as manga and narrative skills.
Anime Herald: What school in America did you go to?
Xin: I went to the California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
Anime Herald: You mentioned Digimon. Where there any other manga or anime that you really enjoyed growing up?
Xin: One that had an impact on me was The Law of Ueki. I don’t know if too many people know about it. It was popular back in 2005, when I was in middle school. It was an eye-opener for me. I liked how smart and funny the characters were. The meaningful comments of friendship, and the fighting tactics. I was really into it. The main character could change trash into wood to fight. It’s a very refreshing concept.
Another one was Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I was like, “Wow, this is so expressive!”
I started to get into mechanical design and mecha stuff. Also, Transformers 2 was very big back then; it was the age of CGI. I thought, “This is super cool! I want to have some mechanical design in my art.” That’s how I got started with mechanical design.
The next one was the Hellsing Ultimate OVA. That one is very bloody.
Anime Herald: Yes.
Xin: As a rebellious teenager I really loved that stuff. I’m into heavy metal. That’s also a huge inspiration for me. All the dynamic poses. For shortening stuff, and the stories that come from when I’m on a road trip listening to heavy metal.
Anime Herald: What are some of the heavy metal bands you’re into?
Xin: I’m more into Arch Enemy, Nightwish. It’s kind of mainstream heavy metal, so maybe some fans will think I’m a poser. However, I’m really into melodic death and symphonic metal.
Anime Herald: What are you current favorite manga or anime?
Xin: There are so many. Berserk is definitely good. That’s universally known. I like some very dark ones. There’s one called Bokurano. It’s about a bunch of kids saving the planet by fighting in these giant robots, but the giant robot is powered by the kids’ life force, so they die after piloting the robot and defeating the enemy. They find out they’re fighting against the same version of kids from a different dimension. Whoever loses’ universe is destroyed. It’s kind of dark.
Anime Herald: You definitely like the darker stuff.
Xin: Yeah. However, my work is dark, but also my storytelling is healing. The whole concept is that there’s hope. It’s actually pretty optimistic. I haven’t released any of my writing yet. I hope to do so in the future.
Anime Herald: What’s your process for creating these pieces, of your own characters?
Xin: I have several stories. One is called “Source.” It’s sci-fi/fantasy. Another one is called “Keep Outers.” This is the main one I’ve been working on since I was 14 years old. Back then, it was something I listened to music to and had the imagination of it. I started typing it up in college. The message is the forgotten history of the world.
All of the characters are descendants of unions between gods and humans. There are secret fights between the divine civilizations of the gods, but now, there are technological elements. They have sci-fi biotech weapons. Every character is based on a cultural reference, from a number of different civilizations.
I’m into spiritualism, as well. It’s something I like to explore in animation and manga. The mysterious forgotten past of human civilizations. I try to bring some philosophical thinking about the current state of the world, and how it is developing in the future. Sometimes, what we want is peace. It’s not about ideology, or where you’re from, or nationalism. There’s a lot of stuff that will be talked about in my manga.
Anime Herald: Is your manga available on Webtoon or your website?
Xin: Right now, I’m working on a Webtoon called Kinfire. It’s a collaboration between me, the author (Brandon Chen), and the producer of Arcane. She left the company and founded her own studio. You can go check it out on Webtoon.
Xin’s work can be found at her website, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
(Editor’s note: I would be remiss if I didn’t link to Xin’s drawings of Rebecca and Lucy from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.)
Editor: Samantha Ferreira
