Episode 13: Illustrating Singapore Place, Culture and Social Issues with Anngee Neo
Her incredibly detailed illustrations capture the buzz and energy of imaginary and real places… Anngee Neo talks us through her process.
Anngee Neo is a Singapore-based illustrator whose work has been featured in children’s books, commercials and editorials. When she was a design student in Temasek Polytechnic, Anngee secured her first commercial job for a fashion boutique and has been illustrating ever since.
Charging for Illustration
“In school, they don’t really teach you about the business side of things.”
“When you're transparent about pricing, it lifts up the entire industry…I believe that we should go off the strength of our illustration, rather than the cost of our pricing to get a project.”
Illustrating for Children
“I don’t do any of my illustrations with children in mind. More important is to tell the story in a way that’s interesting.”
Making Time for Personal Projects
While Anngee enjoys working with clients and creating works out of challenging briefs, she stresses the importance of carving time for your own practice.
“After working with clients for a long time, if you don’t make time for your own practise, or to make your own work, you lose your voice.”
PSA Comics
Anngee’s comics are topical and educational.
“During lockdown I realised that a lot of my friends don’t have a framework in which to think about donating money. I was familiar with charity work so I made a PSA comic on the different ways to donate.”
Here are some of her comics:
Recommendations
Anngee is an avid reader.
“It’s important to read a lot, but also to reflect on what you’re reading.” She is currently reading Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. “This book is still so relevant because we are so inundated by images. As people who consume these images, it’s good to have a framework of how we should process images of suffering.”
She also recommends Erik Satie, A Parisian Composer and His World.
More from Anngee Neo:
