'Storytelling and emotional connection matter more than aesthetics,' says illustrator Fangfang Han

The pandemic was awful, let's make no bones about it, but just how many talented creatives discovered their true calling during lockdown? Count Fangfang Han among them. In 2020, she was a fashion buyer working in a busy industry where there just wasn't time to explore other creative avenues. Fast forward to 2024, and she's recently won a World Illustration Award for New Talent in Animation.

Plenty of learning, exploring new mediums and conceptualisation has gone on between then and now. "My style has been shaped through years of experimentation – printmaking, collage, hand-drawing, stop-motion, digital painting – I've tried it all. While most of my work is now digital, my style is still evolving. To me, storytelling and emotional connection matter more than just aesthetics. It's about the message I'm conveying and how it makes people feel," says Fangfang.

Originally from Hefei in eastern China, Fangfang relocated to London, studied illustration at the Kingston College of Art, and graduated this year. She has already worked on projects with various clients, covering travel and lifestyle topics for UK publications such as Teen Breathe and creating children's book illustrations for Ximalaya in China.

Perhaps her most eye-catching piece is The Tube, a wonderfully quirky animation that pulls out dozens of the little aspects of riding the London Underground in Fangfang's whimsical creative style. What began as a university project was taken on by Transport for London, which used the piece to help celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Underground in 2023.

"The idea came after a late-night London Tube ride on the Victoria Line, listening to station announcements and the hum of conversations," she explains. "That moment sparked the idea to create a project about the Underground. I spent over a month riding different lines, researching the Tube's unique atmosphere and its role in daily life."

Fangfang aimed to humanise and beautify the experience by depicting the interiors of the stations and the trains, as well as some of the people who use the service. The piece combines her drawings and digital artwork with Chinese-inspired cut-paper animation and plenty of sounds you'll hear on any Tube journey.

It led Fangfang to win a World Illustration Award in Animation this year. Part of her prize was an opportunity to choose one of the illustration agencies sponsoring the awards, and she selected IllustrationX because of the company's history and global reach.

Today, Fangfang splits her time between London and Hefei. The former inspires her creativity, with its galleries, museums, and variety on offer. The latter is where she connects with family, friends, and her pet budgies. And just like her lifestyle, her work bridges Eastern and Western cultures.

"Growing up, I was surrounded by traditional arts and crafts – calligraphy, embroidery, paper cutting, and ceramics. My family also played a big role. My mom and grandpa loved Beijing opera, and I even learned to sing and play the jinghu, a traditional Beijing opera instrument," says Fangfang. "Summers were spent learning traditional Chinese painting. At the same time, I was influenced by global culture – Disney animations, Miyazaki films, French comics, and English literature. That blend of traditional Chinese roots and international exposure has shaped how I see the world and tell stories through my work."

Next, Fangfang wants to combine her illustration and animation skills to create brand campaigns for clients in travel and culture, illustrate non-fiction books and collaborate with fashion designers to create patterns and prints.