First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi there, thanks for having me! This is Els, aka Ding Yue Rong. Illustrating Sa Ye (Run Wild) has truly been the golden moment of my career so far.

As an artist what drew you to illustrating?

It’s thrilling to be able to tell a whole story — and even hint at where it’s headed — with just a single image. That’s what really excites me.

What are some of your favorite elements of illustrating? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

Composition is where the magic and the struggle both happen. As my words above, it’s all about packing a whole moment into one frame — which means lots of trial and error (and sometimes frustration). But that exploration? Totally worth it.

As an artist, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

Composition-wise:  all kinds of visual design fields — ad posters, portrait photography in magazines, film storyboarding.

Idea-wise: great comics and graphic novels, like the extraordinary work of Christophe Chabouté.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

My art style might change REAL quick — it doesn’t matter if you don’t recognize me next time. What really matters is enjoying those masterpieces original stories. Bon appetite :))))

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

“Do I draw fanart?”I absolutely do — I dive into so many different fandoms. That’s one of the big reasons my passion for drawing keeps burning too. Hope we cross paths someday in a fandom we both love!

What advice might you have to give for aspiring creatives out there?

Go experience all sorts of things, patiently expand your horizons, hold on to whatever fuels your passion for creating. Keep that fire alive is everything.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

Better to save the surprise for next time we meet! All I can say is, the next project I’m part of has a whole different vibe from Sa Ye. 

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend in general to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

Bable by R.F. Kuang. This fiction turns the concept of “language” into something tangible — it offers some of the most visually rich descriptions I’ve ever seen. 

Alone by Christophe Chabouté. An absolutely must-read for those who love black & white art and graphic novels. It tells a story of a “freak” who was hidden and raised in a lighthouse, yet gifted with boundless imagination — through a dictionary, he envisions strange yet beautiful things until he finally finds the courage to step into the real world. This book shows how imagination truly holds real power.