Serials Characters was created in 2015 when its creator Kuo Huan-Li worked for a company in Paris and was aspired by the company's multicultural environment. As holding a birthday party for coworkers was a norm in the company, Kuo drew a unique character for every coworkers who had a birthday. All the characters Kuo created brought big smiles on the coworkers' faces, which also made Kuo found common grounds between different culture. He then came up with the idea of “nature”,”diversity” and “heartwarming” that formed Serials Characters' spirit.
Serials Characters
We asked a few questions about Serials Characters work...
Can you tell us a little about your series The Prayers, what inspired you to draw animals praying?
By caring about animals, I want to speak out for them. I emphasized the animal’s facial expressions and gestures to pray as human beings, to be able to show my empathy on them. Having a sound and safe home is a common need for both animals and human beings, so animals also surely make wishes for safety just like us.
You have created animals and creatures from your Titled World series, can you explain the process of giving your illustrations a new medium?
I work a lot by sketching on paper, then sometimes it comes out as an idea to create a new character. I am thriving to discover artistic ways of showing different characters, the process of creation can finally build up to a story.
You have drawn your friends and co-workers as animals, how do you decide a person’s animal form?
The former company that I worked for had employees from many different countries, I found it very interesting to see differences and common things between everybody, the body language and catchphrase are key to making my decision to what a person’s animal form will be.
You previously lived in Paris for six years, do you find the art industry differs in Taiwan compared to France and Europe. How?
Paris has more artists and is a highly competitive market, the advantage of being in a central art hub in Europe such as Paris, is that there are many more opportunities to attend cultural events compare to in Taiwan. I think that we should give ourself more space to create fun stories in our daily life.
You also enjoy taking photographs of leaves and detailed close ups of plants, how important is texture to you in your art work?
The transformation of the shape and colours on a leaf are charming, the structure of it are like the urban plan on a map which I also found very fascinating. When I am alone, I feel safe and sound when I see fallen leaves.
