[Interview with Tsu Part 1] With foriio it feels like a good middle ground where, regardless of where in the field you fall, there’s a space for you to display your creative work

We recently had a chat with foriio creator Tsu, where we talked about their work, inspiration, tips and more! Read on for the full scoop and remember to join Tsu on foriio with your own free portfolio that you can create in minutes. So without further ado, here’s part one of my chat with Tsu.

Please introduce yourself!

I’m tsurudraws, or just “Tsu” (they/them)! I’m a queer, Chinese-American freelancer that specializes in original character design and illustration work, but I’m also a Vtuber artist and Live2D rigger!

How did you get into the creative field? Were you always in the creative field and wanted to be a creator?

I’m actually self-taught! I graduated with a degree in Chemistry and Biology, but always enjoyed drawing as a hobby. I picked up digital art on my own using a smartphone while I was still in college pursuing my degree, and grew my platform while working full-time in science! I realized that my non-art job was wearing down on my health, and jumped to art last summer!! I’ve been a much happier person since then 🥰

You’ve made all kinds of works over the years so I’m sure it’s hard to choose from all your works, but what is the one piece that you are most proud of?

The majority of my community knows me most for this piece from 2021. I drew it as a milestone event for a Draw This in Your Style challenge, where other artists can, as the name suggests,  redraw this piece in their own style! It’s the first piece where my art process started feeling comfortable, but it was also one of the pieces that made me realize, “Oh gods, I have an actual community 😳” I draw for myself as much as I draw to share with my followers, so it was super encouraging knowing they enjoyed the event a much as I did!

Recently you’ve announced it’s bean time and have started taking commissions to beanifying other creators’ OC, what was the inspiration for starting these commissions?

I think some of my fellow creatives can sympathize with this, but when you’ve been posting your art for a while, it can feel hard experimenting and shifting to something different.

Some followers are fine with you changing styles, but others might expect a certain style from you, and that can feel restrictive! I channel a lot of my experimentation in my chibi commissions; it’s a fun way to still draw other people’s characters (and get paid haha) without feeling locked to a single style. There’s a lot less stress, and I end up learning some techniques I can apply to my illustrative work.

You’re known for your illustrations but you’ve been Vtubing and creating some great Vtuber models/rigging, what’s that been like getting into that community and learning a new program and skill set?

It’s been super fun! I’ll admit that while I advertise myself as a Vtuber, I use my avatar in place of a “face cam,” rather than as a separate personality. I don’t feel entirely comfortable showing my face on camera, especially since I make a lot of weird faces when drawing haha. I picked up making my own models because, at the time, I couldn’t afford to commission one and figured “it can’t be THAT hard to learn, right?” (It was a lot, but I had a lot of fun LOL)

I made my very first model after about a week of learning and depended a lot on community tutorials. I’m hoping to eventually share some of my own tips and tutorials later on to give back to the community! If anybody else is interested in making their own Vtuber model from scratch, my only suggestion is to start simple first!

How important is it to have a portfolio like foriio where you can show everyone your work?

I think it’s incredibly important to have a portfolio for your work. It’s the easiest way to showcase your best works all at once, without having people search through social media. I’ve found both industry artists and custom art freelancers on foriio! With foriio it feels like a good middle ground where, regardless of where in the field you fall, there’s a space for you to display your creative work. Plus, the embedded link looks like a little business card, which makes it easier to share on other platforms!

—————

Hope you enjoyed part one of my sit down with Tsu and look forward to part two!

Remember to follow Tsu on their socials here:
foriio – https://www.foriio.com/tsurudraws
Twitter – https://twitter.com/tsurudraws
Discord – https://discord.com/invite/tsunanigans

And remember, you can create your own foriio account for free in minutes. foriio is a tool for those who want to share their works in an easy and intuitive manner. Sign-up is a mere seconds and adding work is as easy as dragging and dropping. We’ve also added new import features for those who want to easily transfer their work from their other places. So check us out here and make your own! Hope to see you everyone on foriio!