1. What drives you to create stories?

As a sensitive and clumsy five-year-old growing up in China, I felt a lot of pressure from being different from my peers and the adult society around me. My lack of friendships turned me into an observer. I saw everything around me, but I was afraid to interact, so I created my own world of imagination. The stories and emotions in anime definitely saved me and taught me to be strong and kind. They inspired me to never give up.

Luckily, I was born into a loving family, and my environment became more friendly in middle school. I started creating stories in my mind, mostly about people fighting to find happiness and the meaning of life.

As I progressed further into studying human history and mythology, I saw patterns of good and bad. In addition to my interest in creating refreshing aesthetics in art, I want to tell stories that explore the darkness of humanity and ultimately find hope and love.

2. What inspired the story published on Chronicles?

Mermaids. It was a drawing challenge called “Mermay” that I took part in five years ago. I drew eight illustrations, printed them and sold them at conventions. They were a success, and then people started asking about the inspiration and story behind them. That’s when I started making them into stories. I knew I wanted to give each mermaid a different role to showcase different aspects of the mermaid world. Despite the world being completely different from the human world, the struggles and humanity remain the same.

As the anthology progresses, the world-building process unfolds. The first four stories were written one page at a time as the ideas came to me. The last four were an attempt to complete the world-building so that the reader would understand what happened to the humans and mermaids in the past.

3. Describe your process for creating a character, including what you start with, what inspires you, and what challenges you.

Creating characters is never a challenge for me. I love the beauty of the mecha and the human body. When there is a theme, I browse Pinterest to build my visual library. Then, I come up with words to describe the concept: “seahorse trainer,” “eel witch,” or “mantis shrimp princess.”
This is basic concept design training, but I do whatever I want, inspired by whatever I’m feeling at the moment. I don’t work for a specific IP and I have no restrictions. To me, that is the exact definition of freedom: go wild and follow your heart. The only challenge, I guess, is if the design isn’t interesting enough by my standards.

4. What tools do you use the most?

ClipStudio Paint, Adobe Photoshop, iPad.

Illustration from Xinillus’ project ‘Keep Outers’

5. What kind of scenes move you the most when you’re drawing?

Dilemma and controversy, and the moment when the characters reach power and enlightenment to overcome it.

6. Your main sources of inspiration right now:

Mythology, history, good movies and TV shows, philosophy, and heavy metal.

Xinillus speed painting an illustration of the character Giorno Giovanna from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, by Hirohiko Araki.

9. How do you deal with work stress and creative blocks?

I work out, go to music festivals, and visit the forest and the beach. I also travel and hang out with friends. Selling at conventions also helps; I received a lot of validation there.

10. Describe one of your typical workdays. Do you have any rituals to help you immerse yourself in the creative process? Is there a specific place or type of music that helps you?

I usually get up around 10 or 11 a.m., go straight to my computer, and start working. I take care of all the meals at home. Other than that, I work until around 8 pm, and then I devote my time to my partner.

I work out once a week, and I absolutely don’t work on weekends. I go out partying and hiking. The music that inspires me is definitely heavy metal and psychedelic music.
I need to work on several projects at the same time; otherwise, I get bored. I switch between projects on a weekly basis.