New York-based illustrator and designer Dingding Hu is known for her delightful digital illustration work, as well as hilarious illustrated characters. In 2016 she started her own product line, Hu is Hungry (sold on Etsy), which sells stationery and gifts that focus around food illustrations.
“I love food, which is obvious,” she tells in an interview with Freelance Wisdom. “So when I first started out, I took some advice from my peers and started a tumblr that was dedicated to practicing drawing food, called Hu is Hungry. Then one day I got a big number of reblogs, and gained more fans in 24 hours than my other tumblr did in 2 years. After that I made a pin based on one of my food drawings and surprisingly sold a lot when I was tabling at MOCCA, more than most of my other creations.”
“I started to think, maybe this is something I should consider pursuing more seriously,” she explained. “After finishing a big project back in 2016, I dedicated 2 months of my time fully to Hu is Hungry, and from there, everything started to build and grow. I also realized that all my temporary positions have taught me something about making a product as well as running a brand, which makes it feel right to combine all my experience in retail to run my own business.”
Talking about her artistic background, she went on to explain: “I originally studied advertising back in Shanghai for college. Upon graduation, I took a giant leap into illustration and came to America to attend graduate school at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. After I finished my MFA degree I moved to New York, aiming to become a freelance illustrator.”
Take a look at some of her eye-popping designs in the gallery below.
