Mai Ngo is a Vietnamese illustrator specializing in children's publishing

Mai Ngo is a Vietnamese illustrator specialising in children's publishing, she works as a freelancer at her Hanoi-based art studio. From a young age, Mai loved art and books. She became passionate about visual storytelling in college and decided to spend a gap year studying more about illustration and making picture books before graduation.

Mai is now working on a wide variety of children's books. Her favourite themes are folk tales, ancient myths, children's well-being, and the diversity of the world's cultures. Mai loves to develop her career as a children's book author-illustrator.

Let’s find out more….

What would you say is your best piece of work/collaboration to date, and why?

It’s hard to say what my best piece of work would be because every projects that I have done were unique and always had exciting details. If I must have chosen the works that I like the most, it would be the series of illustrations that I made for Storytime Magazine. I love ancient tales and the diversity of the world’s cultures and the collaboration with Storytime Magazine gave me a great opportunity of not only working on my favourite themes but also enhancing my experiences in working on detailed ancient illustrations projects.

Where do you like to go to be inspired, or how do you find your inspiration?

I usually go out for a walk when I need to find a new idea for my work. Inspiration sources are everywhere around us and walking around and watching things give me great chances to find interesting ideas. Sometimes my inspiration came from some old books that I found in a casual used-book store.  Some other times, I found new ideas while watching children playing and people working around my neighbourhood. Chatting with children is also a great inspiration source for my work as well. I have never stopped being amazed by the richness of children’s imagination. They help me to see the world from a very fresh and new perspective

Is there anything you’d say you would be a good advocate for? Please elaborate if so.

I love children. They are not just our babies, grandchildren, nephews or nieces, etc, they are our future. I believe that children’s behaviours and reactions are the mirror of the world where they live in and the people whom they live with. That is the reason why one of the kinds of topics that I always look for and support in every works/collaborations is the one about taking care of children’s mental health and their well-being.

What would you say sets you apart from other illustrators? Something you feel is unique to you.

Speaking of the uniqueness, it’s hard for me to talk about that because I always consider myself as a normal person who loves art and visual storytelling and be lucky enough to make a living out of it. Even I have been working as a professional illustrator for a while but I have never stopped being surprised by the new knowledge I learned from whom I had opportunities to work with or meet in the daily life. I can’t tell what is the unique thing that sets me apart from other illustrators but it’s safe to say that “always keep open-minded and never stop learning” are my things and these characteristics have been helping me a lots, especially enhancing my skills and collaborating with people.

If you have done paid commissions prior to joining the agency, what would you say is something that clients repeatedly come to you for (up to now)?

I would say “always finding the best option for the project and being open-minded to receiving feedback” are the reasons why clients repeatedly come to me.

How would you describe your style?

Vivid colour palettes and detailed character and layout design are the noticeable features of my style.

Please give a scenario of a project that would mean the world to you, if you were offered it,  something that connects to something meaningful to you...

I love the diversity of cultures around the world. A scenario of a project that helps to show the meaning and beauty of the variations of culture and belief is the one I always dreamed of.

Are you working on any personal projects you can share with us?

Yes, I am working on 2 personal projects right now. One of them is a children’s picture book idea and the other one is a series of illustrations for children called “The Old Vietnam”. The picture book project is planned to be submitted this June 2025. The first part of “The Old Vietnam” will be published on my website by the end of 2025.

Finally, if you were to illustrate a book related to a real-life person, who would that be?

I admire Marie Curie and the story of her life is incredible. If I had a chance to work on a book related to a real person, hopefully, that would be her.

if you’d like more info, please contact: [email protected]

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