Young illustrator goes viral after drawing cartoons on paper garbage bags

Photo shows cartoons on paper garbage bags drawn by a young illustrator who calls himself "Ruoguan Nianhua" online. (Photo/yangtse.com)

A young illustrator from Shanghai recently went viral after drawing vivid cartoons featuring tasty food, landmark buildings and characters on paper garbage bags.

The illustrator, who gives himself the online name "Ruoguan Nianhua", used to be a travel blogger and often made trips around the world by plane.

"Sometimes, a flight took over 10 hours, which was very boring. One day, I drew a cartoon on a paper garbage bag during a flight, then took a picture of it and posted it online. To my surprise, the cartoon was liked by many net users, so I kept drawing," he said.

Over the past four years, the illustrator has drawn cartoons themed on 38 cities, including Bangkok in Thailand, Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian Province, and Sanya in south China's Hainan Province, on paper garbage bags during flights. "Generally, it took me about an hour to finish a cartoon picture," he said.

His pictures drew increasing attention, and some airline stewardesses have even become fans of his. "I have been recognized by airline stewardesses several times recently. Sometimes, they would give me more paper garbage bags or paper cups to draw cartoons on," the illustrator said.

A young illustrator who calls himself "Ruoguan Nianhua" online draws cartoons on a plane. (Photo/yangtse.com)

In addition to cartoons on paper garbage bags and paper cups, the illustrator has also created dozens of travel journals over the past years.

The illustrator has also created a large number of works that integrate photos of himself with hand-drawn cartoon characters and posted them online.

"I like drawing cartoon characters and some other elements on my photos," he said.

"Sometimes, I wasn’t satisfied with the photos of myself that I took during my trip, so I added something onto them to make them more interesting," he said.

Photo shows travel journals created by a young illustrator who calls himself "Ruoguan Nianhua" online. (Photo/yangtse.com)

With his works proving attractive, some brands and culture and tourism departments have begun collaborating with him. Some of his works have been turned into postcards or brochures.

Ruoguan Nianhua has more than 10 years of experience in hand drawing, but has also used the iPad to draw.

The illustrator also recorded some hand drawing courses to share his experience and meet net users' wish to learn his craft. In the future, he will share his works in more diverse ways, such as by publishing a book or an album of his paintings.

Photo shows cartoons of food on a paper garbage bag drawn by a young illustrator who calls himself "Ruoguan Nianhua" online. (Photo/yangtse.com)

Photo shows a photo of a young illustrator who calls himself "Ruoguan Nianhua" online and hand-drawn cartoon characters. (Photo/yangtse.com)

Photo shows a photo of a young illustrator who calls himself "Ruoguan Nianhua" online and hand-drawn cartoon characters. (Photo/yangtse.com)