“With eyes wide open and heart unveiled—feel life, record its pulse, and embrace its wild beauty.”

Yutong
Liu


Illustrator | Animator | Graphic Designer




Yutong Liu is an award-winning illustrator from China, now based in London as a freelance creative. She earned her MA (Distinction) in Illustration from Kingston School of Art in 2024, and her work has appeared in numerous publications and advertising campaigns for clients including The Orion Publishing Group Ltd, Ascend Design, The Alan Turing Institute × University of Edinburgh, Better Images of AI, HiShark Edu, and more. Her illustrations have been recognised by prestigious awards and exhibitions such as the World Illustration Awards (WIA), 3×3 International Illustration Awards, Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), China Illustration Annual Conference (CIAC), the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, China Illustration Biennial (CIB), Hiii Illustration Award, H.C. Andersen Art Awards (Silver), and the CGDA Visual Communication Design Awards. Guided by her creative philosophy—“With eyes wide open and heart unveiled—feel life, record its pulse, and embrace its wild beauty”—Yutong’s work captures moments that are both poetic and profoundly human.

EXHIBITION
2025
  • Characters on the Road — PICTOPLASMA × Balkans, Varna, Bulgaria
  • BIBF Illustration Exhibition — Beijing International Book Fair, Beijing, China
  • May Fourth Youth Art Exhibition — Hosted by Hong Kong People's Artists Association (Online)
  • Art Collide: Emerging Artists 2025 Exhibition — International Online Showcase
  • Bay Area New Direction: Guangdong International Art Week — Guangzhou Nan Fung International Convention Centre, Guangzhou, China
  • Glorious Chang’an: National Security Education Day Exhibition — Excellent Works from Greater Bay Area Illustration & Animation, City Hall Exhibition Hall, Hong Kong
  • Endless Growth: GAS Illustration Art Season Exhibition — Guangzhou People's Art Centre, China

2024–2025
  • Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize Touring Exhibition — Multiple venues, United Kingdom

2024
  • The Bigger Picture — Beta Festival, Dublin & Cork, Ireland

AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2025
  • World Illustration Awards — Animation Category, Longlisted
  • 3x3 International Illustration Annual No.22 — Animation, Merit
  • BIBF International Illustration Awards — Book Cover, Finalist
  • CIAC National Illustration Support Program — Dynamic Illustration Award (China)
  • Applied Arts Illustration Awards 2025 — Young Blood, Motion - Animation
  • Open Competition to Create More Realistic Stock Images of “Digital Transformation at Work” — Grand Prize
  • May Fourth Youth Art Exhibition — Third Prize for Me & Tree No.1 and Me & Tree No.2, organised by the Hong Kong People's Association of Fine Arts

2024
  • Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize — Shortlisted
  • Beta Festival — Selected
  • CIB9 (China International Illustration Biennale) — Finalist

2023
  • Hiii Illustration International Awards 10th Edition — Finalist
  • CHEAD Student Poster Competition — The Best Winner
  • Creative Conscience Awards — Shortlisted

2022
  • H.C. Andersen Art Awards (International) — Silver Award
  • CGDA Visual Communication Design Awards — Finalist







2025 All Rights Reserved ©️ Yutong Liu

  • Granny
2025
Editorial Illustration

This is an illustration collaboration with Ramona Magazine—created for the article Granny, a heartwarming story, written by Michelle Fitzgerald. I chose pink as the main tone, with the grandmother and granddaughter surrounded by the toys the grandmother brought her. These toys symbolise the deep love they share for each other.

📖
Full Article Here
  • ME & Me
2024
    Animation

I created this short
animation to explore my relationship with myself. By capturing five repetitive moments from my daily life, I illustrate how I find joy in small variations within routines. Through this process, I engage in self-reflection and discover new ways to connect with myself.


📣Award Coverage

  • The Original Daughter
2025
Book Cover

In collaboration with The Orion Publishing Group Ltd, I illustrated the new cover for The Original Daughter by Singaporean author Jemimah Wei. The novel was officially released in June 2025 in Singapore and the UK.








Across Time
Beyond the Cubicle
Digital-based Connection
  • Digital Nomads
  • 2025
  • Editorial Illustration

These editorial illustrations are created in response to the theme Changing Employment Contracts and Working Conditions proposed by Better Images of AI and the ESRC Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit). It depicts how digital nomads break away from traditional office spaces, embracing a new way of working in nature. The work reflects how advancements in digital technology have diversified career choices and made work environments more flexible and free.

📣
Award Coverage



  • Doing AI Differently
  • 2025
  • Editorial Illustration

A series of editorial illustrations commissioned for a white paper co-authored by the University of Edinburgh and The Alan Turing Institute, each visualising a key concept through metaphor and visual storytelling.
AI Heterogeneity
Qualitative Turn in AI
Thick vs Thin Description
Network Motifs in Human-AI Ensembles
Interpretive AI

Illustration in White Paper

📖
White Paper



  • Ascend Design Website
  • 2025
  • Animation & Advertising

This commercial project is a collaboration with interior design studio Ascend Design (Singapore). I created two animations and two illustrations to help build a playful and engaging atmosphere on their website. Through this visual approach, we aimed to encourage users to explore the site and foster a sense of community that invites clients to become part of it.






  • HiShark Edu Red Book Visual Content
  • 2025
Editorial Illustration




  • HiShark Edu Spring Festival Visual Content
  • 2025
Commercial Illustration

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  • Personal Website Loading Page Animation
  • 2024
  • Animation