Chen Xiaotao: to warm people’s heart with cartoon images

“Has the image of the personified reganmian ever warmed you up? Has the internet emoji of a chubby panda ever made you smile? If your answer is yes,” said Chen Xiaotao, the artist of these cartoon images at the China Youth Good Netizen Sharing Conference held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on November 10, “We have already met each other on the Internet.”

Chen Xiaotaomomo, whose real name is Chen Yuting, works as an author of original cartoons. Graduating from Tianjin University with a bachelor degree in 2016 as an animation student, Chen likes to create cartoon images that are close to life and resonate with people. She became an internet sensation in February, 2020, when Chinese people were putting on a hard fight to contain COVID-19.

Chen created a caricature that went viral on social media platforms. The caricature placed a personified reganmian, the most popular noodle dish in the epidemic epicenter of Wuhan, in a hospital ward while Other snacks from across China press on the ward window, holding posters saying "Be strong, reganmian!". Then she put forward a series of cartoon pictures revolving around how reganmian gradually recovered from the virus and got released from the hospital finally, reflecting the heroic behavior of Wuhan people during the pandemic and the unity of the country in fighting against COVID-19.

The series Food from all over the Country Support Wuhan's Hot Dry Noodles were widely praised on the Internet and received more than 1 million likes. They were also used as the official poster for the "Hubei Province Unlocked" and "Wuhan City Unlocked" events in People’s Daily.

Chen’s other representative works include the picture book The Beauty of Solar Term andthe cartoon character Yemengjun (a chubby panda) which, as a WeChat sticker, has been downloaded more than 380 million times and sent more than 10 billion times since its appearance in 2015.

“It has been four years since I left Tianjin University, but the character of TJU has always been imprinted on my heart. As I started to work, I realized that wherever we go and whatever we do, to love our country wants actions and it is a precept we should uphold,” Chen said. As a passionate freelance artist, she is always eager to bring warmth and power to those in need with her works. “To do extraordinary things with ordinary brushes in my hands, and let the uplifting power be recorded and passed on. Those are what TJU has taught me, the original aspiration and mission that keep my creativity alive,” Chen noted.

When talking about her life at Tianjin University, Chen described it as “rich and wonderful”.

For the first Crabapple Blossom Festival Chen Yuting attended, she created independently a set of festival postcards, which was also her first complete piece of work. The work was widely recognized by her classmates and teachers. “This set of postcards meant a lot to me. I think it kind of opened the gate to creation for me.”

In her sophomore year, Chen Yuting and her classmates went to Yunnan Province for sketch. In her junior year, she teamed up with her classmates and produced a full-length animated short film. In her last year at TJU, Chen was recommended to further her study at Beijing Normal University. It was also in that year that she created her first representative work, a cartoon character named "Yemengjun", and her pseudonym "Chen Xiaotao" became widely known. “All these things I experienced at TJU are my most precious memories,” Chen said.

Chen Yuting is full of gratitude to the teachers of Tianjin University. “First of all, I would like to thank the teachers of the animation major. From the time we entered the university to the time we graduated, you gave us thorough guidance. In addition, I would like to pay my respect to all the teachers who have mentored me over the four years I spent at TJU. The university and our teachers take cares of our dreams and provide a very favorable learning environment for us. I gained knowledge here and harvested friendship with teachers and peer students."

By Chen Binrui

Editor: Eva Yin