Anita Cheung
Q What do you do?
“I work with brands to create playful, whimsical illustrations (or animations!) that tell a story. ”
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
A lot of my learning was in-field. I started out primarily doing brand design. I launched three businesses in my early twenties (actually co-founding Canada's first modern meditation studio) and did most, if not all of the branding, strategy, and design work involved. After I gave up my role with the studio, I wanted to focus on freelancing as a way to help elevate others' voices and ideas and continued with that work for the past 10 years.
When my nieces were born, my work began to naturally shift towards illustration-- with a focus on capturing the wacky, the weird, and the childlike wonder of day to day life. I attended multiple online classes as well as international in-person retreats and residencies to sharpen my skills. Additionally, I've been mentored and tutored by some of the best in picture book illustrations.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I keep things analogue- using primarily paint, pastel, coloured pencils, and cut paper.
Brands that are best suited to work with me are those looking to add some charm and stand out from the sea of flat vector digital illustrations. 🙃
Q What are you working on right now?
On the professional front, I'm working with a non-profit to develop a picture book for their cause, and am also working with a publisher on a new picture book. I also recently finished a cut-paper, stop-motion animation for a wellness space that offers sauna & cold plunge circuits to celebrate their new location opening soon.
Q What’s your style?
My work on a project called Tombolo, which is a pop-up children's art gallery and storybook museum. I have been fortunate to do all of the design, branding, and marketing for the project as well as the visual assets for the physical event installations.
I love the mix of playful illustrations and bold colours!
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
It's hard to pick just one so I've listed three. (Classic slashie.)
1.) Definitely the publishing industry! I love working on books, and am also keen on creating educational materials.
2.) I am continuing to develop my animation skills and always have fun working on projects that involve movement.
3.) IRL installations! I love seeing my work blown-up in a large scale format-- whether that's decals, posters, or giant printed foam-core boards; it's always such a cool feeling to get to contribute to the environment of a space.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Mostly just finding time for all of the personal creative work / my own creative practice- it always ends up falling to the bottom of the list even though I enjoy doing it so much and I know they're great portfolio builders!
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Can this person be connected telepathically to me? I'd love for them to handle all of my emails and life errands that pull me out of doing deep work.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I wish I could have told myself to go to art school when I was graduating high school! I loved art and drawing when I was growing up but I pushed it aside for "real life"- only to come back to it now!
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Honestly, it's kind of unrelated but I'd love to talk to different scientists and researchers-- especially those studying the natural world, just because I'm super curious and always watching those "fun fact" animal/ nature videos on YouTube before bed 😂
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I'd love to work with brands whose demographic consists of families/ children, OR the "inner child". I'm open to what this could look like-- whether it's packaging, custom illustrations, or assets for a campaign- I'm down for anything!
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
A client that has a healthy budget, and previous knowledge of my work.
I worked on a family-friendly activity booklet for a botanical garden a few years ago and loved the experience. The team was able to provide great guidance on the content and copy-- with lots of room to play-- and we worked seamlessly to design a multi-page booklet that was engaging, and visually aesthetic for visitors. I trusted them in the parts they owned (the content), and they trusted me in the actualization of it because they had seen samples of my work.
Q: What is your rate?
Since illustration projects vary greatly depending on scope, I typically create custom quotes for each client. To give you a rough idea:
+ Full bleed/ full page drawings start at $350
+ Animated videos start at $1700
+ Resource or educational materials, picture books, etc are $2000+ depending on page count.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Please email to get started! I'd love to hear more about the vision/ idea and if you have a budget range, that would be helpful too.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Ryleah Shae for all event design/ activation/ installation needs. Her work is playful and unexpected-- which is exactly what you want as a brand to stop people in their tracks!
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Journalling my thoughts/ Curiosity is Key/ Time in the Garden.
This member profile was originally published in November 2018, Updated June 2026.