Rita Tu is a visual storyteller who lives in New York with her 19-year-old dog. She loves exploring ideas from ordinary life and experimenting with different methods to tell the story expressively.

Usually, Rita combines hand-drawn elements with digital tools to create her works. This method can maintain the beauty of hand drawings with the flexibility of digital art. Also, she is enthusiastic about animating her illustrations and thinks motion is another language for artworks to express feelings and thoughts to the viewer. 

Rita collaborated with clients in advertising, publishing, art licensing, and editorial fields. Her illustrations and motion works have won awards from the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, 3X3, Communication Arts, International Motion Art Awards, and The Young Ones ADC Awards.

Wells Fargo, Sallie Mae, Shanghai Library, Jiangxi Television, Quantasy, Pushart Studio, Dandelion Children’s Book House, People’s Literature Publishing House and other major publishing houses.

Experience

Freelance Illustrator, Visual Designer & Art Director | 2019 - Present

Selected clients include Wells Fargo, Sallie Mae, Shanghai Library, Jiangxi Television, and major publishing houses.

Created original illustrations, book visuals, cover concepts, and visual assets for publishing, branding, animation, and digital platforms.

Collaborated with publishers, editors, clients, and creative teams to interpret briefs, develop visual directions, refine artwork through feedback, and deliver polished final files for print and digital use.

Founder | Rita Tu’s Creative Camp | 2022 - Present

Founded and led a three-day immersive creative workshop featuring mixed-media exploration, artist talks, and guided visual storytelling exercises. Designed the curriculum and participant experience to support creative discovery and personal expression.

Guest Lecturer & Mentor | 2023 - Present

Delivered short-term illustration courses, project guidance, and student mentorship across Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang Normal University, and Savannah College of Art and Design.

Online Instructor | 2019 - Present

Delivered online courses in illustration and visual design to students across different levels.

Society of Illustrators, Gold

Communication Arts Illustration Annual

The ADC Awards

World Illustration Awards

3x3 Illustration Annual

AI-AP | American Illustration Awards

Bologna Children’s Book Fair

The Young Ones Awards, ADC, Gold

Spectrum 25

The Applied Arts Awards

AI-AP | International Motion Art Awards

DEF CON 28 Art Contest