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Sketch drawing by Golo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Golo, which in Cantonese means Mr. Tall, is a nickname that Chinese cartoonist Zhao Zhicheng got stuck with after his height suddenly shot up in high school.

"I was so little in junior school and a quiet good kid. When I and my friends encountered tough kids outside of our school - which happened once in a while - I was the one who usually emptied the pockets first before they even had to ask."

Zhao said he had such an unassuming name back then that even the teacher would not notice him.

But when the class needed someone to paint, he's always "the one on it".

Zhao fell in love with drawing and reading cartoons at primary school, and started collecting cartoon books with his pocket money since third grade.

He has grown up reading Yoshihiro Togashi, never missing out on a single piece of his works. Later, he decided to take cartoon as his career, and enrolled in Affiliated School of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

At the school, Zhao spent half day studying and half drawing. There, his journey on being a cartoonist began to take shape.

Roses all the way

Zhao started going to drawing class since a child, and began going to special art class in junior school.

He said it's good to have peers of the same interest to compare with, but he's never the best in the class.

"There was a girl who was very sensitive in colors, and drew way much better than I did. When the teacher asked me to describe what colors I could see on a typical plaster sculpture, I said white and grey, but the girl could tell blue, orange, brown, etc., among the light and shadows."

Interestingly, upon graduation, the girl went to a normal high school while Zhao continued his journey of drawing, getting admitted to Affiliated School of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts where he received three years' of professional training.

"Some parents consider drawing is not a right path for a successful future, they think it is not a formal profession, so even when the kids want to go to such schools, they might not allow them to."

Zhao said that he also felt a bit of pressure for wanting to attend specialized school and take drawing as his career, but he knew clearly that being a cartoonist was his life goal.

Three years later, Zhao got admitted to Beijing Film Academy to learn animation.

It was then his parents showed true approval and it was there he received professional training. "I got a lot of practice on charcoal drawing, sketch, and coloring, all of which laid solid foundation for my drawing. To be a professional cartoonist, it's better to start early and persist. I'm lucky I had followed my heart, and it was pretty much roses all the way."

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