March 11, 2026

Disabled And Here Illustrator: Interview with Michelle

Hi! How would you like to introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Michelle (they/them) and I’m a Chinese-American illustrator and designer based in the midwestern United States.

Avatar

Michelle’s self-drawn avatar of them with glasses and chin-length hair turning back in surprise towards the viewer while sipping on an iced coffee. They have a mole under their left eye, have a sweat drop on their face, and are wearing a geometric pattern button shirt.

How might you describe your illustration style? And do you have any favorite sources for inspiration?

Moody, textural. I used to mess around a lot with pastels and mixed media as a kid, and I guess I’ve come around full-circle as an adult, but without the strange sensory problems I have handling powdery/chalky mediums.

Artist inspo: Eyvind Earle, Maxfield Parrish, Katherine Lam.

What brings you joy or helps you recharge in general, when you just need a break?

Talking with my friends, video games, doodling/collaging/figure drawing, and bullying my cats. I work with a local animal rescue and spending time with the dogs is very therapeutic. Sometimes just going to a new place and sitting there, taking everything in without an agenda, is very healing for me. It helps if it’s near a good coffee shop too.

Ghost of You illustration

Illustration showing a spread of polaroids dated in different months of 2023, all starring the same person, a South Asian woman with wavy, shoulder-length hair. In some of the photos, a ghostly silhouette can be seen next to the woman, with the two often embracing. In the right corner foreground, a pair of glasses rests on top of the photos.

Ooh, can you tell us more about your cats? What are their names and what are they like?

The oldest is Dexter, the second is Luna, and the youngest is Cream Puff! Dexter is very sweet and cuddly, and he also likes to make sure everything in the house is running according to his schedule. If I’m not where I’m “supposed” to be, he’ll yell at me until I get up and go do what I need to do.

Luna is similarly very cuddly, but she prefers to interrupt me while I’m drawing or sending emails so I take breaks. If I try to cuddle her when I’m not busy, all bets are off; it has to be on her terms and her terms only.

Cream Puff is the least cuddly, but she will make me take breaks to play with her. She loves to play fetch and will bring me her toys so I can throw them for her, or she will instigate “chase,” where I pretend to be a monster and chase her around the house. If I stop too soon, she’ll come find me and yell at me to keep going. They’re a pretty good management team!

Aww, so strict and yet loving. Can you share more context for the illustration you created in our Disabled And Here: Possible Futures series?

I think one of the things that happens very often when you’re disabled is becoming physically isolated from your community. Online communication is so helpful (I wouldn’t trade my discord bookclub/shitpost server for anything), but there’s something deeply irreplaceable about your friends coming to your house or vice versa, sharing a meal, laughing together. It’s different for everyone, but I personally find it much more difficult to say “I’m doing great!” or hide how overwhelmed I’m feeling when I’m physically sitting in front of my friends versus behind a computer. That vulnerability is terrifying, but essential.

Teleporting for Potluck illustration

Illustration of three disabled friends gathering for hot pot. On the left, a Black and Asian transmasculine individual beams into their friend's home with a bag of fruits and vegetables. They wear glasses and a glucose monitor with a hologram display, and the teleportation device above them announces, “Arriving from: Chicago.” A South Asian non-binary person walks over to the teleporter with their cane. On the right, an East Asian woman sits at a table in her power wheelchair, raising a hand in greeting while a cat rests contentedly in their lap. On the table is a steaming pot of hot pot soup base and a small assortment of meats and vegetables.

My friends and I frequently talk about how nice it would be if we could just teleport to each other, especially in times of hardship, and I thought a teleportation device would be an amazing thing to have. In my ideal world, these devices would be installed in every home by default, and you’d schedule and confirm visits with your friends before teleporting over. I also entertained the idea of having smaller versions of these devices/portals in every home so you could talk to your friends and pass them items through the device or even hold their hands. Ultimately, though, what I crave more is just being able to hang out in person and share a meal with my loved ones.

In this illustration, I wanted to depict three friends coming together to eat hotpot. The host of the party is seated at the table, with it comfortably adjusted to her height and the sides extended to accommodate her guests. Her friend (using a quad base cane) is walking over to greet their friend teleporting in from Chicago. I imagine this group of friends have these get-togethers every couple of months or so, usually at this host’s house.

If there was a more magical universe, what kind of superpower would you want most?

Predictably, teleportation (and/or shapeshifting).

Would you say your lived experiences have influenced your art? And if so, how?

On a physical level, the medication that works best for my brain also makes my hands shake. I tend to use angular shapes because of how I now use the lasso tool, and I modified a lining brush that is textural enough for my tastes but has a ton of smoothing behind it so I’m not worried about strange jitters/fragments or having to go back to redo a line because of a tremor.

Thematically, I had a hard time connecting with other people and processing/voicing my feelings growing up. I think that desire to connect or communicate difficult, complex feelings has unintentionally become a common thread in my work.

Goodbye Home illustration

Illustration of a memorial altar framed around a backlit window. In the foreground, lily arrangements surround fruit offerings and burning incense. The smoke from the incense reveals the past memory of a small neighborhood, with a cozy home in the center, while the window view shows the current neighborhood lined with identical modern apartments.

Is there a dream project or collaboration you’d love to take on someday?

I’d love to work on book covers, as well as TV and movie posters! I’m especially fond of horror, slice-of-life, and romance features. An atmospheric zombie poster would be a dream for me. I’m also starting to get back into comics, and I’d love to work on experimental, surreal narratives.

Final question: what are the best ways to support you and your work going forward?

To be frank, I am still getting used to asking for help when I need it, and as a result I find it difficult to articulate exactly what I need. The systems in place can make it incredibly shameful to even admit you need accommodations, and it becomes easy to just isolate yourself in a space you know and can control.

It’s something I’ve been trying to be more assertive about just these past few months. I think beyond that, what has helped me the most are my friends, who have been patient when I need a bit to sort out what I’m feeling or check in with me when I’m overwhelmed.

Illustrations from Michelle Zhuang
Interview by Elea Chang

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