Don’t be Afrid

Eason Ko (Gao Yi × in), born in 1997 in Taichung, is a v isua l art ist and i llustrator who documents l ife through f i lm.Dur ing jun ior high schoo l, due to poor academic performance, he was sent to a sports specialty c lass by h is fami ly. In high schoo l, through self-study, he gained admiss ion to an art-focused program, marking the beg inning of his art ist ic career.

He enro lled in the Department of Art and Des ign at Nat iona l Dong Hwa University (Hua l ien). In h is th ird year (2019), he won h is f irst internat iona l i llustrat ion award, the Honorab le Ment ion at the Adobe × Cl ip Stud io Japan Internat iona l I llustrat ion Awards, followed by accolades such as the Amer ican 3×3 I llustrat ion Award and the Japan J IA Internat iona l I llustrat ion Award. In 2020, he graduated with the Best Graduate Award (top academic and art ist ic honors), earning a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Des ign.

In 2021, he was interv iewed by Cindy Wider, founder of the on l ine learn ing p latform Drawpj, and was recogn ized as a Wh ims ica l Book I llustrator Young Master in the 100 Master Art ist Interv iews ser ies ( l ink). The same year, he was adm itted to the Ch i ldren ’s Book I llustrat ion MA program at Cambridge School of Art (Ang l ia Ruskin University, UK), awarded the Outstand ing Internat ional Student Scholarship, and won the Gold Pr ize in the UK Art Academy Graphic Des ign Compet it ion.

He obtained his Master of Arts (MA) in 2023 from Cambridge School of Art and subsequent ly l ived in Cambridge, UK, as a freelance i llustrator and visual art ist.

Since 2024, with the r ise of soc ia l med ia, Eason has emerged as a lead ing Gen Z art ist, creat ing short videos on i llustrat ion techn iques, l ifesty le perspect ives, and ph i losoph ica l ref lect ions. By 2025, h is soc ia l med ia p latforms have garnered over 200,000 fo llowers and surpassed 10 mi ll ion video views.

In 2025, Eason returned to Taipei to focus on full-t ime art ist ic and i llustrat ion work.