A very Chinese cartoon cat and his human creator

"Don't be too harsh on yourself."[Photo//Official Weibo account of Baicha]

In 2009 and 2010, for two years in a row, Baicha's illustrations won China's maximum glory in science-fiction "The Milky Way Award" -- same honor that he shared with Liu Cixin and his "Three-Body Problem", later a Hugo Award winner.

The glory did not satisfy the young man's thirst for improvement, and his pursuit of something emblematically his own, his artistic signature continued.

And he was not alone in the search: As the social network developed, the interaction between the artist and his admirers online has been more and more frequent and constructive. Baicha would publish his latest works on the microblog platform where enthusiasts, friends and an increasingly wider range of followers would comment, make suggestions and advice for him to feel inspired, encouraged and motivated to get better.