Illustration (Online) alumna on finding purpose through creativity
23 January 2026
For Dorcas Tang, studying Falmouth’s BA(Hons) Illustration (Online) course from Singapore offered her the opportunity to prioritise both her passion and mental wellbeing while building the skills that have allowed her to confidently pursue a career in illustrating for children.
After a difficult academic journey, deciding to study the two-year course gave Dorcas the chance to follow her joy, study at her own pace and find a sense of purpose through art, a decision that in turn opened up many new career possibilities.
We caught up with Dorcas to learn more about the joy of following her passion, illustrating her first children’s book, The Three Hungry Microbes and taking the first steps in creating a children’s book of her own.
What has studying illustration, and pursuing creativity as a career, meant to you?
Studying illustration at Falmouth has been a dream come true to me! I have always wanted to pursue a formal education in art for a long time, but never really chose it because I was afraid that art might not be a practical career choice, especially in Singapore. Being able to study online with Falmouth was a step towards taking a risk on following my joy. Prior to studying at Falmouth, I had been doing freelance art on the side out of passion, exploring watercolour art, infographics and murals. Studying at Falmouth solidified my decision to pursue illustration, particularly children’s books, because I found that over the years I was continuously drawn to simple, whimsical and meaningful stories. I also love working with kids.
How did you find your time on the course and how was the process of studying online?
I really loved that the briefs were flexible enough for us to explore things in our own way. I experimented with making collages and using materials that I would never have used before. I also loved that the online course allowed me to do things at my own pace; I was able to take the time to rest if I needed to and pursue projects outside of studying. During my time on the course, I could apply little things that I learnt into my projects with clients, including the children’s book about compost-making which I was working on at the same time. The feedback from tutors and peers was also great as I was self-taught up until that point. It was amazing to have mentorship and see people who was working in this field. It opened many career possibilities that I thought were unreachable.
You recently illustrated your first children’s book, The Three Hungry Microbes, in collaboration with author Cuifen Pui, which was published in August last year. How did you find this experience and how did the opportunity first come about?
I became interested in sustainability and nature when I first heard about the climate crisis, back in 2019. I wanted to learn more about this topic, and so I would seek out many people and events that would help me to gain a wider perspective on climate action. During this time, I would make infographics for myself and the public about what I was learning to help remember the information in a fun and joyful way. This turned into a way for me to work with environmental experts to help translate their research into something that’s easier to understand for the general public.
Cuifen and I were in the same circles but never formally met until February 2023. As a sustainability advocate and compost-maker, she had been visiting preschools in her own time to teach kids about compost-making and wanted to find a way to further explore the topic with them in a fun way.
When we met, I was entranced by the way Cuifen talked about soil. She described it as though it were magical and alive, especially when she would talk about the little microbes inside that would help eat the food scraps. I was immediately taken by that image, and it led to us writing a children’s story not from the perspective of a human feeding food scraps to the soil, but from the microbes themselves. Since then, we have had many adventures trying to figure out how to write and publish a children’s book together and have also had the opportunity to share it with many kids around Singapore!
You are currently working on a children’s book of your own, can you tell us more about this project?
I still have to keep this one under wraps! But this will be my first children’s book that I am both writing and illustrating. It is a story about self-worth and is based on concepts in nature. I can’t say too much about it, but I’m really excited for it to come out later in the year as I have been meaning to tell this story for quite a long time! Going to Falmouth University has given me the confidence to bet on my own voice and move ahead with pitching this story to my current publishers - and I was so happy when they wanted to work together with me to bring it to life.
I will always be grateful for the opportunity to go to Falmouth University and be able to step into my own path.
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