In between the lower bracket finals and the grand finals at The International 2019 we had the chance to sit and talk with one of the most famous comics drawers in China, GL.





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Hello GL, nice to finally meet you and I would like to start our chat by thanking you for all the content that you create for Dota 2. Now, tell me, is this a full-time job for you, or are you doing all the drawings in your spare time?

I started doing this purely out of passion because I love drawing and I love Dota 2, but I’m not fully committed to the Dota 2 content. I do drawings for a living so I do have other requests and you know, I have a project here, a project there and they aren’t all for Dota.





How did you discover the passion for drawing, did you train in an art or design school?

I never went to an art school or anything like this. I just self-educated myself in this field. My university major is actually in programming.





When did you start playing Dota and how did you discover the game?

I started to play DotA back in the Warcraft III days. At that time, I was in my university years and I was playing Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne with my colleagues and all of a sudden we discovered the custom map done by Icefrog and we fall for it. It’s all thanks to the all mighty Icefrog.





I’m sure you know the entire Chinese Dota 2 scene extremely well, so, I would like to ask you who did you have as the favorite team from China to reach the grand finals this year?

I support both VG and PSG.LGD, but my hope was that “LGD is Invincible.”





Should we expect some salty drawings on the lower bracket finals, PSG.LGD vs Team Liquid?

No, I won’t do that, because the Chinese fans are waiting for another team from China to claim the Aegis for three years now and although we are all pretty upset now, after a while it all be in the past, we will move on eventually. So, for my drawings about the finals day at TI9 I will be focusing on the fun part of the games, so that when my readers from China see them, they can smile and forget about how upset they are.





Do you find inspiration in the hero lines and if you do, which hero do you like the most, which hero is your favorite in that aspect?



No, not really. The way it usually goes is that I start drawing about a specific play of a specific game and sometimes it just hits me “oh this hero has this line in the game” and sometimes I use it. But yeah, I play a lot of Dota and I hear the hero lines so many times, that they pop into my mind when I draw something Dota 2 related.





Are cosplay competitions something that inspires you in any form to make a comic on them?

When I do like a full day recap in drawings I do include a few sketches about the cosplay competition, but nothing more than that. For instance, I just finished the drawing for the Naga Siren costume we had here at TI9.





Did any illustraton of a team’s loss in a big tournament, or a player misplay that led to a game loss, actually make the fans angry, do you get negative messages, some bad reactions from your readers?

No, not at all. I guess people just enjoy to see a match or a day recap done in this way, so I never got flamed on my work. I’ve also never done personal attacks with my comics to any player or any team.





The grand finals are just starting here in the Mercedes Benz Arena so I’m wrapping up this interview here. Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to us and I can’t wait to see your TI9 comics recap!

VPEsports are glad to announce our readers that we will be able to share with you the English version of GL’s comics for TI9 as soon as he finishes the drawings for the whole event. In the meantime, you can also check the official video profile aired during TI9 for GL and his friend Mumu. Video below!



