Beloved DeviantArt Artist Qinni Passes Away From Cancer at 29
By Ryan General
After a long battle with cancer, talented artist Qing Han, aka Qinni, passed away at age 29 earlier this month.
The beloved artist from Canada, whose work inspired many for over a decade, left a multitude of fans and followers online devastated.
Qinni first got attention for her artwork on the website DeviantArt back in 2008. Over the years, her anime-inspired art has captured the hearts of millions, giving her the confidence to pursue a career out of it.
Qinni started professionally by working as a background painter for animation studio Titmouse. In her spare time, she also continued doing tutorials and mentored other artists online.
It did not take long for her to become influential in the art world, accumulating over two million followers on Instagram. Beyond Instagram, Qinni’s work has been widely shared by millions more online.
The online art community has come to know Qinni not only for her remarkable talent but also for her kindness and positive vibe. She was even recognized by Deviantart for “helpfulness and mentoring within the DeviantArt community” with the DeviantArt’s Deviousness Award in 2017.
Qinni has previously revealed her genetic heart condition and opened up about having undergone open-heart surgery multiple times. Just after Christmas, she also announced that she had been diagnosed with terminal stage 4 fibrosis sarcoma cancer. Her doctor said that she had “a year or year and a half left.”
“Hey guys, how do I stop randomly bursting into tears? lol,” she added.
Despite the diagnosis, which sparked an outpouring of sympathy from her fans, Qinni continued making art up until last week.
Fellow artist Courtney “Seage” Howlett shared the heartbreaking news of her death on February 10.
“She was a light in my life and meant more to me than I can explain,” he spoke of his friend on Twitter.
DeviantArt posted a tweet on February 10 celebrating Qinni’s work: “Today, the world has lost a wonderful artist, and a wonderful person. Thank you for inspiring us with your art, Qinni. We hope you rest in peace.”
The site also paid tribute to Qinni by posting an old interview it had with the artist.
“It’s always hard to lose a member of our community, but especially to lose someone who contributed as much to the community as Qinni did. From all of us at DeviantArt, we’re sending our condolences and well-wishes to everyone impacted by her passing,” the post added in the end.
Qinni’s fans from the world over have been expressing their grief online via tributes while the numerous artists who admired her work posted art for her using the hashtag #galaxiesforqinni.
Feature Image via @qinniart
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