I’m an artist working mainly in animation and also different parts of entertainment/advertising like video games, commercials, print etc. I’m Taiwanese/Malaysian and was born in the US and grew up in North California mostly. I went to art school in LA for a few years and had to leave early for financial reasons but luckily was able to start working in the industry.
I lived in a few small different parts of Los Angeles like Arcadia and Glendale. Arcadia is very pretty and green, there’s peacocks that walk around, and has easy access to really good asian food. Glendale has a big Armenian population, the people I’ve met were generally very outgoing, family oriented and also pretty blunt. Glendale is pretty small but diverse, it has a busy downtown area and you can see parties with people in fancy dresses and lots of super nice cars. There’s also great Mediterranean food here.
I like the different people in Glendale and it’s location is great, but least favorite thing for me is drivers can be aggressive and hotheaded, also trash has been more of a issue in recent years.
Busy, diverse exposure, eccentric
I wanted to do art since I was a little kid and I worked towards that for as long as I could remember, in middle school I already knew the colleges I would apply for.
I wanted to do art since I was a little kid and I worked towards that for as long as I could remember, in middle school I already knew the colleges I would apply for.
My parents were fine with it as long as I proved I could make income.
There’s a lot of things I’m interested in right now and I’d like to actually do more personal work for myself.
There’s a lot of things I’m interested in right now and I’d like to actually do more personal work for myself.
Recently I’ve been watching a lot of H3 and frenemies on YouTube so it would be fun to collab with them. I also love Doja Cat or Rina Sawayama as musical artists, they both have such a fun vibe.
Balancing work life and trying to do personal work.
They are all extremely different from each other, and loving in their own way.
They are all extremely different from each other, and loving in their own way.
I had some art teachers that were female and they were very nice, but I don’t remember them doing any of their own artwork. And I didn’t really get to know any local creatives until I started working in the industry, but I had an amazing female art director for a short period who was named Nadia Vurbenova Mouri, I loved her presence she was always so calm and kind, soft spoken but strong.
Artists come from anywhere, and as long as you’re interested in it keep working towards it, all of your experiences will help you, negative or positive. Reach out to anyone that inspires you, people in the industry are generally friendly. Also we are not only what we do so it can be difficult, emotional, tiring at times, it’s a weird journey so don’t feel too alone, a lot of us are always going through it no matter where we are in life. Be a creative for yourself, try to be open and take care of yourself.
Artists come from anywhere, and as long as you’re interested in it keep working towards it, all of your experiences will help you, negative or positive. Reach out to anyone that inspires you, people in the industry are generally friendly. Also we are not only what we do so it can be difficult, emotional, tiring at times, it’s a weird journey so don’t feel too alone, a lot of us are always going through it no matter where we are in life. Be a creative for yourself, try to be open and take care of yourself.
I listen to different stuff and go through phases while working, recently it’s been Doja Cat, The Weeknd, Post Malone, Do As Infinity, Dark Souls 3 soundtrack and Minecraft soundtrack.
Daichan in Studio City and Phoenix Food Boutique for their Mixed fruits drink
A lot of financial uncertainty and creative vs professional struggle but it’s also exciting at times
I’ve learned a lot of different techniques from different artists, I think it only helped me get better at doing what I want to do
Do you feel satisfied or happy with yourself or your journey as a creative?
Photos courtesy of Sylvia Liu
July 9, 2021