What does your studio/workspace look like? Is the space a beacon of dedicated focus or disjointed stress? What’s your dream workspace?
My current studio is a shared space with my bed in a room roughly the size of 10 feet by 8 feet. I have a small library of books in the same space. Ideally, I would love to have separated work and living space, but unfortunately that is not an option for now, at least not financially. I still have a decent space for both digital and traditional art, just without a lot of sunlight, which I crave a lot. I like my space now, it is a beacon of dedicated focus, and I’m actually still working on improving it so it has better storage space.
Ideally, my dream studio would be one that has large north-facing windows, with an abundance of natural sunlight and good ventilation. I would love a divided traditional media and digital media workspace, with a little sheltered outdoor patio also for my traditional media workspace. I love collaborative work more than solo work, which leads to me wanting more workspace for people when they come over. There will be spots of greeneries around my studio. A library collection of books is a must, with an organized tools and materials place as well. I snack a lot when I work (I am snacking while writing this), so a pantry would be nice. I have always wanted a Golden Retriever too, so ideally he/she can have some comfortable spots in my workspace. Oh lastly, there should be a small seating area with a white wall for movie projections when I have guests over. Oh my, this sounds greedy, but I do hope to have this realize some day.
What is your creative process like? Is it made of simple linear steps or do you just wing it? What kind of research goes into your process?
My creative process almost always starts with a story/a problem/a brief/a need. There is always some challenges to be solved. I always start with research. It could be about understanding the audience I am designing for, sometimes it is a stylistic guide that suits the story. I like it best when I get to observe the people that I am designing for.
Although, you’re right, I sometimes just wing it. This happens more with my individual illustration work. I have to admit, they rarely came out anywhere near nice. I either have to redo it, or re-wing (if that is a word) it until I feel at ease with it. I think it comes down to giving myself a solid idea and confidence when I work on a piece of art. I think whenever I decided to just wing things, most of the time I wasn’t convinced of a certain story, hence the play-by-ear approach. Sometimes it works, but rarely.
Ultimately it still comes down to what emotional and practical needs do my audience need. This applies to both designing experiences and creating illustrations. I don’t think I’m anywhere near it yet, but I would love for my designs in the future to be emotionally engaging, that will be top priority, and then, if applicable, practical for its purposes.
What are some things in your art that you feel are so uniquely you?
Coming from a relatively quiet and conservative Chinese culture (don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s one of the richest and most beautiful culture) that lives among a huge melting pot of races in an islamic country, I think I grew up pretty adaptable to changes and differences. When it comes to art and design, adaptability comes to play when working with different projects and different teams, not just stylistically, but also being versatile with team dynamics.
Malaysians taught me a lot about empathy. Differences in skin color, religion, mother tongue, do not divide, but it should instead be a strength. To be able to build upon each other’s strengths and learn to grow alongside each other requires a lot of empathy from one another. Fear and stereotyping comes along when we don’t understand each other enough. This is a culture that taught me the importance of listening.
The American culture, in return, taught me a lot about speaking up. No offense, but I think the American culture is a loud culture, in good ways. I have never seen a culture so outspoken and diligent about rights, every kind of right. Not just speaking up for groups that each individual person identifies with, but most Americans have huge hearts in standing up for other people in this country as well. Recent events, in standing up for people of color, people of a different sexual orientation than their own, people of other religions that are misunderstood, immigrants from foreign lands, land rights that are forcefully taken away, environmental causes, etc. The values of speaking up isn’t just to be loud, but is incredibly useful in standing strong in face of certain circumstances.
I am far from good at being versatile, but I hope one day I will have the ability to apply better storytelling and creative abilities across all different fields with better design sensitivities across different cultures to help solve big and small problems. Especially when technology advances so quickly, the mediums for storytelling in all different fields changes drastically. Technology may go obsolete, but storytelling and creative problem solving will always be in demand.