Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Lee.
Hi Cindy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hi, my name is Cindy Lee, and I’m an illustrator based out of Dallas, TX. I am originally from Taichung, Taiwan, where I grew up and attended college for industrial design. After I graduated, I had an opportunity to study abroad in the US, and I decided to attend the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where I studied visual development for motion pictures and games for my masters.
My journey begins in Taiwan, where I was studying industrial design for my undergraduate degree. I wasn’t really sure this was what I wanted to do, but under the pressure of growing up in a very traditional Asian family, they felt this career path would provide a stable future. My family encouraged me to pursue vehicle or furniture design, and so I did, but during my last year of college, I really began to feel like this isn’t what I wanted to do. As I finished my degree, I started searching for what I really had a passion for. I thought about graphic design, interior design, and other fields, but I soon realized I’ve always been inspired by artwork in movies and games and knew at that moment this is what I want to do for a living. I’ve always loved playing games and watching animated movies since I was a child and this renewed passion gave me the drive to pursue my dreams.
When I arrived in San Francisco to attend the Academy of Art University, it was really difficult for me to catch up with my peers. Many of them had backgrounds in illustration or animation already, but with mine in industrial design, I had to start from scratch. During that same time, I was also adapting to life abroad and learning a new language which proved challenging at times. Luckily, I was able to stay resilient and focused on my studies to graduate with a master’s in visual development.
Soon after, I landed my first job at Lumosity as a game artist, designing app-based brain training games. Since then, I’ve moved from San Francisco to Dallas to work at PeopleFun as a visual development artist, also working in the realm of mobile games. PeopleFun develops casual mobile games, including some titles you might have played such as Wordscapes, Wordstacks, and Blockscapes.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s definitely been an uphill battle for me to get to where I am today. Especially when I decided to switch fields from industrial design to visual development. I always felt like I needed more practice in order to refine my skills to be able to compete with all the other great artists in this field. Sometimes I would get lost and lose sight of my goals. I often wondered how I could improve and be able to create better art. Part of the struggle was often my own insecurities and self-doubt, even though I had experience in a variety of art shows, projects, and even placed in several competitions, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. Now I realize it’s important to take care of your mental health and tell yourself to take a break sometimes. Building up my confidence and skills is still a work in progress for me, and I’m still learning every day how to manage these challenges. It helps me to realize that these things take time. It’s important to set a list of goals but at the same time set a healthy pace to achieve them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m currently a visual development artist where I specialize in illustrating game art and future concepts. What I am most proud of is being able to work with our art team at PeopleFun on games such as Wordscapes, Wordstacks, and Blockscapes. Wordscapes is a top 10 ranked game in the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. As of 2020, over 120 million people have downloaded this game.
Besides my day job, I’m always seeking new opportunities to experience different fields in art. In 2018, I participated in several art shows in San Francisco, including Sketchpad Gallery, where I served as the exhibition director along with Ruby Wang for “First Time in America”. This exhibit showcased “culture shock” stories by students studying abroad in America, and was also featured in The New Fillmore Newspaper. Most recently in 2020, I published an illustration book called “Three Piece Stories”, which was a crowd-funded project based in Taiwan. This book features 50 different stories, with each being illustrated in 3 piece panels, each depicting everyday moments that people can relate to, from our happiest moments to times where we feel most vulnerable.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Aside from working mostly in digital art, I’ve always liked to experiment with different mediums and improve my artistic skills. In my free time, I like to explore the outdoors to sketch, and I also enjoy painting landscapes with watercolor. I often like to capture stories happening around me, which was the inspiration behind my book “Three Piece Stories” and I would share these illustrations on social media such as Instagram.
In 2018, I entered and won the grand prize and special prize for the 2nd MCPO (Manga Contents Promote Organization) Illustration contest in Japan out of 3,384 illustrations from around the world.
In 2018, I worked on an award-winning 3D animated short named “Sonder”, directed by Neth Nom. During this project, I was a texture artist that worked on different environmental elements in the film, such as trees and terrain. This was a collaborative effort alongside 100 different artists from around the world. This film went on to win several awards, most notably the Best Animated Short at the California Int. Shorts Festival.
In 2019, I illustrated the main theme, “Modern Campfires,” for TED x SOMA in San Francisco. I had my artwork discovered by one of the event organizers at Sketchpad Gallery, where I took part in an art show. Then I was approached to see if I would be able to illustrate the main theme for that year’s conference in which I illustrated the art used for their brochure, website, and stage design.
Most recently, this February, I illustrated a billboard design celebrating Lunar New Year, which was featured across 29 digital billboard faces across the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, which amassed over 1 million daily impressions over a span of three days. This opportunity was provided by OUTFRONT Media who was looking for a local artist to illustrate digital assets to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Contact Info:
- Website: cindyleeart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cindyleeart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindyleeart
Image Credits
TEDxSOMA Illustration.jpg – capture from https://www.tedxsoma.org/
