Today we’d like to introduce you to Kwanchai Moriya.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I always drew a lot as a kid and had a knack for painting in high school. I went to a few different colleges and had many different jobs. Eventually found myself spit out the other end, living in LA with: 1) a bachelors degree in History and another one in Illustration, 2) no idea what I was doing and 3) a lot of debt. I was working odd jobs and freelancing at night in my studio. And when I say studio, I don’t mean fancy art studio, I mean the kind where you have to quickly make the bed into a couch before people come over!
I finally worked up the courage and the experience to jump full-time into freelance illustration, around 2013. My first real gig was for a children’s book series called Dinosaur Head to Tail, published by Kids Can Press. The Head to Tail series has expanded to four books and last year was being included as part of McDonald’s Kids Meal Book initiative. I also got into illustrating board games and card games around 2012 and started getting really busy with that as the popularity of hobby board games has grown exponentially in the last five years. I have about 50 or so board games I’ve illustrated now. I love board games and kids books, so being a part of those industries has been really rewarding.
Please tell us about your art.
I paint and draw in a couple of very distinct styles and mediums, each relatively different from the other. I like having the ability to jump between styles, especially when this means I can take on a variety of clients and projects. Mostly, I’ve been getting a lot of work doing illustrations for board games. This entails a box cover, game board, card illustrations, etc. that offer many opportunities to convey the visuals of a product. That’s fun, but can be very taxing. Conversely. a poster illustration just needs to nail the feeling of a product in one go. I enjoy how the different styles use a different part of my brain. I think I’m the kind of person that would feel very stuck if I had to do the same kind of art over and over again.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
Yes, I’d say that’s true that once an artist breaks through that early wall of just getting your first gigs, it’s easy to just wade into a swamp of deadlines, lonely studio hours, etc. I think having other hobbies is really important, especially ones that take you away from screens and tablets. I really enjoy backpacking, traveling with my wife, and woodworking; all things that get me out of the studio. Punching those kinds of things into my monthly schedule keeps me on point to get work done on time and is something awesome to look forward to.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Most of my recent work can be found at my website: www.kwanchaimoriya.com. And I’m somewhat active on twitter, instagram, facebook at @kwanchaimoriya.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kwanchaimoriya.com
- Email: kwanchaimoriya@gmail.com
- Instagram: @kwanchaimoriya
- Facebook: Kwanchai Moriya
- Twitter: @kwanchaimoriya
Image Credit:
Kwanchai Moriya
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