Conversations with Waiji Choo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Waiji Choo.

Hi Waiji, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I was little, I always enjoyed drawing. Drawing characters and creatures from my favorite games and cartoons was my pastime and my strongest influence to pursue art. As I got to learn more about art from an art school, I found myself leaning more towards scenes, backgrounds and architecture. I liked the idea of creating or designing imaginary worlds where people can be immersed into a story of a hero or character.

I started as a freelance concept artist. Early on, I was hired for the the live action film, Monster Hunt 2. I got to design fantasy backgrounds and scenes that were both really fun and challenging at the same time. Since then, I have continued working on different projects for both feature animation films and games.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One challenge I faced was having to adapt to different art styles for different projects. Switching gears between projects can be difficult, but over the years I have also found myself learning a lot from this process and each project.


Another challenge can be the pipeline for each industry. What a film might need from their production can be quite different from what a game needs. For example, in a film we follow the main characters and have no control of where they go and what they do, we only need to design what is needed for the shot. On the other hand, in a game the player has the freedom to roam as they please, and therefore what is needed when designing a space is very different.


Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have worked in feature animation films and games. Some of what I have done can be seen in projects like Monster Hunt 2, or The Tiger’s Apprentice. Currently I’m a Senior concept artist at a game studio, Gravity Well Games.

As a concept artist, I provide visual images of worlds for the characters to engage in during gameplay or a narrative. I specialize in providing artwork for backgrounds. The locations I design need to reflect the story of the world, so they are important to helping the audience understand what’s going on. Players might be wandering through an important town, what does this town look like? I provide artworks that help visualize and inspire the team.

Most of the projects I have worked on happen to be very early in production, which means that I get to take an early stab at what the film or game will look like, but I don’t get to talk about them or show them until they’ve been released years later. From the projects that have been released, I’m most proud of the monster world paintings I did for Monster Hunt 2. I got the chance to design many locations for the film, and I realized how much I enjoyed ideating concepts. I was glad that the movie did well, earning a lot of recognition in the industry. It was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Golden Horse Film Festival, Best Art Direction at the Hong Kong Film Festival, and Best Foreign Animation/Family Trailer at the Golden Trailer Awards.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Yes, I think being a risk taker as an artist is a must. An artist needs to take risks to be creative. Failing and making mistakes are all part of getting better. Without trying something new, we become stagnant and we do not evolve. At first, it was very difficult for me to try something unfamiliar, because it’s easy to be complacent and satisfied with what I have been doing the whole time. When I was stuck, I picked up photography. Framing an image through a viewfinder helped me a lot with composition and colors for my art. If I never tried it, I would have never improved.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.waijichoo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waijichoo
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/waiji-choo-13676554/