Today we’d like to introduce you to Ki Lo.
Hi Ki, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Hong Kong and raised in the Bay Area. As a kid, I grew up watching animated films with captivating stories from Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli, such as Lion King, Toy Story, and My Neighbor Totoro. I then naturally developed a passion for storytelling when I was at San Leandro Academy for Multimedia (SLAM) in high school, making short films that told entertaining stories that have won multiple local “Slammy Awards”.
I went to the Academy of Art University initially for 3D Modeling. At the time, I knew I wanted to be working in video games as that was what I was into, and I thought 3D modeling was the path. But I then later realized that animation is what resonated with me more. I quickly made the change with my college advisor.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Video Game Animation at the Academy of Art University in May of 2022.
As of now, I am living in Los Angeles, working as an intern animator for Light & Wonder, animating various effects and character animation for their casino games.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was not always easy. After high school, I followed the logical advice from my parents to go into healthcare to be a nurse, which prevented me from going to art school to continue to nourish and grow my creativity. As first-generation Chinese immigrants, money was not plentiful. It was always the priority for my parents. So hearing that I wanted to go to art school was not an option for them.
I was lost in life for a while. I ended up working many different jobs. I was a barista at multiple coffee shops, an arrivals manager for Cathay Pacific Airlines, and an LVN for multiple psychiatric facilities. Until eventually one day, I realized that I was not happy with my life as a nurse. I decided to go back to school to pursue my passion for creativity.
After graduation, I was quickly recruited by The Third Floor, Inc. a studio that specializes in previsualization and postvisualization for major studios such as Marvel, Lucasfilm, HBO, etc. But within a few months, I was unfortunately let go amongst many other artists due to a studio-wide pause. I was left jobless for a while before getting an internship position at Light & Wonder.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am still very fresh in this industry. I’ve worked on a number of previs and postvis animation shots at The Third Floor for a soon-to-be-released movie. This helps the director to better visualize the shots before finalizing for the film.
At Light & Wonder, I’ve helped out with animating some effects for a soon-to-be-released casino game. I also been helping out with rigging and animating 3D characters for an upcoming game as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kifunglo.wixsite.com/animator
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kilo/
Image Credits
Kaju Rig (cat) by Stefan Iverson Aia Rig by Animation Mentor
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