Today we’d like to introduce you to Renfei Luo.
Hi Renfei, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always had a fond interest in doodling since I was young. Like many, I played imaginary soldiers in my mind, and those are probably the first things I started to draw, which interestingly helped me develop my focus today.
I haven’t started a curricular study on art before I entered college in 2017, before that drawing & painting seemed more like a hobby for me. And it is not before 2019, where I transferred to ArtCenter College of Design and moved to LA, that I had a proper systematic introduction into the subject.
Now I’m on track to graduate by the end of 2023 and primarily focuses on concept design. I specialize in character and hard surface design, anything related to sci-fi, especially. I continue to enjoy drawing out the imaginary soldiers in my mind, and that, as far as I can tell, won’t change for a long while.
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?
I don’t think working in this field can ever be smooth. I remember when I first moved to LA, I was struggling with what I wanted to focus on. At first, I was in the Illustration Department in ArtCenter. However, soon I realized that the department can’t provide what I was keen to learn, and better opportunities lay in the Entertainment Design Department next door. Therefore, in Summer of 2020, I decided to work on a transfer portfolio to get into the department of my dream. Transferring between departments is not easy, especially to a prestige one like Entertainment Design. Effectively, I had to compete with all the new applicants to the program that year. As you may recall, the second half of 2020 was during the height of the pandemic. School had just become online, and all of us stayed at home. It was hard to face a computer all day and work all by myself, not to mention the lack of face-to-face critique from teachers and peers. However, I managed to pull through and got into ED department by the end of the year.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a highly enthusiastic concept artist, I enjoy bringing my ideas and thoughts out as art pieces. I focus on character design, which to me means to bring life and energy to an otherwise hollow world. My other focus is hard surface design, imagine mechs and robots, props and vehicles. I’ve always had a soft spot for those giant moving metal pieces ever since I saw G1 Transformers as a kid. I find my strongest suit to be my drawing skills, I’ve spent endless nights perfecting my designs. When I lay down lines, whether in Photoshop or on paper, I find a tranquility that’s calming and allows me to dive deep into my own world of creativity.
As for my strength, I do believe that my ability to produce an impeccable line drawing is where it lays. I spend most of my time refining and perfecting the drawings of my design.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck for me comes in as the form of people I meet during my journey. Whether as friends, families, or mentors. I consider myself pretty lucky on this front. I have met many who aided me, whether physically, financially, or mentally.
However, luck also worked against me. As mentioned before, a majority part of my college time was tied up with the pandemic. Covid not only led to less time for me to connect with my peers and colleagues, but also, more importantly, did a heavy blow to the job market as well, which makes it difficult for fresh graduates like me to find a job. Though I do believe if I continue to push for it, my dream will come to fruition.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artstation.com/renlrf
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ren.luo.art
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renfei-luo-486876168/
