Today we’d like to introduce you to Simon Baek.
Simon, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I’m from South Korea but have lived mostly out of the country: New Zealand, Canada, China, and the United States. Thanks to this unique background I have, I could experience and be exposed to diverse things than ordinary Korean person would in Korean education system. But, it was very hard to adapt during my first few years living abroad.
At the age of 11, I was alone in a foreign country and couldn’t speak English even a little bit. Being one of the few Asian kids at school, I also had hard time making friends at school in the beginning. However, I overcame all these hardships in the end. I made tons of friends as years passed by and learned how to be independent since young age. With this experience I had, I learned how to adapt to new environments quickly and easily. When I started interning for Pixar last summer, I had no problem adapting to the new working environment and start my job. I’m not afraid of trying new things and being independent, and I am always eager to learn new stuff.
Because of my nature of trying my best to adapt, I have always worked hard on what I feel passionate. My young self thought that was the way to survive in this society. Since I got into art, I have never stopped looking for an opportunity to learn something in art. Even when I had to spend my two years serving for my country, I did not waste even a single second I had as free time. I spent all my free time in army practicing and learning new things to become a better artist.
I have always been passionate with what I love to do and never will stop working hard on it.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I am a visual development artist. I do concept paintings before the final production. However, during my art internship at Pixar, I worked for the production part. I did a set design or environment design where a character would interact. I painted shading or surfacing of the final product that will appear on the screen. Lastly, I did color keys that show colors in different moments in the movie.
At Titmouse, I am a background layout designer. I design layouts that will be shown on TV show. I design layout to make each scene entertaining to watch. Layout design has to support the eye movements of the audience and think about how characters would move around.
Most importantly, I hope people understand the story and entertain themselves while watching scenes from the show. I also want people to appreciate the effort put into the background because usually characters were focal points for most of the shots.
I want people to know that there are a lot of efforts put in to make one painting.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
This question has always been on my mind since I got into art in more professional aspect. Until I met my art director at Titmouse, I thought working for a famous company would mean that I succeeded as an artist. However, I recently realized that being able to enjoy what you are working on and working with the right people are more important than any other thing. I consider these as the factors that make an artist successful. I think showing your passion and following art directions are essential to succeed in this industry. I believe it is vital to work on your art thinking it can make a contribution to the project. I put a lot of love and passion in what I design. Some people call me workaholic, but I want people to acknowledge my love and passion I have for my work.
There are a lot of characteristics that are essential for success as an artist. However, I think it is critical to put your love and passion into the project that you are working on.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can check my works at https://www.skbaek93.com and on my Instagram @baeksimon. They can support me by liking my posts, sharing my works with others, or offering me freelance or commission based jobs. But most importantly, I want people to love my art and come back to my page or Instagram to see it again.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2309 Barton Ln, Montrose, CA 91020
- Website: https://www.skbaek93.com
- Phone: 213-352-2955
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baeksimon/
Image Credit:
Simon Baek
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
