Today we’d like to introduce you to Parich (Richie) Smutkochorn.
Hi Parich (Richie), 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?
My story as a concept designer and illustrator began in Bangkok, Thailand, where I was born and raised. Curiosity was always a constant in my childhood, which made me love to travel and explore the world around me. I attended an international school growing up in Thailand, which exposed me to people of varying cultures, backgrounds, and experiences from all around the world.
Part of my curiosity and creativity derived from my love for film, video games, anime, and entertainment in general. I started playing games since five years old and I remember the feeling of pure joy and excitement when I got home from school on a Friday, and sat down to play my favorite games. It felt like I was being transported into a place of limitless possibilities. There, I became invested and immersed in worlds lovingly and painstakingly handcrafted by the people I called magicians. These forms of entertainment and storytelling have taught me many valuable lessons that I hold on to and am still learning to this day.
I moved to LA in 2013. I was a ten year old in a new and unfamiliar environment with many new faces. I was too nervous to talk to people, so I spent my down time sketching people and the school environment. Drawing and painting were activities I did fairly often when I was young, but I never rigorously pursued the arts until I took my first fine arts class in high school. My art teacher at the time saw my potential and encouraged me to pursue this field further in my higher education. That was the push I needed to solidify my goals and aspirations, so I began applying to different art and design colleges across the U.S.
For the past 4 years, I’ve been attending Otis College of Art and Design in LA as Game and Entertainment Design student. Here, I’ve gotten to meet like-minded, ambitious, and creative people from all over the world. I learned from experienced entertainment industry professionals who taught me invaluable skills to help me thrive in this competitive field. During my time at Otis, I’ve been to industry events like Lightbox Expo where I’ve gotten to connect with working professionals and students from other art schools like ArtCenter, Laguna, and CalArts. Today, I am a concept designer primarily focusing on environment and prop design for film and video games. My love of art, video games, and storytelling was the spark that made me into the artist and designer I am today.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey hasn’t always been a smooth one. At the time of apply to college, the quality of my work was not where it was supposed to be. Because of this, I wasn’t able to get into my desired art school, which made me really question my worth as an artist. I have always been hypercritical of my own work so this rejection was deeply felt. When I first started out, there wasn’t a lot of people I knew that had similar goals or interests in this field as I did, and I’ve had to find my own way. For the longest time, there wasn’t anybody there to tell me whether what I was doing was correct or wrong so I had to seek my own resources. This was when I had to learn how to be disciplined and self-motivated, both of which are important qualities that artists posses. Another struggle I had to go through were people not really understanding what I do and being judged for my career of choice. There have been times where people question my goals of being an artist and having to explain myself. However, I know that these struggles are not unique to me alone, and many others in my field experience similar things. I feel encouraged when I see successful artist and designers in the industry doing incredible things even though they’ve been through similar situations as me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am currently an Environment Concept Designer going into the video game and film industry. I love designing stunning landscapes, architectures, and props that immerse players and viewers in worlds not fully our own. I work across a variety of genres, ranging from historical fiction to fantasy to sci-fi. My friends, colleagues, and online followers know me for my highly detailed, cinematic, and realistic environment paintings and concepts. They often tell me that my work has a unique sense of lighting, textures, and rendering style, which they can recognize from a distance.
I use Adobe Photoshop and Blender as my two primary software for work, but I also use various VR sculpting software in some of my projects. I love to mix and match these different software to optimize my workflow and push out designs at a fast and efficient rate. Each software has its strengths and weaknesses, so I try to bring out its best aspects in ways that feel natural and nonrestrictive to me. Much of what I do isn’t always highly polished paintings that I spend weeks on, but creating lots of new ideas and designs in a short amount of time.
In school, I’ve always been trained to use different tools and techniques at my disposal. I love combining 2D and 3D software, but without having to completely rely on one or the other. At the heart of it, I allow my knowledge of the fundamentals to guide my design decisions, regardless of any tools or shortcuts.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey is to be unafraid and unapologetic about the way I approach my work. Everyone has a process of working that is unique and feels natural to them. There isn’t always a formula to follow or the perfect way to make art, which is the reason why every person has a unique voice and identity that draws people in. This isn’t a lesson I took away from one person, but from the knowledge I accumulated from my instructors, peers, and my own failures.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.parichsmutkochornart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richie.smkc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parichsmutkochorn/
