Daily Inspiration: Meet Jimmy Cao

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Cao

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Like many artists, I grew up loving drawing, painting, and making things with my hands. My parents owned a small Chinese restaurant growing up, and I would spend most of my days there doodling and sketching to pass the time. As a kid, my relationship with art always felt casual. Growing up with Chinese immigrant parents, the thought of squandering all their hard work away by pursuing a volatile career in art didn’t even seem like a possibility. When college applications came around, however, I looked through the list of all the possible majors I could study and dreaded the idea of living the rest of my life in a job that I hated. I realized that the only thing I wanted to do was draw and paint. Luckily, my parents, though skeptical, supported my decision, and I flew to LA to pursue a BFA at Otis College of Art and Design.

Attending art school in a city brimming with creatives was incredibly inspiring and motivating. I attended gallery shows, perused art museums, and met artists I’ve admired for years. Now that I had seen firsthand what it could be like to be a working artist, I was determined to make it a reality for myself. The past few years of school have flown by. During that time, I had the opportunity to intern as an artist at DreamWorks Animation and showcase my work at Lightbox Expo and gallery shows. I’ve worked with and met many amazing artists, some of whom I’m grateful to call friends. As I finish my last semester at school, I’m excited to continue growing and learning as an artist postgrad and make my dream of living as a working artist a reality.

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?
It definitely hasn’t. I’ve grown very familiar with rejections, haha. The creative industry can be ruthless and scary at times, and you learn quickly that it’s tough to land opportunities and jobs. My biggest struggles, however, have always been with my perception of my own work. There are a lot of moments of self-doubt and anxiety about being “good enough.” Sometimes, I look at some high schooler’s work on Instagram and kick myself for not working harder when I was younger. I probably have an unhealthy standard for my work and my work ethic, but I’ve grown to accept it. I think the endless ceiling of growth as an artist is what makes it so exciting. It took decades for Hokusai to make “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.”

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a Visual Development artist and Illustrator for animation and games. I think I’m most known for my use of color and my graphic style, but I enjoy working in many different styles. I like using color and lighting to explore mood and atmosphere. Moments of serenity or melancholy. Slice-of-life stuff.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I’m very stubborn and obsessive over the things that I enjoy, and most of that just happens to be drawing and painting. My brain is ironically quite logical, and I’ll spend hours researching and poring over different artist’s work, reverse engineering it to see how I can apply it to my own practice. I don’t know the amount of late nights I’ve had where I refused to go to bed until I got my painting to a place I was happy with. My eyes are often bigger than my skills, so I find myself constantly chasing my own elevated standards. I’m a perfectionist to a fault at times, but I think overall, it’s made me very intentional with my studies, and I’ve grown quickly as a result.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jimmy-cao.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dood.rs/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmycao03/
• Twitter: https://x.com/doodrs
• Other: https://bio.site/jimmycao