Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie Yang.
Hi Eddie, 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 interested in monsters at a very early age. A fellow classmate in second grade gave me a book called Movie Monsters by Alan Ormsby. that changed my life. It introduced kids to the classic movie monsters such as Frankenstein, The Wolfman, and Dracula and at the end of the book it taught kids how to make themselves into the classic monsters by using paper mache, or eyeliner. I remember the feeling to this day when I looked at the book. There was this connection, an understanding, a passion.
After trying out all of the make-up I craved more knowledge in this field. I would stay for hours in the local bookstore finding everything I could on the subject of make-up and tried everything from nose putty to latex masks. I began subscribing to magazines like Fangoria and Cinefx. Soon I was purchasing materials like clay and latex rubber to make my own Halloween masks, by this time I was 13 years old and the passion had never wavered.
It was around this time that I began seeking out the professionals. I thought to myself that I would like to find out what it was like to work in the industry and I started by visiting Don Post Studios, a local Halloween mask factory. My father dropped me and my friend Simon off in North Hollywood on a sunny day during my summer vacation from school. We met with Don Post Jr and he said to go and be a doctor, he wasn’t very happy about the industry at the time. With the winds taken out of our sails Simon and I looked in a phonebook and found many other Make up FX studios nearby. We went to Make-up FX Labs next and that is where I met Howard Berger, currently the co-owner of KNB FX. Howard was leaving for the film Day of the Dead and introduced me to Bob Kutrzman. I soon met Dave Kindlon and between Dave and Bob I began learning all of the skills and professional techniques of special makeup FX.
At this time my work progressed to a new level, and the next progression was when I met Steve Wang and Matt Rose. They were known as the Ghoul Brothers after winning a mask contest in Fangoria Magazine. They were in town and working for my Idol Rick Baker. Actually, Rick was everyone’s idol. Any kid that was into monster movies and reading Fangoria, knew who Rick Baker was at the time. Anyways, I met Steve and Matt in person and saw their art portfolio and it was pages and pages of the most incredible creature designs I had ever seen! Masks, Body suits, Incredible sculptures everywhere! Matt and I soon became good friends and we were very close, up until his untimely death in 2019.
Screaming Mad George, another artist known for his surreal designs in Make up FX, had dreamed up a make up FX contest around 1987. He had signed up Rick Baker, Dick Smith, Tom Burman, and Stan Winston to be judges. That was unheard of at the time to have all of these legends under one roof judging your work! It was an unforgettable night. I entered the contest on my birthday-I had just turned 17-not knowing many people. I ended up winning second place in the mask category and soon after found myself at Rick Baker’s Studio working alongside Matt Rose.
Rick Baker’s Studio was every FX Artist’s dream at the time. I had dreams of meeting Rick at a restaurant and what I would say to him. My school friends would talk about their favorite athletes at the time and I would be talking about Rick Baker, and no one knew who he was. They just looked at me with puzzled faces and asked who he was. I started working with Rick when I was 17 years old and I stayed there for about 16 years. I started sculpting tentacles for a tv show called Somethings Out There. Then I was on Gremlins 2 for over a year where I met some of my best friends to this day. I think every young make up artist working in the industry today worked on that film! I stayed on for film after film. I was working at my dream job and saw my childhood idol every day. The Nutty Professor, Men In Black, Mighty Joe Young, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Planet of the Apes. We didn’t seem to have any slow periods until Jurassic Park came out. The age of digital FX was upon us.
We were all scared about the longevity of rubber monsters. Every other film seemed to have digital FX in it and they soon took over the rubber monster business. I started dabbling in computer FX around 1998. I never even touched a computer until then. A friend of mine began learning a software program that allowed you to create the same digital FX that they used in all of the latest block busters. He began showing me how to do it and I practiced every day, like going to the gym. Then one day Rick Baker’s Studio had a lay off. I had been at his studio for over 13 years and now I had to look for a job… I had started my digital studies but I had not mastered them yet.
Rick eventually called all of his old crew back for Planet of the Apes and I came back but I was determined to use this time to learn the digital software while I had steady employment. After about a year and a half of learning, one day it clicked. I finally understood the software and that day changed my life! Rick eventually had another lay off and I was ready with my digital portfolio. Kent Seki at PLF was my first digital employer. He hired me because of my strong background in practical FX. I was thrown into the organized chaos of digital production and it was trial by fire! Sky Captain World of Tomorrow was the film and I was baptized.
From that point on was was a hybrid artist that understood the practical world as well as the digital. I was soon hired at the Stan Winston Studio as an artist in their digital department. I designed and helped with VFX, 3D Printing and worked on films such as Avatar and Iron Man. For Iron Man, I was in charge of taking the 2d designs of the Mark 3 suit from the Marvel Artists and modeling them in 3d. The models were then printed and cast in fiberglass for the full practical suit in the film. I was soon known as the once practical FX guy that understood 3D and could take ideas and translate them into the 3d world. The calls started pouring in and I had to start my own business to handle everything.
My first solo adventure was called the Eddie Yang Studio. I designed costumes and creatures using digital tools which was a groundbreaking thing at the time because the digital tools created photorealistic images which productions loved. I helped all my film clients translate digital information into usable assets to make costumes and 3D-printed items and I also create digital assets for things like video games. I worked on films such as Man of Steel, Dark Knight Rises, and the new Robocop.
After many years I saw my old mentor Steve Wang again. He had started a studio producing realistic display statues for big game companies such as Riot and Blizzard. We decided to join forces. I could help him in his digital department as well as do traditional sculptures. It was six years of collaboration that resulted in some amazing campaigns such as Blizzard’s Overwatch release and feature films like Illang: The Wolf Brigade. Steve told me he wanted to focus on film directing, so we parted ways. I have now started my new studio, Deity Creative Inc. We have already created the new look for the metal band Static – X, and are working on several films, games, and a docu-series!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first and possibly the biggest struggle were my parents. They did not want me to be any kind of artist. My parents had my life planned out for me and were very thorough with that. They put me in classical piano lessons so I could eventually teach piano to earn money for medical school., however, I could choose what kind of doctor I wanted to be lol!
I remember getting into some big arguments when I said I didn’t even want to go to college. I had already made so many professional contacts while in high school, in fact many of the top artists including Steve Wang, Bob Kurtzman, Matt Rose Eyrn Kruger, and Howard Berger, all attended my high school graduation! I had many jobs offers right after graduation, but my parents couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t choose to go to college. I was the first person in our entire family not to go. Now, it isn’t something I am proud to declare but it was more of a circumstance. Do I go with my passion, the momentum at the time? Or do I put it on hold and explore after? I decided to go with my instinct. I felt this was the glory time of Make up FX and there were so many opportunities for me I couldn’t pass it up. I sweetened the deal with my folks by telling them I could always go back to college if this didn’t work out.
My father actually told me I could still take night courses, this was when I was in my forties and already owned my own studio. This is how important it was to them.
As you know, we’re big fans of Deity Creative inc. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Deity Creative Inc. is a company I formed in 2019 to help clients create anything that they can dream up. Currently, most of our clients are from the film and game industry but we have had clients from the fine art and also the construction industry reach out for our services. What began as the Eddie Yang Studio in 2007 became Alliance Studio in 2013, along with my former business partner, and now has transformed into Deity Creative.
We have designed and created the mask for the new frontman of the band Static X, and we are currently working on Gavin Polone’s film Psycho Killer.
Deity creative will also be involved in film production and will be releasing its first film project later this year. Please follow our IG to keep up to date with all of our projects!
@deitycreativeinc
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
The obvious answer is my family and friends because they remind me every day, that there is more to life than just work. My wife Joanna is the best human being ever created and we are absolutely perfect for each other and I must say besides my children and my mother, she makes me the happiest!
My work is another thing that makes me happy. It gives me purpose. I love solving problems and when a client comes to me to design and create something for them, it is a basic problem and solution situation for me. How do I design something that serves their purpose and create something never before seen? I absolutely love it!
Music is another passion of mine. I grew up with metal and to be able to play that music with my dad’s band is the best release and variation of the daily art that I do!
Oh, there’s also cooking too but I think I have already said enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: deitycreative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deitycreativeinc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090532082257
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddieyanginfo/
Image Credits
Anne Hathaway, Rick Baker, Kim Jee Woon, Choi Min-ho
