Meet Amber Aki Huang

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Aki Huang.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Amber. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I started Aki Art in my first year of college. It was 2011 and I was studying Animation at Savannah College of Art and Design. I’d always heard of artists selling art at anime conventions and really wanted to try it for myself. I ended up doing really well and continued to sell at anime conventions for the next few years. It helped me build a connection with my audience and other artists, as well as understand the amount of work that goes into marketing and selling your own products.

A lot of the funds I earned went back into the business, and extra funds went to paying for my art supplies in college. After graduating, Aki Art was put on hiatus while I worked at my first full-time job in the Atlanta animation industry. About a year later, I made the decision to move to Los Angeles. I wanted to pursue bigger goals and work on more innovative animation productions. Atlanta was just too small for my dreams. I also longed to continue working/work on my personal brand, Aki Art.

Since the move to Los Angeles, Aki Art has been gaining more and more traction at events and online. Aki Art now focuses on bringing happiness and a sense of wonder to everyday life. I’ve introduced a couple of mascot characters for my brand. The fan favorites are DeerCat, a cat and deer hybrid character, and Snoo, an elephant shrew whose only redeeming quality is his baking skill. I hope people will look at my characters and feel more relaxed and at ease.

My latest art book is a small collection of their adventures together while delivering pastries. There is still so much more I want to establish with Aki Art. I really want to take my characters to the next level where they will continue to connect with my supporters and be recognized by the general public. Similar to brands like Pusheen and Rilakkuma. I’m very humbled to see how far Aki Art has come and excited for the future!

Has it been a smooth road?
The first year in Los Angeles was rough. I had to essentially recreate Aki Art from the ground up, and figure out a stable work situation for myself. I look back on that year with a lot of pride and also relief, it was the first time I really had to cut out all the noise and focus on what made me happy.

That year was all about self-exploration, resilience, and balance. I showed at a couple of animation industry trade shows for the first time. That lead to my first ever art book being created and sold at two well known independent shops I really admired, Gallery Nucleus and Stuart Ng’s Books.

I think the biggest struggles for Aki Art and myself were actually figuring out what I wanted. As simple as it sounds, it was very very hard to be super honest with myself and shuffle through all the pre-existing expectations others, and I had for being “successful.” It’s hard to move forward when the goal is unclear.

I ended up deciding to focus on making the brand one that would bring people happiness and a sense of calm/nostalgia. I wanted the same feeling as walking into a really nice coffee shop and feeling like the whole day just got a lot brighter. Just relaxing and enjoying the moment.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Aki Art is meant to be a personal brand of everything that comes out of my imagination.

So far, this includes art books, illustrations, children’s books, and character merchandise. I absolutely love building worlds and creating unique characters I haven’t seen anyone else do! I mentioned this earlier, but Aki Art is meant to bring happiness, wonder, and evoke a sense of nostalgia. There is a lot of joy to be found in the simpler things in everyday life.

I think what sets me apart from others is my vast foundations in the arts. I was classically trained in Shanghai, China and continued to learn and teach foundational art throughout college. While I was learning the classical ways that the old masters taught, I was also learning newer applications through technology. My parents have always had a strong influence on my art, as they are both engineers and I think very much like an engineer when it comes to art.

That foundation and adaptability have allowed my art to branch out into whatever I feel like creating without hesitation, whether that be painting, sewing, sculpting, laser cutting, etc. When I create merchandise, I want to create items that are not easily replicable, something only I can think of first.

I think my genuine desire to create something unique also shows through in the amount of detail and quality I put into my merchandise. Prototyping takes me longer, but I’m always extremely proud of the final product.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think, especially for creatives, Los Angeles is the city to be in. There’s nothing quite like the artist and animation community here. The good friends I’ve made here are always doing new hobbies or pursuing and learning more.

If someone was just starting out, I would definitely recommend moving to Los Angeles if they can financially afford it. The opportunities are just so much more vast here. There’s nowhere else like it in the United States, in my opinion.

I continue to work my day job as a visual development artist at Dreamwork Television while also working on Aki Art. I feel so fulfilled being able to balance both interests like this and I’m constantly inspired and motivated to continue doing more.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.akiart.org
• Email: amber_aki_huang@yahoo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amber_aki_huang/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmberAkiHuang/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amber_Aki_Huang

Image Credit:
Peter Han

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