Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Tran Johnson.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’ve always been drawing. But when I was finishing up high school, I wasn’t really sure what career paths I could take. I thought I wanted to do animation, but when I actually sat down and tried animating frame by frame, I hated it. I went to National Portfolio Day, talked to a couple of schools, and found that game design was a discipline that I was actually really interested in. I loved games, and I loved drawing characters and portraits, so 2D concept art for games seemed like a perfect fit for me. After high school, I started attending Laguna College of Art and Design as a Game Art major, with a 2D concept emphasis. As part of their academics, they require all game art students to take a few 3D classes, regardless of emphasis. Initially, I was ambivalent about the requirement, but after I took my first 3D fundamentals class, I switched gears and changed my emphasis to 3D environment art. I liked the technicality involved with 3D art, and I liked having a new skill to flex. This has become a theme during my college career–any opportunity I’ve had to learn a new technical skill, I’ve taken it. Now, I can do a little bit of everything, from 3D modeling to rigging and animating, to visual effects. I’ve always been the type to get antsy sitting in one place, so now if I get bored of one thing, I’ll hop back into painting, texture one of my 3D models, or mess around with visual effects.
Please tell us about your art.
I’m mixed, and I grew up feeling like I didn’t fit in with either half. I even felt left out when I was with other mixed people, and for the longest time, I also struggled with how I looked. I never felt pretty. So, I have tons of love for those that feel like outsiders, don’t feel beautiful, don’t fit into society’s standards, etc. Everyone is weird and we should really just embrace it. The world is a better place when we do. I adore people that are unabashedly themselves. I love the unconventional, and I want to celebrate it. I hope that my art can empower people to feel comfortable with how they look, who they are, and to take more risks.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
One of the biggest problems artists face is our value. This happens on many different levels. There is still a lot of hesitation from parents allowing their kids to go to art school. At my high school, there was zero support for kids that wanted to pursue art. Artists taking commissions also have to deal with clients that barely want to pay minimum wage for their labor. In the game industry, there has been a lot of talk about unionizing because, among other things, some artists are expected to “crunch”, meaning they have to work insane hours to reach deadlines and deliver titles. I also think people don’t realize that the term “artist” has come to encompass a huge group of people and professions. Pretty much any product you can buy has been touched by an artist/designer. Ads require creatives too. We only have pretty, well-designed things because an artist made the right choices, and we should never take that for granted.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I am posting most consistently on my Instagram, but I am sometimes active on artstation. I also have my own website.
Contact Info:
- Website: lauratranjohnson.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauratranjohnsonart/
- Other: https://www.artstation.com/tragiang
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