Today we’d like to introduce you to Shan Qiao.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Art has always been an important part of my life as I grew up in a very open-minded family, where both of my parents were supporting me in my art career.
After spending 22 years in my home country China, I came to the United States in 2014 to pursue my dream to be a concept artist. I attended Artcenter College of Design in Pasadena and started my life here in LA. Because of the English barrier and culture difference, It was really tough at the beginning. But the people around me has always been supportive, with their help I have overcome all the difficulties and gotten closer to where I wanted to be. As a professional, I also learned a lot in the past five years from the best entertainment industry in the world. I had an awesome time here.
And now, as one of the character concept artist in Sony Santa Monica Studio, I am able to work with the team that delivered my favorite video game- God of War series, I am living in my dream now.
I love the people and industry here in LA, and I can’t wait for the future adventure from here.
Please tell us about your art.
I am exploring a lot of different directions on my artworks. Media wise, most of them are digital, including illustrations and concept design work. I like digital because it gives me a lot of flexibility in doing adjustments, and it looks good on the digital platform.
There are two messages I am hoping to share from my artwork:
First, in my work, I like to break the logic between dream and reality. I encourage my viewers to be brave, dare to free the imagination, whatever you see in my work, I encourage you to go one step further, into the unknown. Just like our lives, we need to have the courage to embrace the future and changes, and accomplish what people hasn’t done before.
Second is believe. I want people to feel emotionally connected with the artwork. And believe the impossible.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
What works for me is to go to different art events to connect to people in person. I went to Comic Cons, Designer Con, Lightbox Expo and a lot of other events where artist gathers together to do a lot of fun stuff.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My website:
https://shanqiaodesign.com/
My Instagram:
qiao_shan_
Any likes or comments will be greatly appreciated!
Contact Info:
- Website: shanqiaodesign.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: qiao_shan_
Image Credit:
Shan Qiao, Eric Ng
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