Rising Stars: Meet Kavika Moreland of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kavika Moreland.

Hi Kavika, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in August of 2002. My mother claims I started drawing when I was 2 years old. I have a lot of fond memories of scribbling small drawings of fish just about everywhere. I had a collection of them drawn on my windowsill. I was always doing something creative. If I wasn’t drawing, I was creating custom Lego minifigures, or customizing action figures, or doing some sort of building project. As a little kid, most of my drawings were just replicating what I saw on TV, which was a lot of Pokémon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Spiderman, X-Men, Avengers, and Sonic. As I approached middle school, I started drawing a lot more anime characters. I think just about every artist had some sort of anime phase. I constantly referenced Naruto manga covers, and I was specifically really proud of a Soul Eater drawing I did when I was about 10 or 11. I’m not sure where the drive came from for me. A good deal of it probably came from the support of my parents. My father would sit down and draw with me if I asked, and my mother always made sure I had a new sketchbook. At about 13 years old, a friend of mine introduced me to League of Legends, which I became obsessed with. Through that obsession, I discovered what concept art was – and that changed my world. I knew I wanted to do concept art from that moment, and that was my only plan. I kept drawing all through middle school and high school, taking any art classes they had to offer. COVID hit around March of 2020, towards the end of the third quarter of my senior year. My world flipped. My school year was cut early, and I really had to think about what came next for me. I didn’t even have a college in mind. I told my parents to just give me one year, and then I’ll be out of the house. After doing some research, I settled on 2 schools that offered concept art, Artcenter and Otis College of Art and Design. A random snowstorm in February of 2021 knocked out my power for 4 days, which caused me to miss the Artcenter application deadline. I hunkered down and went all in on my portfolio for Otis. I submitted my application on July 9th, 2021, got the acceptance email 2 weeks later, and had about 2 weeks after that to say my goodbyes and pack my bags. Mid-august, I flew from Oregon to California. My life changed very quickly, but I was excited for what was to come. I’m very happy I took that leap 4 years ago!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Pursuing an art career hasn’t been easy in any sense, but that’s why I love it. One thing that came up a lot when I mentioned I was pursuing an art career is people telling me that I was making a mistake or that I should rethink my choice. It was just a creative way of telling me I couldn’t do it. Everyone loves to envision art careers under the same ‘starving artist’ trope, which I believe is incredibly unrealistic. I think it’s mostly due to people’s ignorance. I don’t think people realize how big the entertainment industry is, and how essential artists and designers are to it. Even just looking around your daily life, everything you use had to be designed by someone to be created; art is everywhere. I love a good underdog story, so I will continue to prove those people wrong. Another struggle that every artist I know deals with is impostor syndrome. Art is a skill that truly never has a cap, so you will always see people better than you. The way I deal with it is by knowing that everyone has different niches. Sometimes I see beautiful paintings and think to myself, ‘man, I really need to paint more often,’ but then on the opposite end, that same artist might see my work and think ‘man, I really need to draw more stylized characters’ or whatever the case may be. No one else in the world draws like you do, own that! The artistic journey is not linear. Do not beat yourself up about your skill, because I can guarantee that you have a skill that someone else is struggling with.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I title myself as a concept artist and character designer. I find character design to be a very fulfilling niche of the art world. My mantra for designing characters is to design something that feels familiar. As a kid, and even now, all of my favorite characters have something about them that represents something about myself or someone/something that I love. I want to create characters that do that for other people. Seeing a character and deeply relating to them is therapeutic. Artists create worlds for people to escape to, and being able to insert yourself into that world via character amplifies the fantasy THAT much more. This past May, I showcased a project titled ‘Punch Kick Snare’ at my senior art showcase. Punch Kick Snare is a 2D fighting game project I came up with that uses late 80s – early 2000s hip-hop music as its entire design aesthetic. The best part of showing it off was talking to folks who were raised on that music, who understood all the references I put into the project, and who really appreciated that I highlighted something that they loved. That’s why I do what I do.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
This is a good question, because is it luck or is it fate? Who knows, I just know I’m happy to be doing what I’m doing. There were definitely unlucky moments leading me to where I am. Missing the Artcenter application deadline due to a snowstorm was seriously unlucky, but it caused me to pursue Otis instead, which I’m immensely grateful for. I always try to take everything as a learning experience, so even from the bad, I try to see the good. The art industry is all about who you know, and I’ve definitely had the luck to meet some really incredible people who are willing to always reach out if gigs are available. I think a lot of things in my life can be chalked up to luck, but you still have to put the work in and actively seek opportunities for yourself. For example, I’ve gone to Lightbox for the last 2 years, which is an artist convention. Going there is something I always enjoy doing, and since it’s an artistic hotspot, I could get really lucky and meet someone who may connect me to a job. I actively sought out the opportunity to meet artists, but who you meet is completely up to chance and luck. Always put your 100% into what you’re doing, and the luck will follow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://riftawaken.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riftawaken/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavika-moreland-17354a236/
• Twitter: https://x.com/RiftAwaken