Rising Stars: Meet Yuqiao Ren

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yuqiao Ren.

Hi Yuqiao, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m an illustrator and aspiring visual development/concept artist currently pursuing my studies at the University of Southern California’s animation program. I was born and raised in a traditional Chinese family. No one in my family does art. I’m the weird one.

My journey of being an artist started at a young age. When I was three, my mom decided to hand me over to art educators to foster an interest. My mom, at that time, could never imagine that art would ultimately become my passion for life and my profession. The belief that studying art undoubtedly leads to an unfruitful life of instability still prevails in traditional Chinese households. Art is always considered as “not a proper profession” and the decision of adopting art as a career is never supported. I was lucky enough to have the privilege of being able to accept art education in my early years until I was 14. I faced a lot of conflicts with my family when I made the decision of studying abroad (for college) for art during my middle school years. However, I managed to earn their support with my passion and determination over the span of three years. Now, I feel so very fortunate and am so very grateful for my family’s unconditional support for my college studies overseas.

Art has always been my way of expressing myself and relaxing at all times, especially in hard times. My artworks present themselves as character-focused and deeply emotional. They often do reflect my state of mind: Some of them yelled rage when I experienced betrayal, some of them brimmed with gloom when I experienced sadness. How I did that? Well, I recommend checking out my personal animation The Wall. You’ll find the answer.

My story has a strong tie with story itself. Besides painting, I embrace a wide array of hobbies: movies, novels, video games, creative writing and theater, all of them story-driven. I like to converse with people of all ages and backgrounds and then tell a whole new story with my own voice taking inspiration from their unique experiences.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’m the first one in my whole family to study abroad, not even mention to come to the States and pursue an art degree. I’m indeed traversing a path no one in my family has ever set foot on before. I was clueless about things ranging from how to even research the application requirements of schools to how to find a studio to practice art, etc. Luckily, I met a lot of people along the way and received a lot of help from them. I am so, so very grateful for the support from my school, my studio, and my friends.

Artistic burnout was my biggest obstacle. Adopting art as an interest is very different from adopting art as a career. When your life depends on your ability to create, the whole level of STRESS is totally different. For me, personally, I couldn’t shut out the critical voices and the neglection from outside, I let them slip in and had an effect on me. I thought art is my lifelong passion, and this passion would continue on smoothly with no doubt. But there was a time when I questioned my love when it hurt even to put a single stroke on the canvas. Art at that time, was no longer a form of relaxation, or a form of expression; it has become an enemy. I felt empty inside. I have said all I have to say; there’s nothing left to express, nothing left to put on my canvases, and no one seems to care anyways. I doubt even my passion still exists.

I believe a lot of artists shared similar sensations at some point in life, even multiple times. But experiencing it at a young age is not totally a bad thing. My experience with burnout gave me a lot of clarity. Realizing my true mission is how I gradually overcame it. I had to rediscover myself. I finally came to a realization that my whole purpose of making art is to tell stories. Stories hide down deep in my mind; They have always been there. I just have to dig them up. I have to tell the stories of those who don’t have a voice. I have to tell stories that are meaningful to me. There’s no point in letting the outside comments get in the way. As long as I have a story to tell, my work has value, I, as an artist, have value. It pains me even more to stop painting. The experience of overcoming burnout helps me walk even steadier on my path of career.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I make independent short animated films. Part of my work circles around the theme of identity exploration. I always find the question of how I become the self I am today fascinating. In my film, I focused on exploring the changes of mentality facing the inevitable process of growing up. My works are also deeply emotional. I take pride in my ability to perceive emotions and to visualize them with colors, images, and with textures. I seek to tell my own struggle with identity confusion and hope it can help inspire others who are currently trapped in the same whirlpool. I aim to create a secure atmosphere for my viewers to reflect and resonate.

Apart from making short films, I do visual development and concept design for projects I hope I can turn into actual feature films someday. Almost all of my works are story driven. I’m very proud of the storytelling nature of my paintings and of my characters. As an amateur screenwriting enthusiast, I write stories for every one of my characters. I even turned some of them into actual scripts. My characters come from diverse backgrounds: a wandering child conquering a post-apocalyptic world, an eccentric scientist fighting mental disorders, a police lieutenant hunting down the leader of a series of organized crimes, and so on. My characters come alive in my mind. In my paintings, I’m simply recording slices of their lives.

Even in this digital age, I still maintain a passion for traditional art mediums. My specialties are pencil, ink, watercolor, and acrylic markers. Traditional mediums offer a painting a special additional layer of texture (which I’m obsessed with). In my leisure time, I take breaks from digital paint tools and return to traditional ones whenever I have a chance.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Perseverance. I have always had a willingness to pursue new challenges and higher standards. Even in the face of great frustration, I constantly repeat the process of challenging myself to learn new skills and to create.

A vis-dev/concept piece requires a high level of skills and contains loads of details. To achieve the effects and visual impact I want, I’ll have to utilize a wide range of knowledge, from cinematography, anatomy to perspective and character acting, etc. There is always space for improvement and there are always new realms to explore. I pay attention to every detail in my paintings: every choice of angle has its own meaning; every prop has a reason to look like what it looks like and a reason to be where it is. I find great joy in contemplating the believability of my world-building. My process of constant creating is a process of constant learning.

I embrace my “failed” pieces with an open heart. It is frustrating to produce an unsatisfying piece while loads of time has been invested in it. I sometimes revisit my old pieces, but I don’t approach them with a judging attitude. I’ve learned to appreciate them and to reflect on what I can improve on in my future pieces. I embrace my imperfections. I appreciate, I gain new understandings and then I’m able to move on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yuqiaoren.wixsite.com/portfolio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khkuohuxiao_art/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/khkuohuxiao_rr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT394hBcRjjcH0OvZlfDqsw