We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alyssa Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alyssa below.

Alyssa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’m very grateful that I’m earning a full-time living from my artwork. I’m still in the early stages of my career, as I graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in June 2022. I’ve always wanted to pursue an art career, so it was natural for me to attend an art school. My journey throughout college was a combination of great friends, new adventures, and a lot of work. I really kicked my artwork into overdrive at the start of junior year. At this point in my life, getting a job in the art field became my priority. I compared my artwork to other working professionals in my dream jobs. There are pros and cons to this mindset, but it did motivate me to push myself out of my comfort zone in each assignment and to take on bigger responsibilities. I’d suggest doing this in the safety net of a college environment, where there is a large community to help you when you’re stuck. Following graduation, I got an internship at Hallmark Cards as a 3D Design and Illustration intern. I loved my experience there, and I learned how to think about my work in a whole new way. After my internship, I moved from Ohio to Montréal to become a Matte Painter for Mikros Animation. And that takes us to today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name’s Alyssa Lee. I’m a 22-year old illustrator working as a Matte Painter for animation. My work in college was focused on visual development for animation, and this is still my goal for my career. I love to create worlds, characters, and stories through my art and all of the details inside of it. I grew up in a colorful house, so vivid colors and shapes find their way into most of my work. I love the abstract parts of art and the feeling you get when looking at a composition of shapes, color, value, etc. I start all of my work from a color and shape-based perspective. Sometimes I love to leave my art more graphic and abstract, but I also love to take things to a more technical level. For example, I do character turnarounds, layouts or room designs, texture 3D objects, or matte paint backgrounds. In my free time, you can find me painting a cafe or park I’m sitting at.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Right now, the most rewarding part of creating work is seeing it come to life with other artists’ work. When I was younger, I was pretty shy and I created work alone. Throughout time, it became a way for me to connect with others. This could be by drawing a classmate, taking art classes with friends, and in college, working on student films with peers. I’ve learned that when multiple creative minds work on the same project together, they can create something so amazing. It’s an experience that I love to be a part of.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There are a few recourses that have helped me grow my skill as a visual development artist. I learned about them later in my college career, so I’d love to share them now. The first is called Schoolism, which is a website for digital art classes. What I love about this site is that you get to learn from industry professionals who share their thought processes and techniques. My favorite courses are “Painting with Light and Color” by Tonko House and “Intro to Visual Development” by Victoria Ying. I also recommend getting involved in animation communities. I’m a member of Women in Animation, and I love the opportunity to sign up for various mentorship programs. On that note, I also wish I knew earlier on to be less afraid to reach out to artists I look up to. Most people are very kind and willing to answer questions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alyssaleeartworks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssaleeartworks/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssaleeartworks/