We recently connected with Diana Ling and have shared our conversation below.
Diana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
My parents had a huge impact on my career direction. When I was younger, I loved drawing but wasn’t particularly set on becoming an artist…I just knew I wanted to create things for the rest of my life. I was also pretty insecure about pursuing an art career because I didn’t really know if it was actually possible to make an living as an artist.
Both of my parents always encouraged me to do what I love, and supported my artistic endeavors. My mom was actually the one who enrolled me in the Cal Arts Animation program when I was not motivated and unsure to, and it was my dad who introduced me to Yoriko Ito, a visual development artist from whom I learned about the Visual Development career path, and encouraged me to go to Art Center. My dad also was the one who walked up to Will Weston, one of my mentors, to talk about the Entertainment Arts program at Art Center when I was too shy to.
I am very lucky to have parents that did not deter me from choosing a creative path, as I know many Asian parents do. They were of course also very practical and even though my dad supported me, he always would tell me about the huge layoffs at places like Dreamworks, and would ask me if I am sure I wanted to go down this path. But from his own life experience, he knew how important it was to do what you love and took that risk–allowing me to pursue this career. Knowing how fearful and insecure I was about choosing an art career when I was just starting out, I definitely would not be here without their support.
Diana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a visual development artist working in the animation industry. For those who do not know what a visual development artist does, I design backgrounds, props, characters, and lighting keys for animated movies and TV. I also like to do illustration on side.
I’ve worked at various studios, including, Warner Brothers, Hasbro, Marvel Animation, Paramount Animation and Alcon Entertainment. My most recent project that just came out is The Tiger’s Apprentice, which you can watch on Paramount+. I also just finished working on SMURFS, the new Smurfs movie at Paramount that is coming out on Valentines Day 2025.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I would say the most rewarding aspect of being a creative/artist is that I have the privilege to spend a majority of my hours in the day doing something that I love to do and make a decent wage. Even though there have been times on the job that have been very stressful, I still am so thankful that I get to do what I love to do. I know a lot of visual development artists do not feel the same way I do–a lot of artists discover their love for art diminishes when they have to do it for work–this is not the case for me. I love being someone who is highly skilled in what I do–painting and drawing–and providing that service to other people/companies who need to create something.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I struggled a lot in deciding to take the leap and become a designer. I started out in storyboard revisions, and always knew my strong suit was drawing–not painting. A lot of career advice will tell you to do what you are good at, not what you love–and I went back and forth in my mind whether I should follow that. My heart always wanted to be a designer but I didn’t know if I could–there are so many amazing artists out there, and not that many visual development jobs. It seemed like a pipe dream to be able to work in feature.
I ended up taking a class at Brainstorm School being taught by James Paick–I discussed with him my concerns, and he very plainly said, “It sounds like you wanted to do visual development, not storyboards. Why don’t you quit your revisionist job and just focus on building a design portfolio?” At the time I was working in the storyboard department by day, and then taking vis dev and painting classes at night. The support James provided me at that time was enough for me to take that risk and quit my job. During that time I focused on my portfolio and getting better at painting. 2 months later I got a call from Wild Canary asking me if I wanted to be a designer, and then a year later I started my first job at Alcon as a visual development artist on a feature animated film. My dream came true a lot faster than I had expected. If James is reading this, I hope he knows how truly grateful I am for his support during that period of my career.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dianaling.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sketchlingg
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianaling89/
Image Credits
First 3 images are personal illustrations
Last 3 images are from the Tigers Apprentice, Paramount Animation