Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katelyn Liao. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Katelyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
One of the best investments I’ve made very recently is attending a conference called Lightbox Expo. Not only did I experience traveling across the country and living alone, I got to meet so many aspiring and successful artists in the animation field. Last year my friend who had attended told me all about the things that happened at the event and what she was able to do and the people she was able to talk to. With that I decided that I had to go this year. So I got the convention tickets, hotel stay, and booked a flight, which was investing quite an amount of both time and money, but the event proved to be worth it. I went to many panels that spoke about just the things I wanted to do and I also learned about different painting techniques and softwares add-ons. I also went to a panel with Disney Recruiters and learned all about what they look for in candidates and what to make sure you do and don’t do. In addition to all of these educational programs, I also got to talk to recruiters in a room full of all the big and small animation companies, learn about what they do, what they want to see, and what I’m doing right and wrong. If that wasn’t enough, I also got to meet artists in the Artists alley that I’ve looked up to since day one, and even became friends with one of them! This was such an exciting weekend and although I had to push myself to finish all my school work prior to the weekend, as well as go to class as soon as I got back, not to mention pushing myself out of my comfort zone constantly to talk to new people, it was all an unforgettable, insightful, and wonderful experience!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am currently a BFA Illustration student at the School of Visual Arts based in New York City and part of the school’s Honors Program. I am a visual development and background artist using mediums ranging from digital software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Blender, and Procreate, to tradition mediums such as gouache, oil paint, watercolor, and colored pencil. In my free time I enjoys going to the parks and cafes in the city to sketch landscapes and people watch. I also love documenting snippets of my life through monthly videos!
I’ve always loved drawing, I remember the times when I had nothing else to entertain myself with other than sheets of paper and colored pencils. It was especially when my mom was pregnant with my little sister. We stayed home most of the time so illustrating little comics and picture books was my way of keeping myself busy.
I was just digging through all my old artworks the other day and found a few silly little books that I had written and illustrated and I think my childhood self would’ve been proud to know that my love for visual storytelling can now be translated into animated works.
It was only more recently in my high school years did I realize how my love for storytelling and illustration could translate into animation. I had sat down and rewatched episodes of some of my favorite childhood shows as well as more recent shows with my younger sister and was completely mesmerized by the background art that so easily goes unnoticed, but makes up so much of each scene. I watched a bunch of behind the scenes, flipped through so many art books, and found so many artists that are doing things that I want to do. I was especially inspired by the Pixar movie Soul with its exciting characters and imaginary landscapes that were all created from the ground up. The storyline touched me especially and it is my goal to create art and stories that can reach others in some way and make people feel.
I have also worked on freelance illustrations. Most recently I designed a poster for a piano concert with the theme of bringing Taiwanese artists to the Texas scene. Freelance work always involves a lot of back and forth with the client in order to bring a vision to life. In this particular instance I created three sketches outlining possibilities for what the poster could look like. My client then chose a format with some additional comments of preferring to use real photos rather than illustrated figures. The most interesting part of this being sensitive to using political iconography, this is something that I got to learn through this project.
I am most proud of my ability to understand people and gather hints of what the client wants beyond what they say verbally. I am also proud of my ability to balance and continue doing personal fun artwork aside from school and client work. So for anyone who is interested in my work, I want them to also know that I am an easygoing and understanding person as well as a time management queen hahaha!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I was in fourth grade, I had to move to Taiwan for my dad’s job. This was a major shift in my life that has definitely formed a big part of who I am now. The culture was so different from U.S. (or more specifically the small New Jersey town I was living in). I remember going to school the first day being very confused. The respect we must carry for anyone older was much higher and I felt like I could speak out my own opinions less, which is something I am still working on today. There were also so many more people in one class and everyone was given a number based on the birthday order: 1-20 was male students, 21-40 was female students, and after 40 was all the language learning students. In fourth grade my number was 4241, Fourth grade Class 2 Number 41. Fourth grade was a difficult year to navigate, I had a hard time trying to fit in and make friends. There was one girl in my class who told everyone else not to talk to me and she would decide whether she wanted to be nice or mean to mean each day. I wanted so badly to come back to the U.S. I hear many people of color talk about not fitting in at school in the U.S. but I had the opposite experience. The town in New Jersey that I lived in had a big Asian American community, so I never felt like I didn’t belong. In Taiwan however, I felt like the odd one out. Fifth grade was much better, I had adjusted well enough and caught up with the vernacular and learned enough to be taken out of the language learning class. I was now class 4 number 30. This number is now very special to me for the reason. To this day I am in touch with a lot of my friends I made in 5th and 6th grade in Taiwan and I hope to have a class reunion when I visit this winter!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Originally my creative journey was driven by my pure love for making art as self entertainment. Now it is driven more so by wanting to become something, wanting to take something that I have always been most confident into something that an outside audience can be moved by. I’ve also had a few mentors along the way and people who have brought me to where I am now as humble of a position I am in currently, I am always thankful for these people. I want to give back to this community of people who have been part of my journey, the ones that have supported me since day one, the ones that I’ve befriended along the way, and the ones that have nudged me outside my comfort zone. I want to get to a point where I can share all the knowledge and support I’ve gained to people who are also aspiring to be “successful” artists however they might interpret that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katelynliaoart.com
- Instagram: @katelyns._.art
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelyn-liao-3567b8220
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@katelynliao
Image Credits
First headshot photo: Coco Tolentino