As a visual development or “visdev” artist, I design environments and sets in animated projects. For example, if a film takes place in a city, visdev artists design everything from the buildings, shop signs, trees and vehicles to the texture of the roads and walls. I also paint key moment illustrations (depict a specific story moment and help establish the style of the film) and color keys (inform lighting and atmosphere). I’ve worked on projects like Across the Spider-Verse and Kung Fu Panda 4, and for studios like Netflix, Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, and Sony.

I’m currently working at DreamWorks Animation. I started there after graduating college in 2020, left for a while to work full-time at Sony, and returned to DreamWorks afterward. I’ve been full-time at DreamWorks since. Outside of my main job, I take on freelance gigs as well.

I grew up loving art, drawing anything from flowers to characters from manga and anime. I didn’t seriously pursue visdev until halfway through college, but I’d say the sense of wonder I felt from watching animated films as a child inspired a desire to create films that could make others feel the same way.

It’s been eye-opening in a lot of ways. I’m grateful to be able to do what I love everyday and earn a living. Most of the teams I’m on are full of kind-hearted and passionate people. It’s always incredible to go from the beginning stages of a film to seeing the finished project years later, at which point you’re excited to recognize the parts on screen you helped design, but also amazed at the amount of collaboration needed between thousands of people to produce just one film. There’s downsides to any industry, like burnout, budget constraints affecting creative decisions, and employers taking advantage of passion, but at the end of the day, I am incredibly thankful and fortunate for my job.

We mostly use Photoshop, but knowing 3D is becoming increasingly common, so visdev artists may also use Blender or Autodesk Maya.

I try to read novels, watch films, and travel to keep my experiences and knowledge fresh. For my personal art, my motivation comes from past emotions and periods in my life, so continuing to experience cultures and ideas outside of work is important.

I don’t have a single mentor figure, but there are many people who’ve helped me throughout my life. Artists in the industry I contacted during college gave me great advice, while my production designers, art directors, and fellow visdev artists have been amazing in sharing their knowledge. My parents emphasize working hard while taking care of health and keeping the larger picture of life in focus, and their positive influence has helped me immensely.

I was interested in drawing things I liked but didn’t think it’d be a good way to make money. In terms of career, I worried about financial and long-term stability, so I decided against an art degree. I went to UPenn and majored in computer graphics. While I initially assumed the degree somehow “combined” computer science and art, it was essentially a computer science major aimed to prepare software engineers to work specifically in the games/3D animation industries. Around junior year in college, I realized I wasn’t interested in coding for the rest of my life. I looked deeper into visdev and the job landscape for artists in animation, and ultimately resolved to graduate a semester early and use my free time to develop a visdev portfolio. Fortunately, I landed a position at DreamWorks after graduating in fall 2019.

My major at Penn had ties with technical departments of studios like Disney/DreamWorks/Pixar, as many of our graduates work as technical directors or software engineers at these studios. I also interned in a generalist role at Disney Animation after my sophomore year. However, the role wasn’t artistic, and I discovered that if I wanted to do visdev, I needed to work towards my goal independently. Portfolio is the most important factor in visdev – employers often aren’t aware of education background. While Penn offered some art courses, what’s required in a visdev portfolio wasn’t covered, so I developed my portfolio outside of schoolwork. I looked at portfolios of visdev graduates from schools like Art Center to gain a sense of what my portfolio should include and the level I needed to reach. For my first job at DreamWorks, my portfolio was seen by a recruiter online and I was hired based on my art alone. In that sense, my undergrad experience wasn’t very beneficial in progressing to my current career, but it did solidify my resolve to work in visdev!

Do a lot of research on the industry you’d like to enter. There are many different paths within animation and each specialty may require specific schooling. Since animation is more niche than fields like tech or business, don’t be afraid to email animation professionals for advice.

Once you have a goal, make your portfolio the best it can be. The work in your portfolio matters more than anything else. If you have artists or inspirations you look up to, always hold yourself to that standard or higher. Research professional portfolios of artists in the field you’d like to specialize in, and when you’re applying for roles, make sure your portfolio aligns with theirs in terms of skill level.

Make sure your portfolio is focused. Recruiters usually have little time to browse each portfolio and they’re hiring for a specific role. They’d rather find a person extremely strong in the area they’re looking for than someone who is good at everything.

On the topic of art school, I’d recommend weighing how sure you are of your chosen career and how well you can learn on your own. Art schools may offer valuable connections in the industry and certainly teach necessary skills, but they can be extremely expensive. Many artists I know are either self-taught or learned through online schools+courses. Again, reach out to graduates of the schools you’re looking at for their advice as well!

Throughout it all, don’t lose your own voice! Every artist has a personal story and inspiration behind why they create. It’s easy to be influenced by social media, but stay true to yourself. Create what you’re truly passionate about and discover your own style. It’s the surest way to maintain motivation and love for your craft.

My twin sister, Aliya Chen, is also a visual development artist and currently works at Riot Games on a variety of projects including Season 2 of Arcane. However, my dad is a civil engineer and my mom is an accountant, so art was never really in the family. The rest of our extended family lives in China, and I don’t know of any relatives who have made art their career. Even in times of financial instability our parents were always supportive of our hobbies, so they never discouraged us from drawing. While they were naturally concerned about art as a career, they’re as supportive as ever now.

I’d like more time to work on personal art projects. I’d like to delve into other pursuits, like music. As I currently work remotely, I hope to travel and work from foreign countries sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading! High school/college/career can be extremely stressful, and I remember agonizing over grades, tests, and any decision that would affect my future. As long as you know you’ve tried your best and your decision was informed, there’s no room for regret despite the result. Even now, there’s many decisions I’ve made that led to unfortunate consequences, but I’ve always learned from the experience and made it work. Whatever you’ve decided to do, you can do it!