Meet Shutong Liu | Look Development Artist & 2D artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shutong Liu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shutong, what role has risk played in your life or career?
The biggest risk I’ve taken was making a career pivot. After getting my Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, I still had a nagging desire to be in the creative business – to learn from talented artists and work on exciting projects together as a team. No one in my family did anything similar for a living, and I was expected to pursue something in the STEM field. But I thought to myself if I didn’t make the jump then, I don’t know when I’d be able to do what I actually love. If I didn’t make it, at least I tried and won’t regret it. So to make the career change, I applied to study a graduate degree in Visualization at Texas A&M University and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. I now work in the Animation Industry in LA and do what I love for a living.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What I do in my day job is I put textures and hair on clean 3d models. It’s actually not very difficult to do with all the advanced tools that’s available in this time. What does make one’s work stand out is adding a storytelling aspect to the materials that you make, for example adding signs of aging to a used wooden spoon, or a poster that’s been sun-bleached from being in the sun for too long. It’s these little things that gives the audience a sense of familiarity and provokes emotions. Taking influence from my day job, I also try to incorporate different textures in my digital art as to add more richness and depth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA offers so much to see, one thing they can’t miss are the beaches. Riding the free trolleys on Laguna Beach is a real mood, it has less crowds and offers beautiful sunsets and neat tide pools. Something they can do on the weekends is use the metrolink weekend pass and take the train to San Clemente. They can hop on and off between stations and also visit San Juan Capistrano on the way.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to Michelle Robinson, who was an industry partner with my graduate program and would often communicate with students and give feedback about their current work and portfolio. Being a student at that time, I often felt like there was a large gap between school and the industry, and it was a struggle to feel seen and stand out to industry professionals. This feeling was made more so since I’d only started learning everything in graduate school, whereas the majority of my peers were from similar creative backgrounds. Michelle was like a bridge, she would graciously give us very detailed feedback on our student work from a professional standpoint. Having this type of support was so encouraging and gave me the sense that I was no longer working in the dark. It has also influenced me to give back when possible.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leojiaz/