Meet Lucia Lee | Visual Development and Background Artist

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

Hi Lucia, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
It’s a struggle, especially in the last few years when the job market’s been so rough and everything’s so expensive now. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about quitting during those long, dry periods when it didn’t seem like I’d ever find work again. There were times it felt like I was just choosing to struggle, but I had already invested so much time (and money) into making this work and didn’t want to waste that.

But I think no matter what I do I’ll always want to come back to art. I studied STEM in college so I didn’t pursue this career till I was 22/23. I had given up my artistic dreams with the hopes of learning to love a more “stable” career. I took some different classes and did a few unpaid internships, but none of it ever made me feel excited. It felt like I was just wandering aimlessly, while my friends all loved what they were studying. I envied all of them so much for finding their passions so soon. In those low moments though, and there were a lot of those, I would just start drawing. I don’t know when exactly, but I think I found that spark that I so desperately wanted. No matter what class or job I had, I’d always come back to art. I had given up on my dreams for so long, but never really gave them a chance to begin with. With lots of self-reflection, time, and brutal honesty, I finally got to a point where I felt brave enough to take a chance on myself. So despite the struggle, I know that 18 year old me would be so happy to see where life has taken us.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I don’t know if what I do is really that unique haha. I still have a bit of a student mindset where my personal work is a lot of trying to learn new things. I suppose what makes me most excited is drawing things that make me laugh. Could be fun background gag or story idea. After going through my dark, emo phase where everything had to be so deep and serious, it feels pretty nice to just create something fun.

But it for sure wasn’t easy to get there. I don’t think there was one specific thing that helped me to overcome the challenges, honestly even now I feel stupidly lucky that things have worked out. Maybe this isn’t the best mindset, but truthfully I feel like being overly competitive and extremely petty towards all the doubt I received kept me going for a long time. I don’t know if I would’ve improved as fast as I did if I didn’t go through that. It did make me pretty paranoid though; I was always on edge thinking that I had to be better than everyone or else I’d get left behind. Once I started working though, I think I really began to understand that it wasn’t about me. I was just a piece of a much bigger picture, and that meant working with people instead of trying to prove how good I was. It was honestly pretty liberating to help bring someone else’s vision to life instead hyper focusing on my own. Letting go of at least some of my ego with time and lots of therapy has made this career much more sustainable, and I’m not as fear-driven as I used to be (most of the time).

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love coffee, probably too much, so I’d spend a lot of time just walking around different neighborhoods and trying local cafes. Some favorites of mine are Nostalgic Cafe, Black Elephant Coffee, Three Sisters, and Republik. I’ve still got loads more to try. While we’re riding off the caffeine jitters, I’d suggest the Huntington Garden or a longer drive down to Laguna. The natural life in LA is pretty different than on the east coast where I’m from, and I think my outdoorsy friends from back home would appreciate the mountains and beaches here.

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?
There’s a lot of people I can thank: friends, teachers, my dogs. It was a long, hard journey to get to this point in my life, and I wasn’t the easiest person to be around when things got really tough. I’m really lucky to have met people who have so much love to give, and I want to keep doing my best to be in a place where I can do the same.

If I were to call out one specific person though, I’d thank my very first mentor David Kim. He was there in the beginning when I knew absolutely nothing about concept art or even fundamentals. I was a lost college grad with no idea what I was going to do with myself. I don’t know why he believed in me so much when so many others didn’t. To be fair, I did REALLY suck back then. But it was a huge deal to have an adult in my life who could guide me through this huge transition; I feel like most people don’t get that lucky you know? He was tough, blunt, and sometimes funny, but most of all he cared. And when you’re an anxious, depressed 22 year old struggling to even love herself, having someone still show up for you in the darkest of times is everything.

Website: https://www.lucialeeart.com/

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

Image Credits
All work is my own