Meet Alisa Ras: Concept Designer

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

Hi Alisa, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It’s hard to track down how and when creativity comes into our lives, but for most artists I think we all have a specific moment where we say to ourselves, “Okay, this is what I really want, and I’m going to pursue it no matter what, no backup plan.”

I immigrated from Russia to the US with my mom as a child and it was pretty hard to integrate into American culture when I was little. That period was mostly just awkward kid years and moving around trying to find where we would settle in the states, but there were a couple key influential moments that I realize took me down the creative path later in life.

The first was a family friend who first introduced me to Japanese art and culture in general, as well as video games. Obviously as a kid I gravitated and feel in love with anime, which we all know was a lot less popular back then. I would spend hours after school at the library or book store and find a nook to read manga. I loved it. I got into drawing a bit during that time but never considered it to be viable as a career. The only creative people I knew then were my art teachers at school. I had no idea that there were people who drew and designed for games or film, and actually made decent money.

Fast forward to 10 years later and I was attending University of Santa Barbara. I wasn’t really resonating with any of the programs and just not feeling like my heart was in it. I hadn’t drawn since middle school at that point, and probably went through a bit of depression trying to figure out what to do with myself. My mom had ended up working in the San Fransisco tech scene and wanted to see me there as well, but it wasn’t something I could see myself being happy with. I ended up taking an oil painting class in my last term there, and that really set off a chain of events that led me to where I am today.

The summer after my first year in college was very eventful. I hadn’t made up my mind about what I wanted to do yet, and my mom whisked me away to participate in her new hobby – high-altitude mountain climbing. Those details aren’t super relevant to why I chose to pursue art, but in the weeks after climbing two of the tallest mountains in Europe (Elbrus and Mont Blanc) I spent all my free-time drawing. It felt like something had clicked. I wanted to draw and create every day, I was so feverish about it. Maybe it was the realization that we’ve got one life, and we had to, you know, ‘seize it.’ Standing on top of a mountain can make you feel that way. Feeling like you could slip up, get lost, and pretty easily die can make you really reassess things. I have to say I’m really grateful to my mom for introducing me to those experiences, they completely changed my thinking.

That was when I started asking myself a lot of questions. What did I really love to do? What could I do everyday and not get bored or sidetracked? What skills did I have that I could nurture? I loved to write as a kid, I wrote pages of stories about mice kingdoms and hero’s who fought to save the world. I’d draw characters all the time and give them whole backstories. Reminding myself of what I really enjoyed doing when I was young helped me make my decisions.

When I got back home to Santa Barbara that Fall, I packed my bags and decided to restart everything in LA. I went to night classes at Art Center for about a year while working on my portfolio and then moved onto their Concept Art degree program. From then on, it was just a ton of hard work, some hard choices, and lots and lots of perseverance. It was a bumpy road pretty much the whole way, even until now, but I never regretted my decisions. I was proud that I had been so certain about my choice. Looking back I can say I trusted my gut a lot, and I’m thankful for taking the risks I did.

Pursuing a creative career isn’t an easy process, and there were many times when I wasn’t sure if I had the aptitude or skills to really make it and succeed. I think many artists call that ‘imposter syndrome.’ Cheesy as it sounds, you only realize failures if you decide to give up. If you don’t, the failure is a lesson, or just a stepping stone. That’s really what kept me going, I was stubborn about succeeding. Now I can confidently label myself as an artist 100%. It took me a while to get there, but I’m so happy I did.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What can really set you apart as an artist? I think it’s probably your voice, maybe your soul, that reaches people when they look at your work. Personally, I care most about the feeling of the piece I’m working on, having the emotion I put into it actually be felt by people. A friend of mine said the other day that one of my character designs really felt like a real person, and that was probably one of the best complements I’ve ever gotten. I put a lot of pride into being able to do that. As I grow and develop my skills, hopefully I’ll be able to bring more and more characters to life.

It certainly wasn’t a linear road to get to where I am today. I had a lot of hurdles to jump through, especially personally, since I wasn’t always sure of myself and my path. There were so many outside factors that tried to sway me from really diving in deep and discovering my artist self and my worth as an artist. Those struggles affected my trajectory professionally, but I can confidently say that I feel like most of bumps are behind me.

Coming into the first year of Art Center, I was nervous and excited about learning and growing my skills in concept art. I had just started pursuing art barely a year prior and was super new to the world of design. The only thing that was clear to me then was that I wanted to work in games – they had been so influential in my life. Unfortunately, a couple weeks into my first term, my grandmother passed. She was a huge, huge part of my life and her loss really shook me. From the get go, school was a big struggle. But I pushed through, and the huge workloads really helped me stay busy. If I learned anything from those experiences, it was perseverance and the true meaning of hard work.

I ended up leaving school a year and half early to start working. Mainly for financial reasons. I had to provide for myself and didn’t want to continue relying on federal aid. My first work opportunity wasn’t really a creative one, although I worked for a creative studio. That was probably the most challenging time for me as an artist, because I had made the tough decision to pay the bills rather than pursuing my art. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had to make that choice. But as months passed, and then a year, I really could tell my heart was breaking. Maybe that sounds melodramatic, but when you’re passionate about something and you’re not doing it, it’s totally soul shattering.

Completely serendipitously, a teacher of mine from Art Center reached out around that time and asked if I could help on an animation project. You know I leapt at the chance. I had the biggest smile on my face. That’s when I worked on Solar Opposites. If that teacher is reading this now, thanks so much for believing in me. During that period, I worked 80 hour weeks for a few months. Weekends and nights. I was building confidence in myself, not only as an artist, but in my dreams as well. This was the first time I felt like I could really do it! Then the gig ended, and I was back in the same place.

So I took another leap, I shifted gears, I left and moved out of LA in the beginning of 2020. I knew in my gut it was the right thing to do. I moved in with my boyfriend in Minneapolis and decided to become an ‘art hermit.’ I had a lot of catching up to do – almost 2 years worth of time I hadn’t spent pursuing art full-time. Through the pandemic, I spent all my time drawing, learning, and letting that bottled up creativity out. I started getting work through friends and connections, building up my portfolio and resume more and more. When I first moved, I wasn’t sure at all what to expect. Minneapolis had no industry jobs, so I would have to work remotely. Tough to do when you haven’t worked in the industry. But the pandemic changed things, and it made this crazy idea possible for me.

It’s only been a year since I left LA, but my life has changed completely. I have a few clients under my belt, and hopefully the next big gig is on the horizon. Currently I’m actively working with a few companies as a freelance concept artist. I love what I do and can’t wait to do it every day for the rest of my life.

It took a long time for me to decide my own worth as an artist. I’m still learning every day to not place my worth with outside forces. But at least now I can get back to letting my kid self out, drawing and making up characters in crazy worlds.

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?
Something I miss the most about LA are the restaurants. Some of my absolute favorite places were Daichan, Joy, Sugarfish, any Korean BBQ place in Koreatown, and taco trucks in Arts District DTLA. If I had a week just to be a tourist, I’d spend my time walking the streets of Highland Park and Silverlake, or taking a couple hours to hike in the Santa Monica Mountains. Whenever I’d go to the beach, I would visit my friend down by Huntington. Some of my best times would be spent roaming the city with friends searching for a good coffee shop to draw in or plein art spot to paint at. I’d definitely recommend visiting the LA River by North Atwater Park for a good view. 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’ve been really lucky to have so many people support me and believe in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. My mom, boyfriend, and close friends were all there for me when I needed them the most. Listing names would take forever, but specifically Jake, Jess, Emily, Talia, Kevin, and Edward, thanks so much. A special shoutout to Eric Ng for giving me that first industry opportunity and being such an amazing teacher.

Website: www.alisaras.com

Instagram: instagram.com/arasdraws

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisaras/

Twitter: twitter.com/arasdraws

Other: www.artstation.com/alisaras

Image Credits
Photo of me by Ryuji Morita.