Meet Jya Jiahuiyiyan | Concept artist for video games and film

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

Hi Jya, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Personally, it still takes courage for me to say “I need a break.” and not feel shamed about it. Since in Artcenter, instead of drawing whatever I want and having fun, drawing for me becomes more about meeting the expectation and adapting ideas. And while turning my hobby into a real career, I know no other way to relax, which leads me super tired all the time. Even though doing something I really like as a job is super lucky, and I’m super grateful for that, I still need breaks and relaxation as human,

When I was in high school, drawing had always been something relaxed me compare to literally any other things, so I had been keeping drawing as long as I could during school and after school, and I didn’t feel tired at all. At that time, all my textbooks and sticky notes were filled with my own doodles and designs, and when my classmates saw my drawings, they always wanted to keep them, and that’s basically the only way for me to make friends back then. However, things changed in ArtCenter, because I wanted to push my artistic skill to another level, I had to implement more intricate designs and thought progressed in my drawings for my homework, also I was multitasking a lot in the same period of time, in order to earn my degree earlier. Without doubt, I had overworked myself too much. The longest hours I had draw is 29 hours straight, I did all that just for a good GPA, and also I want to be good at art. But overwork is not sustainable, in the second year I was so burnt out and I didn’t like anything I created under pressure and limited time. And at that time, I’ve been applying for internships, but I never heard anything back from any company I applied to. Which changed my mind a lot. I figured that it’s not “the harder you work, the luckier you get,” it is ” the harder you work, the more tired you will get when you are not lucky enough.”

Right now, I still draw for fun when I’m off work, but I also try to learn drinking boba and eating outside more with friends. Which is definitely something I will keep improving alongside my drawing skills.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Currently, I’m a freelancer concept designer in the Los Angeles area. I’m passionate about designing characters and environments with immersive personality and atmosphere, as well as designing out all aspects of concept art, from props and keyframes, illustration. I am currently working for Terraform Studios and did a couple exciting projects that will hopefully be released soon. And I also commissioned by Kazone Entertainment to work on an exciting Overwatch 2 project, that I could not explain how exciting I was while working on it, I wish I can work on more Overwatch 2 project, as I spent 3000 hours on Overwatch 1 in rank.

Because I’m a huge fan of video games, some phenomenal works like <Bloodborne>, <Metal Gear Solid>Series and <Dishonored 2> are all inspired my art style and color choices when I design my own character and universe, I also respect Indie game developers who made soul-touching stories like “Before your eyes”,”It takes two” and “Inside”, I can’t wait to work on more game projects in the future no matter it’s from a big company or indie company.

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.
Old town Pasadena is very nice to visit during the day and night, the movie theater called “IPIC” is definitely the best theater in the area that I can think of. I cook for myself for most of time and I don’t have many friends (Tears*) so I don’t really have any eat and drink places to offer here, but what I can offer are the best place to visit, such as <Aquarium of the Pacific>,<Norton Simon Museum>,<Petersen automotive Museum>, <The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Garden>are definitely “Must go” places if you visit Pasadena for the first time and also “Must revisit” places if you live here longer than a year. What’s best is that you can go to all these places alone, no one will judge you, lol.

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 thank Kentaro Miura for being the most inspirational artist and story writer in my heart. For the longest time, Miura’s work Berserk has been my most impressive art piece to study and read, And the story has inspired me a lot not only as an artist but as an individual too. Sadly, this giant passed away last year, I will never be able to show Miura the theme park I designed for Berserk ever. For me, Berserk is not only about brutality and gore visual, it’s more about how to get through trauma and question the credibility of norms and people with power. I won’t blame you for mistakenly seeing Berserk as a bloody story of male muscularity. However, in Berserk the most memorable part of the story is when the protagonist being vulnerable and traumatized, with moments of calm and violence juxtaposition to each other. And that’s how Berserk lasts so long for being the best in the same genre to this date.

Website: https://www.jyapsd.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jya.psd/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jya-yan-188696208/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/Jyaart