Meet Kelly Wu | Artist for Animation & Children’s Book Author-illustrator

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

Hi Kelly, why did you pursue a creative career?
I am pursuing a career as an artist for animation and children’s books because of my love for visual storytelling. However, my journey as an artist has been a roller coaster thus far! I have been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, sketching everything from mermaids and dinosaurs to characters from favorite books or the people from my go-to restaurants. I was especially drawn to adventurous movies and books with uplifting themes and magic. They not only fueled my imagination but also inspired me with positivity and resilience. Although I loved telling stories through art, the idea of pursuing a creative career never crossed my mind. Initially, I was on a pre-dental path in college. Although everything was in motion, I felt empty, as if something essential was missing from my life.

Confused with doubts about my decisions, I came across Studio Ghibli’s “Whisper of the Heart” the summer after my freshmen year. Being a big Ghibli fan, I was surprised by my lack of memory for this movie. Little did I know, watching it changed my life. The movie is about a middle schooler, Shizuku, a young girl pursuing her passion for writing who decides to give her all to write for an entire month, to see if she could pursue it professionally. The themes of resilience and one’s pursuit of passion resonated deeply with me. It reignited the flame of my own love for storytelling through art.

With support from my family, I decided to give my own passion a shot. I transferred to Pratt in NYC and a year later to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where I majored in illustration. It was a major with broad application and I was left with rooms to explore while honing in the fundamentals of traditional drawing and visual communication. I loved the critic-based class-room set up and collaborative studio environment. Not to mention the beautiful city of Providence with hilly houses, colorful shops, and scenic canals that constantly inspired my works. In my junior year, I enrolled in a character design class and children’s book making class where I learned about the art for animation and children’s book. They involved telling inspiring and exciting stories through world-building and collaboration; which is everything I loved and everything suddenly clicked! I realized my love for magic from books and animation have always been there, through all the zig zags of trials and errors, they led me to where I was. It was then, I decided to pursue these areas.

My senior year at RISD, I signed with Little, Brown and Company as an author-illustrator for my very first children’s books, WONDERFUL GOODBYES, set to publish April 2024. I was stoked to work on a book based on my personal story! Two weeks after I graduated from RISD, I flew to LA from NY to work as a Visual Development intern at DreamWorks Feature. Working alongside incredible directors and artists from my favorite childhood movies on three features, I felt beyond excited and inspired. It was a dream come true! Since then, I moved to Burbank, immersing myself in the animation industry while continuing writing and illustrating children’s books. Although my journey took surprising turns with various bumps, every part has shaped me into who I am, reaffirmed my love for visual storytelling, and shown me its transformative impact. I am committed to continuing this journey, constantly evolving as an artist and storyteller, and to never give up!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As someone who moved frequently, I draw inspiration from the places I’ve been to and people I’ve met to tell stories that makes one appreciate the beauty of life. While I do love exciting and adventurous stories with uplifting themes in my art for animation, I am drawn to a more quiet and gentle approach when it comes to children’s books, so there’s quite a mix of tones and styles in my works! However, I am always a big lover for heartwarming stories no matter the medium.

The biggest challenge and the most valuable lesson I’ve learned as an artist is through change. I was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan and spent my childhood surrounded by large extended families in a warm and bustling city. I was someone who preferred stability, it made me feel safe. Things changed when my family suddenly moved to America when I was thirteen. Despite our parents preparing us for the change that was to come, I never imagined the amount I had to face. They taught me to embrace changes with a positive and open mind. Back then, I had listened, but as life happened I began to truly understand the importance of their words and that change was the blessing in disguise. We settled in a quiet suburban town in New York and everything felt different—from the snowy weather to the unfamiliar architecture and food. With my dad staying behind in Taiwan for work, I found myself taking on a more grown-up role, helping out my mom and trying to be a role model for my younger siblings. Family became even more important in this new chapter of our lives. It was just the four of us in a new country, which felt lonely but made me appreciate them even more. That’s when art became a significant part of my life. I learned English by watching animated movies with subtitles while drawing my own, illustrated stacks of vocabulary cards, and wrote stories in English for my characters. I’d even read them aloud as little performance to my family. As I grew older, my parents advice about change stuck with me through career trajectory changes, transferring to three universities, moving across the country on a whim, and even now in the face of a difficult state in the animation industry.

I was lucky to be able to experience so many changes in my life and continue to face and learn from them. Sure, there’s still a nervous excitement whenever I step into the unknown, but I face every situation with the values my family taught me. I’m grateful for the journey that’s shaped me and I will continue to carry that spirit and gratitude in everything I do. I aim to express that heartwarming feeling my family and experiences gave me in all of my works!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is the perfect question because I took my little sister on a week long trip around LA when she visited, and I have friends who are planning to visit so I’ll take this as an opportunity to make an updated itinerary!

Starting first in the beautiful Burbank (which is where I reside), I have to take my visitors to Portos early in the morning before the line gets long to try their delicious bakery, especially their almond croissants which are my favorite. Then we’d hit the major museums around LA – the Broad, LACMA, Huntington Gardens, the Getty – for the first three days. Fourth day is dedicated to the long but worthy drive to Malibu for a beautiful day by the beach, fifth day would be the a shopping day first at Westfield Century City Mall then The Grove. In between, I’d love to take them to my favorite restaurants in LA, including Bavel, Izakaya Osen, and Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot. Saturday is reserved for the amazing Maru coffee and flea markets in Los Feliz, and we’d end the trip with a bang in K-twon on Sunday for a relaxing work day at my favorite cafe: About Time, and trying out a new restaurant nearby!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shoutout to Remy Poisson, who I met through (the only animation related) character design class at RISD and who I moved to LA to pursue a career in animation with. Thank you for being the best cheer leader, an amazing storyboard artist who brainstorms I visual development ideas with me ( how versatile!), and for being a great friend in LA. I also want to give a shoutout to my family, for the unconditional support, love, and for always believing in me.

Website: https://kellytwu.com/

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

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

Other: debut book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wonderful-goodbyes-kelly-wu/1143886367;jsessionid=76970083360023B6F9839483F408340F.prodny_store02-atgap16?ean=9780316313322