Meet Madelaine Hoei | Background Designer & Illustrator

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

Hi Madelaine, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I was that one kid in class that just constantly doodled in her notebooks. The drawings themselves weren’t particularly good, but I think I had such a fun time doing them that I could never bring myself to stop even though I knew it wouldn’t contribute to my grades or future college application. I was raised in a fairly conservative Asian family where the thought of going into Art as a career was one of the riskiest thing your son/daughter could do. For the majority of my life Art was considered just a hobby, something that I could do for fun, but never actively pursue. It wasn’t until the last years of High School where I discovered Concept Art and the Entertainment Industry. It hadn’t occurred to me back then that someone had to have been animating those cartoon characters and painting those backgrounds, Even then, I still hesitated to make the choice. I saw that you could actually make a living doing Art, but Computer Science would still have been the safer and stable option. It took a lot of reflection, but I eventually realized that I would not been as happy doing Computer Science than I would be Art. I may not be earning as much as a Concept/Background Artist, but I feel much happier and creatively fulfilled doing this.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I adore designing backgrounds. There is nothing more fun for me than brainstorming and sketching environments where characters experience their day to day lives. A lot of artists get giddy about painting, but for me I get most excited drawing out the line art for a piece. There is nothing more satisfying than finishing a nice clean layout of an environment after slaving away at it for 10 hours. I am currently still a Student at ArtCenter College of Design and scheduled to graduate Spring 2023. I’m anxious, but also excited at the prospects of graduating and starting my career as a Background Designer.

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?
First stop for me would be Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine over at Alhambra. Whenever I’m craving food from home, I would always drag my friends here to experience Indonesian food. Walking down Grand Central Market in Downtown LA is also a blast. There’s so many cool stuff to try and cool photo opportunities, Highly recommend if you’re in the area!

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 would like to personally shout out the Warrior Painters community. I may have not been part of the community for very long, but I have met some of my most closest friends and inspirational people through that community. I would also not be here today without the support of my family, who trusted in my ability to chase my dreams!

Website: https://www.liteningtea.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelaine-hoei-967414131/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/liteningtea