Meet Meg Takata | Character Designer & Visual Development Artist

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

Hi Meg, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I am a Capricorn so I’ve always been a very risk-averse kind of person. I felt for a long time that taking risks was always needlessly inconvenient when you can just control every variable and make it go your way (like a total control-freak).

But I think over time, and from the wisdom of mentors and friends, there comes a point where you have to admit that there are things that are just not in your control. When I had that realization, risk didn’t just mean breaking rules for the sake of breaking rules, but instead it meant making decisions without the guarantee of a known outcome. And because I, and I assume most creatives, are chasing that unknown, new, and unique outcome, risk became necessary in order to make the kind of work I wanted to make.

I think this freed me a lot in terms of my creative process. It helped me experiment with my work more, follow my instincts over what I feel like I should be doing, and in general just release the death grip of control that can easily snuff out the life and spirit in my art.

In the grand scheme of things, I realize that these creative and personal risks are very small, and risk is still very much a pill I am always reluctant to swallow. But risk is now an important practice I want to keep in my career and life because not only has it brought me to places I would never have thought I could reach before, but it has forced me to start trusting myself and I think that is the most powerful thing any creative person can have.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I first got interested in character design for animated films/TV pretty early in high school, and what first appealed to me about it was not that you get to design and draw fun characters, but how it requires a curiosity for human behavior and emotions.

I’ve always enjoyed observing and trying to understand people since I was a young child. My family and I would go to parks to people-watch, and I would try to guess things like whether a person walking past is having a good day or a bad one based on how they were walking. When I got older, and started to learn more about the complexities of human psychology, I became even more intrigued by what goes on in all of our heads and how it is or isn’t expressed by our bodies and actions. Just like landscape painters are constantly trying to capture the beauty and complexity of the world around us, I like to think that I am studying the internal landscape of our personalities, thoughts, emotions, motivations, etc.

I believe this curiosity is the core of my work. Character design requires an understanding of many things: human AND animal anatomy, costume-design, caricature, visual design, color design, and much much more. But my approach is to ground all of that with sincere storytelling, and an in-depth understanding of who the characters are internally. I am always asking how I can push past designing characters that are just visually appealing and create characters that feel alive and that audiences can really connect with on a deeper level.

I still have a lot to learn, and new questions constantly arise in my process: How can character designers do better for representation in media? How far can we push visual abstraction in a character’s form? How can we incorporate intentional imperfections in a design? What new perspectives can we bring to classic archetypes? I am excited to explore all of those questions and more as my career continues. I also want to continue growing my skills in visual development so that my design process can expand into the worlds that the characters live in.

I believe that storytelling is a vital sustenance for human well-being. That is why I always want to bring a lot of care, thought, and effort to my role in supporting whatever storytelling project I am lucky to work on.

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.
My favorite thing to do in LA is going up and down the Palos Verdes Scenic Drive. I would start the day with some breakfast at the Pacific Diner in San Pedro (a family favorite since birth basically), maybe hit the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, and see the massive Korean Bell of Friendship and fly some kites at Angel’s Gate Park. Then we could drive down further along the coast and go on hike one of Terranea’s trails, relax at Point Vicente Lighthouse, and end the day with a panoramic view of the sunset at the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The perfect day to me is having the coastal breeze in my hair and admiring the beautiful ocean.

Other notable favorites include visiting the Natural History Museum, a concert at the Greek Theatre, sketching at South Pasadena’s Jones Coffee Roasters, and getting fresh churros at the Redondo Beach Pier.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve been very lucky to be surrounded by family, friends, mentors, and peers that are very supportive and loving. I wouldn’t be where I am without them, and I am reminded constantly – by not just their encouragement but also the friction of having another perspective to learn from – that no one can ever go it alone.

I also want to dedicate my shoutout to all the teachers I’ve had. From my preschool teachers, to my instructors at ArtCenter College of Design, and every teacher in between, I am grateful to have gained the joy of learning from them. It is probably what has served me the most in terms of success, but also living a fulfilling life where I am constantly following my curiosity. I particularly owe my ArtCenter instructors Adam Dix, Noah Klocek, and David Luce a huge thanks for pushing me artistically, as well as showing me what a creative career and life could look like for me.

Website: www.megtakata.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meggtaka/?hl=en

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/megtakata