Meet Suah Lee | Illustrator & Background Artist

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

Hi Suah, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I believe having diverse habits can lead people to be successful in life. One of the habits of success that I want to share is to have a positive attitude. This is very important thing in your life because it gives you resilience every time when you face an uphill battle. Having positive mind made me better and helped me through challenging times. Especially, during Covid since 2020, I was having difficulties in my career and life. I wasn’t able to get my foot in the door with my dream companies and couldn’t see my family and friends. When it got longer and longer, I didn’t know what to do and just hoped to go back to normal life. At that time, I tried to think in a positive way in every aspects. Finally, It gave me valuable life lessons, a healthy mindset and even helped boost my self-esteem.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Hello, I’m Suah. I am an illustration and background artist based in Los Angeles, CA. I studied Fine Arts with a focus on Western painting in South Korea and then studied Illustration Design with an emphasis on Entertainment Arts at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Currently, I’m working for a kids education company as an illustrator, and as a background designer for an animation project. I paint in two different styles. One of them is two-dimensional art for various publications and the other is three-dimensional digital painting for animations. It’s exciting to see my work out in the real world, and it brings me joy and emboldens my passion.

I’m still in a journey to achieve my dream career, but it has not been easy getting here. I tried to find motivation to lift me up every time I faced difficulties. With the encouragement and meaningful conversations with my friends, family and mentors, I was able to overcome self-doubt. I realized that it’s important to enjoy and be grateful about what I do to build a successful career.

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.
If I had to plan for a fun day, Pasadena is one of the best areas for visiting. It’s my favorite place in all of LA. It’s a significant city and you can see many historical buildings such as Pasadena City Hall, beautiful gardens and museums. I would have to start with walking in the morning with surrounded in nature at the Huntington Library. By spending time there, you can mentally and physically heal and discover many kinds of plants you’ve never seen before. I always get inspiration from nature. After that, I would have breakfast on restaurants on South Lake Avenue. There are a lot of popular restaurants and you can enjoy fresh delicious meals. Then, head over to the Norton Simon Museum and enjoy amazing artwork, and afterwards find some of the best restaurants representing the world for dinner at downtown Old Pasadena on Colorado Boulevard. At night, I would probably stop by the Pasadena City Hall to see beautiful lights. I’ve been living here in Pasadena almost 8 years and I still find some great new spots here.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who have encouraged and supported me throughout my career. I have had the most wonderful family, friends and mentors.

I would like to give a first shoutout to my family. I’d never be here if it wasn’t for my family. They’ve always supported me and was there for me. They inspired me to always believe in me when I doubted myself.

Second, my best friends, Susan, Tony and Avis. They encouraged my passion for art and their warm words always lifted me up when I was down and discouraged.

Lastly, one of my greatest professors from ArtCenter, Dustin Mackay. I’m thankful that he always held me up to higher expectations than I thought for myself, so that I could improve my skills and develop deeper views for my work. I learned valuable lessons from him even after I graduated from ArtCenter.

So I dedicate my shoutouts to my family, friends and mentor. A big thank you!

Website: https://suahlee.com/

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

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