Meet Will Murai | Illustrator and Visual Development Artist.

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

Hi Will, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I think it changed drastically. When I started working as an Illustrator, around 15 years ago, I didn’t know if I was any good at it, or If I’d make a living out of it. What it caused, is that I overworked for so many consecutive years until I reached to the point where I knew I would be comfortable making a living as an artist which, honestly, was not so long ago. Of course, it took some level of burn out, extra pounds and some wake up calls from my body and mind.
These days I try not to work more than the regular hours, spend some quality time with my wife Flora and exercise at least 5x a week, be it weight lifting or skateboard.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always loved to draw and paint as a kid, but nothing that would stand out from what the majority of kids do. My first gig was around 15 years ago, right out of college, to work as a comic book colorist. I feel lucky cause it was right around when the online art and CG community started to grow in the form of forums. That boosted my knowledge, which was a great thing for a kid coming from a small town in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, where there wasn’t any kind of art community in my hometown. Seeing amazing content being created from artists all around the world definitely helped me see all the possibilities to apply my skills and to make it a profession. During this time, i’ve worked in many fields such as comic books, advertising, publishing, and have been working in video games for the past 5 years as visual development artist.

I specialized in all kinds of methods for creating artwork for the entertainment industry, working in different styles and trends for different products, but realized that I never actually paid attention to what I wanted to do as an artist. What was my voice.

Most recently I’ve dedicated to express my own voice in my artwork. I am inspired by my Japanese heritage and have been rediscovering a bit of my family history. In the personal work that can be seen at willmurai.com, is a pure expression of my personality as an artist. Which I might define as mixture of japanese folklore, with pop culture all that crafted only using black ink and paper. Different than the digital medium, which I spent most of my career using, the minimalism of using only Pen and Paper forces me to be mindful and present in order to be accurate with the craft, since the mark made on the paper cannot be undone.

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.
Konbi – 1463 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 Konbini (Japanese Market) style sandwiches! Really delicious eggplant and egg salad sandwiches. I am a carnivore, and I actually prefer their vegetarian stuff. That says a lot.

Kinokuniya – 123 Astronaut Ellison S Onizuka St #205, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Book store for all kinds of japanese books, manga and artbooks. Plenty of stationary as well.

Thinkspace Gallery – 4217 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016
Cool gallery that carries the artwork of some of my favorite contemporary artists.

Eggslut – 317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Freaking love their bacon and egg sandwiches. Great way to start the day or brunch

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?
Shout out I am originally from Brazil and I was lucky to have a good mentor and friend that gave me the right mindset, focus and some tough love when the younger, more rebel version of myself needed. His name is Marco Namura, and he is an amazing accomplished watercolor artist from the city where I was born, Mogi das Cruzes – SP. https://www.instagram.com/marconamura/?hl=en

Website: willmurai.com

Instagram: @willmurai

Twitter: @willmurai