Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Lillian Wong is a 3D artist who graduated with a Bachelors of Media Arts in Animation from Emily Carr University of Art and Designs. Her works are full of colours and personality, with a style that is greatly inspired by her favorite childhood stories, and also her environment.

What are your inspirations in developing 3D videos and images?

Pixar. I love their style, and how everything has so much thought put into it. The characters that they create are memorable and lovable, and that’s always been a trait that I want all my characters to have. The colours that they choose all complement each other, and every scene is always composed so perfectly and flawless. Pixar is a style that I love, and is a style that I would always try to emulate.

You studied painting, drawing, and printmaking prior to animation. What inspired you to get into 2D and 3D?

I’ve always wanted to get into animation. I started creating my own characters as early as I could remember, and developed a strong passion for drawing. Ever since I was little, I’ve always enjoyed watching cartoons and would imagine how it was created. I knew I wanted to be an artist in the animation industry, but I also wanted to start off with a strong foundation in traditional arts. I went to school for studio art to strengthen my skills in drawing, colour theory, composition, and just the basic knowledge of art, to better prepare myself for what lies ahead. I believe having strong background knowledge of art foundations has made me a better artist overall, and has made working in 3D easier.

What techniques/tools do you use in creating your work?

I mostly use Autodesk Maya and Softimage for creating my models and rigging them, and use Photoshop for texturing.

A technique that I use quite often when creating my work is taking someone else’s style of a model that I like, and trying my best to mimic the style, but at the same time, adding my own unique style to it. I find that I can learn so much from trying to mimic another person’s style, and I also grow so much more in my techniques.

Also, having lots and lots of references is very important when creating anything!