Meet Cindy Lee | Game Artist & Illustrator

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

Hi Cindy, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
The most difficult decision I’ve had to make was not continuing down the path of industrial design. I had already spent 4 years studying in that field and I made the decision to pursue my dream of working in movies and games. I was afraid to start over from scratch but I’m very happy that I made that decision otherwise, I would not be in this position today.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In my personal art, I like to paint with gouache as well as making ink drawings. My pieces usually stem from personal experience or a story I want to tell so I think they’re unique in that perspective. For example, in 2020, I published an illustration book called “Three Piece Stories” in Taiwan. This book featured 50 stories depicting everyday moments mostly from my personal life, from my happiest moments to times where I felt most vulnerable, in hopes that people could make a connection and relate to some of these stories.

Professionally I’ve worked for several game companies, and I currently work as a game artist at PeopleFun where I specialize in illustrating mobile game art and concepts. Getting here wasn’t easy, especially since I had to support myself in obtaining a visa to be able to pursue a career here in the United States after I graduated from art school. I worked tirelessly to try and make sure I was able to renew my visa by entering my work for competitions, being published in magazines, or publishing personal projects like Three Piece Stories. But luckily, so far this hard work has paid off and I’m able to be where I am today because of it. I think the lesson I learned on the way is to always trust myself and never give up. That’s still a lesson I’m learning today and part of my story, knowing that I am strong, resilient, and capable of any challenges that lay ahead of me.

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?
Since relocating to Dallas-Fort Worth I would definitely take my best friend to visit the Perot Museum of Nature & Science and the Dallas Arboretum & Garden. We would then eat some Texas barbecue at Pecan Lodge and spend the night out in Deep Ellum enjoying the local food and music scene. If you’re an animal lover like me, you also wouldn’t want to miss the Fort Worth Zoo!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to send a shoutout to my good friends I met in art school, Sunny and Shannon, who’ve supported me through my journey to becoming the artist I am today. They helped inspire me throughout my time in school to keep fighting for my dream, especially during the times I felt most lost and unsure about where I was going with my career.

Website: cindyleeart.com

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

Image Credits
01:2018 Grand Prize and Special Prize, 2nd MCPO 2018 Illustration Award, Japa 02:Personal work: CAIO 03:Personal work: Water coloring painting at Dallas arboretum 04:Published book: 3 Piece stories 05:Personal work: Nature Friend 06:TEDxSOMA theme Illustration – capture from https://www.tedxsoma.org