Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuhan Li.
Hi Chuhan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hey, you can just call me Boat, that’s what my friends usually call me. I am a digital artist who does illustration, motion works, and sounds, and I am also an M.F.A. Illustration student at SCAD. Before I got into the illustration field, I was learning about animation, including traditional 2D animation and stop-motion animation in LAFA. At the same time, I spent a lot of time with my friends and danced together. By the way, I was interested in hip-hop dancing since middle school, but I did not really understand its history due to my cultural background. Therefore, I just kept dancing. Then, at the point of achieving my B.F.A. Animation study, I started to think about what I wanted for my next stage, and I realized it’s not realistic always have fun with friends and stay in my comfort zone. So, I decided to apply for the M.F.A. Illustration to enhance my professional skills, and I believe the experience would be valuable for my future career in related industries. Then, it seemed natural that I chose to move to the USA and study here since it’s where hip-hop culture, different music scenes, and other pop cultures were born. Well, that is the story of why I traveled half of the globe from China to the Southeast Coast in the USA.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was not smooth due to the loneliness and solitude. However, I suppose many people might feel the same when they got no material or emotional support. Therefore, I suppose it was okay that I felt isolated. Afterward, I feel grateful for what I have been through, it taught me how to get along with myself and believe in myself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Most of my works are digital art, like illustrations, concept art, and motion works. Sometimes, I also do graphic design and sculpt cute little creatures. Speaking from my artistic expectation, I wish I can do whatever I want as long as it delivers the concept. Therefore, that’s why I keep doing and learning different things for more methods of conveying the messages. For example, I spent a summer learning about the modular synthesizer as the beginning of my comprehension of electronic music, so I will be able to offer my audience another sensation experience combined with my visual works. In this way, I assume I love the spontaneous and sensuous quality of my work, like the improvisations of drawing, dancing, and modulation, which also emit the scenes inside my soul. Besides the emotional part of my creation, I also have the ability to hold those ideas for turning them into more marketable and deliverable products. Usually, I will figure out the most efficient way of creating a multi-media work by my experience with different software and techniques, so I can deliver the concept visually as soon as possible. At this point, I think the above is how I see myself in my professional field, a self-motivated new-thing tryer, a quick learner, and a problem solver.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I believe every person I met is my mentor for different reasons since my living circumstances keep changing since I was in elementary school. By my unstable childhood experience, it teaches me to learn the pioneering views from people by deconstructing them and reconstructing them in a different context, so I can gain new views as a person standing in the between. Besides, if giving advice in a more practical and straightforward sense, being nice to people and willing to communicate with an inclusive heart are always good for connecting with others and expanding new areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boat88.myportfolio.com/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boat.boat_c/
Image Credits
Personal photo by Jill Hsing-Chia
