Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Kim.
Hi Erica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Illinois and grew up in South Korea and Thailand. I was raised in South Korea until 5th grade and moved to Bangkok, Thailand until I moved to the US to pursue my studies at SCAD.
As I grew up, arts and music surrounded me. My mother, who studied traditional Korean art, took us to children’s musicals, orchestras, and operas to art galleries which opened my art world when I was young.
By the time I had to apply to universities, I was still determining what I wanted to study. My mother, who always supported me, suggested art universities and Animation because she could see I enjoyed designing and creating postcards for teachers and friends, and I like Animation. So I researched, and that is when I learned about Savannah College of Art and Design. They came to my school and gave a presentation about SCAD. What attracted me the most to SCAD out of all the other universities was being able to change major easily. I knew I wanted to go to an art university, but I wanted to see if I wanted to study Animation. And this was the right choice I made.
When I started enrolled at SCAD, I was lucky to participate in a senior animation class, and I found out I did not want to do Animation only in characters. I learned I enjoy watching Animation but am not sure about making one; that is when I learned about Motion media design.
I still remember the first motion graphic project I watched by a senior. It was a mind-blowing experience; it was like Animation but different, and I wanted to create a design or a project like hers. Looking back is the turning point of my life, and I do not see myself in other majors.
I would not be here if I did not overcome my fear of sharing my artwork. I used to be afraid to share my illustration because I thought it wasn’t good. I was scared of not getting recognized by people and what others would say about my artwork; it took me time to overcome this fear until I started posting on Instagram for the first time for Inktober in 2020. Inktober is a challenge for the whole of October, where we illustrate the given prompt. When I first posted it, I wondered, what if no one likes it? What if it is not good enough to post online, it was hard for me not to remove the post, but as time passed and as I kept posting on Instagram and illust every day, I gained confidence in my illustration, and now I am not afraid to post them.
I got here thanks to my family and especially my friends. I met and became friends with amazing people at SCAD. They gave me ideas, inspiration, and support; just like this interview, I was recommended by my fantastic friend Kathie Yang. Also, I found the best teammates, Cathy Lin and Muriel Choi, whom I could have asked to work on the projects. I learned founding people who listen to others’ ideas and are willing to go in other directions is hard, but working with them feels like giant ships that no waves can stop us.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am still in the process of smoothing my road. As a motion designer focusing on design, I am still on my way to finding my unique design style. There are infinite design styles, but finding a unique style takes time and effort. Burnout is another struggle I have. I imagine in my head first, then put it in a sketchbook or Ipad, but when I have burnout, my imagination stops. Whenever I think, I get a headache like a car without gas or battery. To overcome the burnout, I go out, meet my friends, travel, watch other things unrelated to motion graphics, rest, and overall care for myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a senior studying Motion media design at Savannah College of Art and Design. I am focusing on 2d design and illustration in motion media design, but I also enjoy animating. The proudest project I have done so far is a team project called ‘Little Forest.’ It is my first project in a small team; Cathy Lin, Muriel Choi, and I. We all participate in ideation, storyboarding, and design to animation.
What sets me apart from others is I adopt various design styles fast. If I work in a team, and if we go with a style that I am not used to, I adopt it fast and can create artwork based on the design style.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I have a recommendation; there is an online platform called ‘Coloso’ where you can purchase online classes run by the designer in the fields; they teach from essential to professional levels. I took several courses and was recommended a class by Haewon Shin and Yunho Park. In Haewon Shin’s course, you will learn from the concept to the process of designing the style frame, and I learned a lot about how to design with purpose and meaning through her class. For Yunho Park’s class, I learned basic animation of 2D to 2.5D, allowing me to explore diverse animation styles.
I enjoy watching travel, food, fashion, and house decorating blogs on Youtube to rest from motion graphics and relax.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.erikim94.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikim94/
Image Credits
Credit: Tiffany B. Nunes
