Interview with Shanen Pae

   Shanen Pae is a close friend of mine whom I was incredibly fortunate to befriend just a few years back. Having studied at the the Art Centre College of Design, she has recently been busy working as a visual development concept artist, and has been hired to work on several well known game titles (With one of them being "Mafia 3"). And so, I decided to ask her a few questions to see what her perspective as concept artist is on narrative storytelling:

1. What are your thoughts on colors and lighting when painting a setting and creating that atmosphere that is suitable to a specific scene?

Storytelling! I tend to be very direct and just light things in a way that frames the focus of the image, along with creating nice shapes in the composition. Dark against light, light against dark, a backlit silhouette, a figure through venetian blinds. If you're doing sequentials, it's good to plan out your scene for consistency and design your frames around that space you've set up. 

2. What are the most important features of a character in hopes of bringing out their personality?

Relatability. Substance is foremost - a great design communicates your first impression of what a character is like, great acting either confirms or defies it. Yes, that tiny anthropomorphized kitty with the large eyes and round head is adorable as she seems, or, ah! The giant barbarian with the handlebar moustache is actually a cowardly lunk.

3. Is it possible to evoke empathy during the concept stage?

Yes! Again, creating with context is what clues people's imaginations in on what a character is like or what's happening in a scene. It's fine to do the concept art guy™ standing around in space if you're figuring out the design part, people do look at these kinds of pictures and say, "I relate to this because it looks like me," or, "he looks like an ex-boyfriend of mine" and find themselves immediately connecting in that way. I'm a big fan of emotion through action, though, and a sucker for storyboard panels or things that are otherwise beautifully cinematic. Two kids playing Nintendo in the long red lights of the 5pm sun, a lover's quarrel admist a sea of grey, apathetic faces, hellfire raining down on us from the Northern Lights, all the things you can imagine and capture in a still image.

4. Have you considered how well most of your concepts translate into the finished product?

Ya! For a lot of things you just have technical restrictions, like when something's gonna be 3D printed the modeller'll tell you that edges have to be a certain minimum thickness, things like that. Sometimes it's a matter of time or ambition or skill, sometimes it's a matter of art direction and marketing hierarchy, the bane of the independent creative. 

5. How much do you go about in the facial details/expressions and body language of a character?

As much as they'll pay me, haha. Jk. it's important to me, especially for personal projects. I won't talk about draftsmanship, because a pixel game like Earthbound was enough to make me bawl my eyes out. But you need to concentrate on the messages you're trying to communicate through your work, always, and consider the whole package involved in getting those points across. I'm influenced by anime and Disney, and character acting is something I find not only aesthetically juicy but a channel for my own feelings, too, so I pay special attention to it. Don't you feel a pang of Chihiro's sadness when you see her glassy eyes and giant Ghibli teardrops? So good.