Interview
Dominic Carter talks to the senior concept artist at Blizzard about her role, running a Schoolism course, and providing a service as a creative
When Airi Pan takes on a job she has a mission: to be an asset to her clients. With a résumé including work for the likes of Activision, Netf lix and Pixar, she knows how to deliver. We caught up with the Blizzard concept artist to learn more about how she’s honed her skills, tips for keeping motivated, and why Downton Abbey is her secret weapon.
Tell us about your background as an artist. How did you get started, and what path has your career taken?
I was 100 per cent that kid who would doodle on any piece of paper in the back of class. When I was around 12, I discovered DeviantArt and digital art. From then, I bought my first dinky drawing tablet, and began uploading anatomically incorrect anime angels.
Eventually, I decided to pursue art more seriously in high school, and I then attended the ArtCenter College of Design. Since the first year, my career path has been a string of freelance gigs that started out small, and eventually longer commitments on feature films at large studios like Pixar and Netflix.
I interned for Activision during my second year of school, and then joined Turtle Rock Studios as a concept artist full-time. Shortly afterwards Blizzard reached out, and here I am today!
Outside of my main career, I also teach, exhibit at conventions, upkeep social media, and work on personal illustrations to develop the purely artistic side of myself.
How has your art developed, and what has driven those changes?
As a kid, art was so simple because my art was basically a shrine to whatever my heart fancied, and that was all about anime. Then school happened. I had to get my art good enough to get into art school, and eventually a job. So I moulded my style into something I believed would be the most hireable. Now that I feel more secure in my professional work, I’ve come full circle, and back to my first love: anime. But now, I’m able to implement all the techniques that I’ve learned to execute the highest fidelity pieces I can muster. It’s been like returning to the highest visions of my 12-year-old self, except now it’s moved on from just angel and demon original characters, because I’ve learned that the world is a lot cooler than just knights with giant swords and six wings.
Your mission statement as an artist is: ‘To leave a place and its people, better than when you entered.’ Can you tell us how you settled on this, and how it shows itself in your art?
My mentor James Paick told us
