Background Artist Sang Lam On Building Cozy Worlds At Lightbox Expo
The interview puts a working background artist's method on record at a time when digital tools can mimic most styles, so the value it claims for original work rests on intentional composition rather than software.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime Herald.
Anime Herald spoke with artist Sang Lam ahead of Lightbox Expo, where Lam appears at Table 112 in the Artist Alley and Exhibitor Show Floor. Lam studied at Ringling College of Art and Design, works mainly in Photoshop after sketching in Procreate, and cites a mix of sharp shape language and soft pastel colors, along with background artists Nathan Fowkes, Kat Tsai, and Chelsea Blecha.
Lam paints with chunky rectangular brushes in Photoshop after starting sketches and color studies in Procreate, and keeps every element on its own layer so revisions go faster. The habit came out of an adjustment period after college, when treating the program more like gouache finally produced the results Lam wanted.
Slideshow inspiration comes from travel photos. Lam describes the finished pieces as sharp shapes set against soft pastel colors, with small objects placed through the space so a room reads as lived in. Lam's anime reference points are slice-of-life shows and Ghibli films.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime Herald Introducing Lightbox Expo Artist Sang Lam