Eunbi Kang: An Interview
Eunbi Kang is an artist that tells beautiful stories. Check more of her work out at https://www.eunbikang.com/
1. Who are you and what do you do?
Hi! I’m so happy for the opportunity to introduce myself through The Articles of Antiquity Magazine. My name is Eunbi Kang, and I’m a Korean artist working in the entertainment industry. My work focuses on visual development and illustration for animation and games, as well as related products like toys and movie posters.
2. Where did you go to school for your art training?
I studied at ArtCenter College of Design in California, where I majored in Illustration with an Entertainment Arts track.
3. Why do you love to create illustrations/concept art?
I started making art as a kid simply because I loved drawing and painting. When I discovered illustration and concept art, I completely fell in love with the idea of designing things that don’t exist in the real world or reinterpreting real things in my own way.
Beyond just loving the field itself, art has changed how I see the world. I pay attention to the smallest details, because everything around me becomes inspiration. When I look at buildings, trees, or even cars passing by at different times of day, I’m always thinking, “That would be such a great reference.” The world feels like my playground, my reference library, and my teacher. Because of that, art and this beautiful world never leave me bored.
4. What did you learn and love about the Animal Crossing project? What did you get to design?
I worked on a fan art project based on the Able Sisters clothing shop from Animal Crossing, using Blender for 3D modeling. I started learning Blender after seeing how helpful it was for other artists, and I wanted to combine 3D with my painting skills in Photoshop to strengthen my illustrations.
Color is one of the strengths people often mention in my work, so I treated this project as both a learning experience and a way to showcase that strength. I love animal crossing but I want to see more time of day from that world. So I created lighting and colors that the current Animal Crossing does not have. Creating fan art allowed me to genuinely enjoy the process while also building a strong portfolio piece. It was the perfect balance between growth and fun.
5. How do you think your college prepared you for the current job you have?
ArtCenter helped me through its curriculum, especially for someone like me who knew exactly what I wanted to do but wanted to learn the fundamentals in a structured, professional way. Some art schools encourage students to explore a variety of majors during their early semesters from fine art to photography which I think is wonderful. But I was always very focused on illustration for the entertainment industry, so choosing a school that specialized in that path was the right decision for me.
That said, I think the instructors who came directly from the industry helped me the most. Learning from professionals who are actively working in the field is incredibly valuable. These days, students can also access that kind of mentorship through online courses, which are often more affordable and have smaller class sizes.
In the end, no matter what path of education you choose, once you learn how to learn and how to practice on your own, it becomes a personal challenge to keep pushing yourself to grow as an artist.
6. Do you have any advice for the graduating college student to get their dream job start in the industry? Netflix seems like a really incredible place to be at.
I would say, create work that you would personally love to be part of, and turn it into a series or project which is similar to what I did with my Animal Crossing piece.
For example, if you make one cute illustration, don’t stop there. Expand it. Make more illustrations out of it or design the characters, props, and environments. Show how they exist in the same world. Grow your passion and imagination into a story.
People in the industry want to see whether you can tell a story through design. Turning illustrations into a cohesive project and showing how the world functions will make your portfolio much stronger and more memorable.
7. What’s next for you project wise?
I am currently working on my personal project about a witch who has an issue with flying with her broomstick and builds her own broomstick to fly and survive in her world. I made this character quite a while ago and have been developing the designs but never could think about the story. But after keeping thinking about the story for a couple years I think I made progress with the concept.
Right now, I’m working on a personal project about a witch who has trouble flying on her broomstick and is trying to find her own way to fly and survive in her world.
I actually created this character quite a while ago and had been developing her design for years, but I struggled with the story. After thinking about it on and off for a long time, I finally feel like I’m making real progress with the concept and narrative, which is really exciting.
8. Do you think you will ever branch out and go into animating characters? (unless i’m now old and developmental artists totally animate things and I didn’t know)
Yes, I’m definitely interested in animation and would love to create my own animated piece one day. It’s still a vague future goal, but I dream of making a short animation based on my witch project.
Animation requires an incredible amount of work, and I still feel like I have a lot to learn, especially about writing stories specifically for animation. I think it would be amazing to build a small team in the future and bring that project to life together.
9. What artists inspire you?
Oh wow, there are so many that I could list names forever!
I’ve always been a huge fan of traditional painters like Walter Everett and Miguel Acevedo. In the animation and game industry, I really admire artists like Celine Kim, Rebecca Shieh, Simon Baek, Drew Hartel, Edwardian Taylor, Caleb Ketchersid, Hatt Cho, and Jennifer Wu. They have such an incredible sense of design and worldbuilding. It almost feels like you could give them any idea, and they could bring it to life instantly.
Recently, I’ve also become interested in other areas of art, like UX/UI design, especially after learning more about the game development pipeline. One of my coworkers, Baird Wang, whom I worked with on Squid Game: Unleashed at Netflix Games, has an amazing sense of design. He really understands the core concept of a project and creates visuals that support it perfectly.
10. What books, movies, music artists are you loving and watching right now?
When it comes to music, I’m a bit of a nerd. I mostly listen to game and animation soundtracks, along with classical music. Whenever someone asks about my favorite music, I secretly panic because I can’t exactly say, “My favorite track is #32 from the Kena: Bridge of Spirits OST… but The Legend of Ashitaka is still my all-time favorite.”
Lately, I’ve also started a marathon of classic, legendary American films. The kind that everyone seems to know except me! I recently finished Star Wars, and I’m really excited to start The Lord of the Rings next and be an absolute nerd for their OSTs.