profile / alumni / entertainment-design / artcenter-extension / artcenter-for-teens
March 27, 2018
Writer: Solvej Schou
Images: Courtesy of Christina K. Yang

ENTERTAINMENT DESIGN ALUMNA FINDS CAREER PATH THROUGH ARTCENTER FOR TEENS

When recent alumna and VR animation concept artist Christina K. Yang (BS 2017 Entertainment Design) was 10 years old, she started taking ArtCenter for Kids Figure Drawing classes. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, Yang followed in the footsteps of her mom Chunae Kim, a fine artist, and her dad Teddy T. Yang (BFA 89 Illustration), who had a long career in animation. “I’ve always loved drawing,” she says.

Enthusiasm for those early classes led to Yang immersing herself in ArtCenter for Teens classes—along with her alumnus brother Nicolas K. Yang (BFA 17 Photography and Imaging)—for almost five years. She learned how to capture the spirit of models posing in themed costumes in John Howarth’s Advanced Drawing from the Nude class, and how to experiment with styles and colors.

But it was ArtCenter for Teens’ Entertainment Design Summer Intensive, taught by Hao Wu (BFA 11 Illustration) and Yuri Ranum (BS 13 Entertainment), that propelled her to apply to the College’s Entertainment Design degree program, using her work in the class for her portfolio. “Each week they emphasized designing a different aspect of a world, from costumes to vehicles,” she says. Yang created a sea monster, inspired by flowers, rocks and splashes of paint.

Using skills developed through ArtCenter for Teens, Yang perfected her craft at the College, imbuing her concept art with whimsy and warmth. She’s now a visual development artist at San Francisco-based Baobab Studios, making interactive VR animation shorts. “ArtCenter for Teens was a great opportunity to focus on what I wanted to do,” she says.