10 Questions with Tian Gan

Tian Gan is a concept artist at Bad Robot Games, a video game fraction of JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Production. Tian has participated in various famous video game IPs, such as Silent Hill and Pac Man. Her distinctive creativity and designs have been honored with national and international illustration and photography awards, such as Applied Art Awards, Creative Quarterly 72, Creative Quarterly 73, 3x3 International Illustration Awards, and Art Director Club 102th Annual Awards. Her work has been exhibited in various gallery exhibitions and publications, like Praxis Gallery, Ger Grief 15th Anniversary Show, Camelback Gallery, The Chateau Gallery, and Artdoc Magazine Online Exhibition.

tianganart.com

ARTIST STATEMENT

Tian’s work is mostly created through digital ways, like 2D digital painting, drawing, and 3D modeling. Working in the entertainment industry, Tian loves to design and create imaginary environments, characters, and creatures for video games, animation, and film.

She has the distinctive ability to design the lighting and set dressing for environment concept arts. She blends familiar and unfamiliar to create the endless possibility of imagination. She pays attention to every detail in real life so as to create a scene that evokes an emotional connection with the audience. She also has a distinguished ability to summarize and create shape language to show her imagination.

INTERVIEW

First, what is your artistic background, and how did you start experimenting with art?

I graduated from Art Center College of Design in the US, and my major is Entertainment Design. After graduation, I have been working as a concept artist at Bad Robot Games in Los Angeles, a video game faction of JJ Abrams' Bad Robot Production. I love video games and fantasy/sci-fi movies, so I always come up with stories or ideas that can fit into a game or film, and then I explore my ideas with drawings, digital painting, or 3D modeling. My idea or story will keep evolving as I do art explorations.

Why are you an artist, and when did you first decide to become one?

Being an artist, I can use my own visual language to express my ideas and visions. I think visual language is the ultimately best way for me to show my thoughts to the world. I am also really interested in geography/history/biology, so I always want to create my own imaginary world, which is just like I create, and have a journey in a world that we have never seen before.
I started to draw at a very young age, around 8 or 9. My Mom took me to a small art school for kids, and I learned how to draw and paint. But back in that time, my family didn't have enough money to support me in studying art in China, and my parents also hoped I would choose a stable job, so after middle school, I was a self-taught artist until I was 29. When I was 29, back in 2016, I was a product manager in one of the biggest IT companies in China. But I just didn't like my job and life at all, and I always wanted to draw and paint. So, my partner encouraged me to try what I really like to do. So I applied successfully for the Art Center College of Design in the US in 2016 and went back to school and designed to be a concept artist.

You have received several awards throughout your career. What is the one achievement you are most proud of?

My work "Los Angeles 2080" has won the winner of "Applied Arts Awards" held by Applied Art Awards Magazine, the winner of "Creative Quarterly 72", Merit of "3x3 International Illustration Awards", Bronze of "Tokyo International Foto Awards", and Shortlist of "The ADC Annual Awards". It was also selected by the show of Illustration West 62.
Applied Art Magazine is Canada's authoritative voice on visual communication, and the Awards have been a reliable source for showcasing the best of the best for 30 years. Creative Quarterly is a renowned artistic publication that features the works of the leading artists in the industry. 3x3 International Illustration Awards is considered to be one of the top three international illustration shows. The ADC Annual Awards, part of The One Club for Creativity, is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world. Tokyo International Foto Awards, founded in 2016, commends and promotes outstanding photography from all corners of the globe.
In "Los Angeles 2080", I used my creativity to create a photo-illustration by manipulating a photograph I took of Downtown Los Angeles. I designed the lighting and set by mixing this photograph with others I took during a photoshoot to create an image of what I believe Los Angeles will look like in 2080.
I am thrilled that some of my works, such as Home & Mom and Dragon Island, also won various prestigious awards from highly respected institutions, including 3x3 International Illustration Awards, Creatively Quarterly, and The ADC Annual Awards. These award-winning works will be included in my personal art books.

Speaking of your work, you primarily work digitally, creating "imaginary environments, characters, and creatures for video games," as you mention in your statement. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My inspirations for my art and design are from the real world. In addition to being a concept artist, I am also a photographer. I take photos during traveling and daily life. I like to capture an interesting moment, a cool design, and a beautiful landscape so as to build my visual and inspirational library. I also collect lots of photos or pictures in the real world from Pinterest and explore the world through Google Earth. All this can help me to generate new ideas or expand my knowledge.
I am also thrilled to share that some of my photos won some meaningful and highly respected awards, such as the International Photography Awards, Budapest International Foto Awards, Tokyo International Foto Awards, ND Awards Photo Contest, etc. The award-winning photos will also be included in my personal photo book.

How did you get interested in video games and the entertainment industry? Were you a gamer first, and did you start working with video games by chance?

I have played video games with my brother since I was still in primary school. And it is part of my life when I am not working or creating art. So, when I chose to be a concept artist, my first choice would be working in a game studio. I would like to create unique art and make whatever game projects I am working on or will work on visually appealing to the players.

What messages are you trying to convey with your works?

I have been trying to create unique world-building projects. My ultimate goal is to show my imaginary worlds to people. These worlds may evoke joy, happiness, fear, or curiosity, all sorts of different feelings from people.

Do you have anything else you would like to experiment with?

I will never stop learning new skills and techniques. I used 2D digital ways to create concept art, and I am now using 3D (Blender and Unreal) and even VR to bring my concept design to the next level. While I am mostly familiar with digital cameras, I continue to perfect my craft and use different mediums, including film cameras, to create innovative works of art.
I am also consistently working on personal projects. It is a crucial part of my life to explore my own voice. I am currently preparing to publish a photobook — The Summer Palace, which will include all of the photos I took in Summer Palace when I lived in Beijing. I am also currently developing a sci-fi art book as well as a fantasy art book, which will include several of my award-winning pieces.

Speaking of experimentation, you work with the latest digital technologies. What do you think of the Metaverse? Do you think it'll still be relevant in 2024? And if so, how will it impact the gaming industry?

Metaverse is surely an exciting chance for video game companies to explore. It will encourage game studios to think of VR game projects and game developers to use VR tools to work. For example, Gravity Sketches has been used in lots of game projects and even Avatar 2. But there are still limits for Metaverse. The biggest issue is about the coverage of the VR headsets. Meta's Oculus coverage has significantly dropped in the past two years. Less coverage means fewer players, which also means less money for game studios. The game industry has been suffering since the beginning of 2023, so it is questionable whether game studios are still willing to invest a large part of their budget into such a new area. But VR games such as Half Life: Alyx proved its business success, it just needs more budgets and more awesome developers. So maybe after the game industry recovers in the next few years, Metaverse will have a boost.

The Bird Feeder in Bologna 1520 © Tian Gan

What are you working on right now? Any exciting projects or exhibitions coming up soon?

As I mentioned ahead, I am currently working on an unannounced AAA co-op shooter in Bad Robot Games. This project is led by Mike Booth, an award-winning game director who created the famous 4-person co-op shooter "Left 4 Dead".
I am also consistently working on personal projects. It is a crucial part of my life to explore my own voice. I am currently preparing to publish a photobook — The Summer Palace, which will include all of the photos I took in Summer Palace when I lived in Beijing. I am also currently developing a sci-fi art book as well as a fantasy art book, which will include several of my award-winning pieces.
My work "Home & Mom" and "Dragon Island" will be shown in Illustration West 62. Illustration West is an annual competition and exhibition highlighting the year's best illustration – both from LA and from all around the world. It is held by SILA-The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.

Finally, where do you see yourself five years from now?

I will surely continue to work as a concept artist and also a photographer. I would like to work not just on video games; I also hope to get a chance to work on animation and film projects. I also hope that my personal project will come into a more finished shape so that I can publish my art books and maybe even make short films for them.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

Apply for an interview >>

Related Interviews