Syn Studio’s Meet The Artist – Jarrard Lee

Syn Studio’s Meet the Artist is our ongoing series of interviews with artists from various backgrounds that

give you a glimpse into the career’s of these artists. Read on to become inspired by their experiences and advice!

Where are you currently working at? 

EA Motive, Concept Artist, Iron Man

Could you detail your professional career (companies you have worked at, projects you have worked on,… anything pertinent) ?

After graduating from Syn Studio, I started at Ubisoft Montreal as a concept artist on Rainbow six Quarantine, mainly focusing on creature design. I then left Ubisoft to join EA Motive on an unannounced title before eventually starting on Iron Man.

What would you say is the most distinctive trait of your art?

I think one distinctive trait of my art is in the variety of techniques that I like to use. I consider myself more of a generalist and from my background in animation and 3D, I like to use techniques and skills I picked up from that in my concept art.

Tell us about the moment when you knew that you wanted to be a professional artist?

I attended a presentation from a guest speaker who showed some of the matte painting work they had done for films and I remember being in awe of the detail. I loved the world building aspect of the art that they were showing and I knew that was what I wanted to do which ultimately led me to concept art.

If you weren’t making art, what else would you see yourself doing?

I think I would probably pursue a culinary career. I love to cook and I enjoy the creative aspect of it. Also my family is filled with amazing cooks and good food has always been a big part of my life.

Do you have any personal projects that you’re working on now?

I usually have 10+ personal projects in progress at any one time, ranging from larger animation projects I slowly chip away at from time to time to smaller illustrations I’ll start and plan to finish at a later time.

What was the most valuable lesson you’ve received at Syn Studio ?

Thinking back to my time at Syn Studio I think the area I appreciated being able to grown in was actually just communicating with other artist, both our teachers, my peers and general networking. I think that’s what really drew me to attend a concept art school and I feel like I was able to grow that skill which has helped me in my career.

What advice you’d wish somebody would have given you when you started your artistic journey?

Looking back at my journey I think my biggest take away that I continue to try and pass along now is to be more conscious of the advice you hear and what you take from it. As the industry continues to grow, there are more people sharing advice and giving guidance to help others, which I think is great. What I don’t particularly like is the way that this information is sometimes communicated. You’ll often hear “you HAVE to do this if you want a job” or “you WON’T succeed unless you do this”, etc. and what it can end up doing is making younger artists feel like there is only one pathway forward and end up getting confused when they hear contradicting information. Listen to what they have to say but understand that advice is advice, what worked for one person might not work for you and vice versa. Keep an open mind and find the method that works for you.