{"id":25953337,"date":"2026-02-27T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=25953337"},"modified":"2026-02-25T14:42:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T22:42:55","slug":"artist-airi-pan-on-her-inspirations-art-school-why-fanart-is-important-and-advice-for-young-creatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/artist-airi-pan-on-her-inspirations-art-school-why-fanart-is-important-and-advice-for-young-creatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist Airi Pan on her inspirations, art school, why fanart is important, and advice for young creatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most salient descriptors of Airi Pan<\/a>'s work is dynamic<\/em>. From her color choices to her compositions, her illustrations and concept designs sparkle with life: with movement, emotion, and energy. Even a somewhat subdued moment, like \"Porcelain\" below, wherein two characters expertly paint designs onto pottery, is brought to life with its composition, its usage of light, and the emotions that play on both characters faces and in their poses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airi is currently a Senior Concept Artist at Riot Games, but she has worked in a variety of fields for a variety of companies from Riot to Netflix, Pixar, Activision, Warner Brothers Animation, and more. But she also makes time for drawing fanart and sometimes sketching in public places, which she thoroughly recommends. With that in mind, we wanted to see what she thought of the Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14<\/a>, Wacom's latest Android-based portable drawing pad, the perfect digital sketchbook for staying creative while you're out and about. That video is embedded below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also interviewed her about her background and inspiration, her thoughts on art school, why she teaches a Schoolism class, and advice she has for young artists. That interview is below. Note: the following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Bunny Worship,\" from Airi Pan's illustration portfolio<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How did you discover your passion for art? Were you a creative kid?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. When my parents watched TV when I was around three or four, I\u2019d draw alongside them. I\u2019m not sure if I was a creative kid, though. I think a creative kid is someone who does abstract pottery, and paper mach\u00e9, and makes portraits out of shoelace aglets. I just have always had an overactive imagination and my one emotional outlet is drawing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve said that your influences include anime, cartoons, and video games, and that these were your interests growing up \u2013 why do they continue to inspire you today?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a kid, I liked these things because they were fun, beautiful, and had wonderful stories and characters that I could relate with. But now, as an adult I actually admire it so much more! Now that I know how they are made, I know that anime and games are miracles<\/em> of an entire team working together. It\u2019s a mixture of money, talent, logistics, production, and communication to create one of the biggest art forms. It feels like the biggest team sport ever, except the game can be a lifelong pursuit, absolutely amazing, and it just keeps getting prettier and prettier every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has inspired your art on a technical, stylistic level? The color palettes you use and how you wield contrasting colors, the dynamism of your poses and the action and movement you capture, and the painterly, traditional feel of your illustrations are very unique.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Why, thank you! I grew up being trained classically as an oil painter and watercolor painter, so those foundations have never left me. In high school, I idolized famous painters like Zorn<\/a> and Sargent<\/a>, and did endless master studies. But at the same time, I love anime and super modern interpretations. I think I naturally found a way to merge these two loves. The same with my culture: I was born overseas in China, and then brought to America, and I think my art style naturally has an East meets West flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Concept art for \"The Manor Gray\" from Airi Pan's concept art portfolio<\/a> <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You teach a Schoolism class<\/a>, and have mentioned that you learned a lot from Schoolism early on, but you also went to art school. How do you feel about art school in 2026, especially compared to self-teaching? Would you recommend art school to a young person today?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I think self-teaching is amazing, especially when you don\u2019t have the resources to actually meet someone in person from the industry, which is why I took Schoolism<\/a> in high school. It was the only way for me to see that concept art was a genuine field. However, art school gives something that self-teaching cannot, which is community and like-minded individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s kind of like an incubator, where your skill is multiplied because everyone around you is also grinding away. It\u2019s honestly a magical experience. I know many people hate art school, but I loved going to art school, and if it wasn\u2019t so expensive \u2013 and full of endless amounts of assignments \u2013 I\u2019d want to go back. My suggestion for anyone is to try it, and you can always quit after a year if you despise it or if it does not make financial sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of Schoolism, you often teach others \u2013 both with your Schoolism class and your YouTube channel<\/a>, on which you publish extremely high-quality art advice videos. Why is this an interest of yours?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Part of it is because I can\u2019t shut up! But another part of it is because I sometimes feel angry about the advice\/teachings I\u2019ve seen, that are outdated, no longer helpful, or have an awful mindset. It\u2019s honestly a lot<\/em> of work to put out these videos, especially on top of a full-time job. But it\u2019s fueled by this feeling of ,\u201cIf no one else will do it, I will.\" I always publish these with myself in mind: what would I want to see in the world? How would I want to be taught? I am not a savant or a genius. They definitely exist, but I know I got everything through sheer hard work. So I want to teach in a way anyone can understand, no talent needed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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