Transitions and Reflections

A look into the process behind creating key art for the podcast 'Inheriting' and celebrating my anniversary!

May 10, 2024

Hello! It’s been a little while! Since my last newsletter I’ve been settling back into life in Brooklyn after six months of living in part-time in the Bay Area. This period of traveling back and forth let me really put my mobile work setup to the test and I’m happy to say that while I did miss my Cintiq and ergonomic workspace at home, I was very much able to adapt to my new surroundings. The illustration I’ll be sharing about in detail in this newsletter was done almost entirely with my mobile setup and I figured out some new ways to streamline the process.

At the end of last year, a marketing manager with LAist reached out to see if I was interested and available to work on key art for a new podcast launching this year. They shared this initial description of the podcast:

Inheriting serves as a platform to forge new conversations about AAPI family stories. Each podcast episode takes an intimate dive into how a specific historical event has echoed through a family lineage across generations. It emphasizes the ways in which we remember, honor, and process our history, aiming to provide guidance for future generations seeking to understand what has come before.

I was super excited to work on this project because I listen almost exclusively to podcasts while I’m working, and this podcast so perfectly aligned with my own interests. I would have 1000% listened to Inheriting on my own anyways, so I very enthusiastically signed on. Moments in my career where my personal interests align very closely with jobs that come in have definitely increased over the years, but I’m still super grateful whenever things work out that way.

To start things off, I was given summaries of all eight episodes of Inheriting, and the rough cuts of the first two episodes to listen to. I was immediately drawn in by the compelling narrative style and being able to get a glimpse into a family history so different from my own. I also listened to a previous podcast episode Inheriting’s host, Emily Kwong, had worked on about learning Mandarin as a way to reclaim her family history. Listening to these episodes made me really emotional and I definitely teared up more than once.

I was also given a loose wishlist from the team in terms of what they wanted the illustration to look and feel like. The LAist team didn’t want me to focus too closely on any one of the podcast episodes, but instead create an illustration that was more all-encompassing. Some of the most important themes to focus on were families in conversation across generations and how identity transforms over time. With all this to work with, I was feeling super inspired but also a bit nervous about the large scope of what I needed to represent in this piece. I was also nervous because I wanted to do this podcast justice, based on how listening to just two episodes made me feel.

I started by taking notes and doing rough thumbnail sketches. Some things I focused on trying to represent visually were family, history and connections. One important aspect that I had to keep in mind was that the illustration needed to work in both a poster format as well as a square thumbnail format.

Here’s the first round of sketches that I sent in:

The team unanimously chose option 2! For the next round of sketches they wanted me to bring the focus more to the people in the foreground with an emphasis on the interviewing aspect. They also wanted to see options for color as well with a placeholder for type.

I sent in two new sketches with three options for color:

The team wanted a few more edits so I suggested one more round of sketches before going to final to make sure we were on the same page. They asked for a compromise between option 1 and 2 for the main figures as well as simplifying the bridge and number of figures in the background, with suggestions for specific characters. They wondered as well if there was a way to make the background scenes more distinct. I had chosen to show Japanese incarceration camps, the LA skyline and rural Guam:

There were a few more edit requests after this sketch, but I was approved to go ahead and incorporate them into the final. One of the biggest concerns was making sure that the illustration wouldn’t be too busy when viewed as a 1”x1” thumbnail on a smartphone, which was a very valid point!

Here’s the final approved illustration!

I also added some subtle movement to the piece as animation practice for myself which you can see here.

Overall I’m really happy with how this piece turned out! I could tell that the team really cared about this project as a whole and it was an honor to be a small part of it. I think the tradition of oral storytelling is so important, especially when stories like these have not often been given a spotlight. How projects like this work towards dispelling the myth of the AAPI monolith and understanding how our family histories affect us means a lot to me.

Inheriting launches May 23rd on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts. You can listen to the trailer here (or on any of the mentioned platforms)!

I also wanted to add a quick note at the end here—as of yesterday day it’s been a year since this newsletter launched! I started this out of frustration with social media and as a way to find a new way to express myself. I’m really happy to say that a year later I’m still having fun with it, especially because I only write a new newsletter post when I feel like it. I had originally aimed to post once a month and somehow my ‘write when it comes to me’ approach has averaged out to be almost 12 posts over a year’s time?

Anyways, thank you all for being here. I appreciate each and every one of you!!