Interview with Ray Lei at Lightbox Expo 2022

Anime Herald: What is your origin story?

Ray Lei: When I was a little girl, I started to draw, like, anything on the wall. But actually, I wasn’t an artist at the beginning. I was a dancer. I studied dancing for more ten years, until I was fifteen. I was going to graduate from high school. I needed to choose between dancing and drawing, for my career.

I talked to my mom. I felt that I preferred drawing. I chose to be an artist for college. I studied how to draw professionally.

Anime Herald: Where did you go to college?

Ray Lei: In Beijing.

Anime Herald: Was it an art school?

Ray Lei: It was a general university. They had an art college.

Anime Herald: Who are some of the artists who inspired you?

Ray Lei: I really like John Nevarez. He has a booth over there. I really like him because he draws loose, but clear. That’s what I’m really into. It’s what I’m learning. I talked to John. He said that, when he saw The Lion King it inspired him to become an artist.

I was like, “Oh my god! I saw your artwork and you inspired me a lot.” People are always inspired by people who came into the industry before.

Anime Herald: You talked about being a dancer. Is that one of the things that led you to create these videos?

Ray Lei: I’m a storyboard artist. Sometimes, we need to pitch our storyboards to the director and the team. We need to perform. We perform our storyboards for the team. That’s how I learned performing.

In 2020, when COVID started, we started working from home. I stayed at home all the time. I needed to do something to cheer me up. I started to shoot videos from home and draw those gestures. That’s how I learned. I found out it was really fun, so I kept doing it.

Anime Herald: Have you built a social media following with these videos?

Ray Lei: Well, yeah. I actually have over ten million followers in China. I have six million followers on the Chinese TikTok site, called Douyin, I only have 100K on Instagram. I don’t really focus on Instagram or TikTok. I’m going to do more.

Anime Herald: What are some of the artists working today who impress you? Apart from John of course.

Ray Lei: Tony and Tom Bancroft. They are twin brothers. Tony co-directed the animated Mulan. Tom is a great animator as well. Tom has a studio that I used to work with. I learned a lot from them.

Anime Herald: How did you first get involved with Lightbox Expo?

Ray Lei: I came as a visitor in 2019. That was Lightbox Expo’s first year. I thought, “This show is really cool. I need to come back here as an exhibitor next year!” But then COVID came. It’s been three years. I finally can have a table here.

I really love this exhibition. It’s so cool, because people can talk to each other. We learn from each other. Sometimes you can show your portfolio to people and get encouragement, and maybe find a job or other opportunities.

Hopefully, I can come back next year.

Anime Herald: Thank you for talking with us.

Ray Lei: Thank you!