Get exclusive access to Sensei Jenova Chen’s recent feature in ImagineFX. In this short version interview, the acclaimed game designer and artist shares how his creative side came to be, what influenced his path and what he's been up to more recently.

 

Where did you grow up and how has this influenced your art?

Shanghai, China. It's an international city with many exhibitions and cultural events from around world, which influenced my visual taste and developed a love for both the beauty of city life and crowds but also the desolation and loneliness in the same city as well.

What, outside of art, has most influenced your artwork through the years?

My personal journey travelling from China to the US, then Europe, Asia and Africa. Seeing the world and cultural differences really inspired me to understand the common human condition.

Is there a painting that you saw in your formative years that changed everything? What was it? 

The Giant by NC Wyeth is a painting that inspired the creation of the Sky: Children of the Light. The short animation called The Cathedral by Tomasz Bagiński, which left a strong impression in me when I first saw it.

Tell us about your first paid commission, and does it stand as a representation of your talent?

My first paid commission was to turn my game Flower in an independent art gallery. The game was projected on the entire wall from floor to the ceiling, and I could see some audience with tears in their eyes when it was demoed.

Is making a living as an artist all you thought it would be? 

I've been pursuing video game as an artistic medium to create fine art for the first three games, and afterwards I decided to switch towards commercial art for it's massive reach. So living as an artist is definitely not what I initially thought.
 

Entire interview on Imagine FX.