Design Professor Reflects on His Career in Illustration, Video Games, and Higher Education
Justin Kunz has worked across illustration, painting, video games and higher education. An associate professor of illustration at Brigham Young University, his career has included freelance illustration, years in the video game industry, work for the United States Mint and more than fourteen years teaching students in BYU's Department of Design.
"I knew from a young age that I wanted my life to involve drawing and color," Kunz said. "I did not know exactly how that would happen. I thought I might want to be an animator, or own an art supply store or art gallery so I could paint on the side. For a while, I thought maybe I could be a successful businessman or lawyer, and I might be able to retire early or arrange my schedule so I could paint one or two days a week."
Eventually, he realized he wanted something different.
"I realized I would be in direct competition with people who were born to be businessmen or lawyers, and I didn't feel like I could prosper in that environment."
One of the experiences that changed his perspective came when he was 16 years old, when a local entrepreneur hired him to create branding materials for a new business.
"I packed my drawings in an unsightly cardboard portfolio, reinforced with duct tape, and drove my mother's car to the interview," Kunz said. "He said he liked my work and offered me $12 an hour. I was making about $4.75 at the local skating rink."
When the project ended, the client thanked him and mentioned it would have cost twice as much to hire a professional artist.
"I did some quick math and decided maybe if I went to college, I could become a professional artist."
Kunz went on to study illustration at BYU before working as a professional artist in the video game industry. As a student, he created artwork for “Insight” magazine, “The Leading Edge” and “The Daily Universe,” where he worked as a graphic artist creating editorial illustrations and information graphics.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in illustration, Kunz began his career as a freelance illustrator, creating narrative artwork for the Ensign and New Era magazines before being recruited to work full-time as an artist at a local video game studio. He later earned a graduate degree in painting from Laguna College of Art and Design while working as a senior 3D environment artist at Blizzard Entertainment, where he contributed to several “World of Warcraft” expansions before returning to BYU as a faculty member.
His résumé includes game environments, concept paintings, textures, visual effects and environmental assets ranging from waterfalls and coral reefs to lightning storms and lava. After all, as he put it, "you must have lava, or it is not a video game." But despite working on games that many aspiring artists admire, Kunz said the experience was not always what people imagined.
"To be candid, I was not completely happy working in game development, especially for the first few years," he said. "Some days the work was enjoyable, but other times it was tedious, stressful or frustrating. But like any other job, you just have to show up and do what you were hired to do."
"The first time someone told me I had what they considered their 'dream job,' that prompted me to count my blessings a little more."
Those experiences now shape the conversations he has with students who hope to build careers in the arts.
"I try to tell students you need to take time to really think about who you are, your gifts, your temperament, your formative experiences, why you feel driven to pursue a career in the creative arts, how strong that desire is and what price you are willing to pay to obtain it."
He encourages students to look beyond the prestige that often surrounds creative careers.
"Do you actually enjoy the day-to-day work required to create useful and inspiring things? Or are you simply enamored by the idea of being an artist or designer, the social currency of telling people you work at Pixar, or posting stories on social media about the artsy experiences you're having in Tokyo or New York?"
Enjoying the work, he said, is key to avoiding burnout.
"The satisfaction of telling people you are a professional artist, or that you worked on this or that famous thing, that eventually wears off. If you don't find real fulfillment in the daily tasks required to create things of real quality, originality and value, you'll eventually burn out."
Faith has also shaped the way Kunz approaches both art and work.
"I needed my own testimony, not just of the truth and reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also to know that God was mindful of me, and to learn how He expected me to apply my talents to earn a living," he said. "It was a process, but I have experienced many powerful moments of personal revelation and divine reassurance along the way."
Looking back, Kunz hopes students understand they do not have to have every answer before they begin.
"You do not need to be perfect, you do not need to know everything before you start, you do not need to succeed in everything you try and you do not need approval from everyone to start doing what you truly believe you were put on earth to do," he said. "You can figure things out as you go."
