The story of Juyoung Lee, an art director

who brings characters to life with exceptional sophistication.

Q1. Thank you for accepting the interview. Introduce yourself with a simple introduction and three words to express yourself.

A1. Hello, this is Juyoung Lee from 5minlab, and I am an art director for ‘Smash Legends’. Three words that I think represent myself would be ‘Preciseness’, ‘Passion’, and ‘Effort’. As an art director of the project, I must see the big picture. So being precise is a key factor to check the various resources, effects shown in the game. It’s my first time being in charge as an art director. Honestly, I am not familiar with some art areas such as effects, backgrounds and such. Therefore, I don’t mind studying other subjects I am not used to, and consult with specialists in order to create a better project. To sum it all up,  being precise, passionate, and hard-working makes me shine as an art director.

Q2. People are curious about the art director’s job and what the ‘Smash Legends’ art team is doing. What kind of job are you in charge of?

A2. As the art director of ‘Smash Legends’, my main job is to create a reference point and decide the direction of the project’s art. Since there are many tasks in cooperation with the team and other departments, it has been possible for us to have a wider view of the project than before. The satisfaction we get from the work seems to have increased for the art team.

Q3. What would be the unique point of ‘Smash Legends’ in terms of the art? And what character do you love the most?

A3. The art development process is excellent and is very sophisticated. The fact that the character settings are developed interactively with the solid background and story, proves to be the unique point of ‘Smash Legend’. In addition to the visual development, all team members put a lot of effort to create an intriguing and lively character. As a result of the whole team’s efforts, each character’s ordinary personality has been well brought out. And characters with a variety of charms have been created.

I think the most attractive character in ‘Smash Legends’ is ‘Alice’, which I took in charge of the spotlight for the first time. It meant I spent most of my time thinking deeply about showing the character’s personality and feeling.

Q4. What made you start your full-time career as an artist in the game industry?

A4. It started with console games. I was able to encounter various types of games from childhood. Even when I was in school, I constantly played games and was interested in the game industry. But it was a bit vague for me. In the meantime, I had the opportunity to meet my favourite artist from my childhood, who was also an art director of a game company. During that time, I had a chance to hear about the real game industry, which I was only thinking about entering, and I wanted to see if I could receive feedback on my portfolio. After that, I became very interested in the art part of the game industry. By reflecting on his feedback, I was able to draw my career roadmap.

Q5. What made you choose 5minlab among various companies?

 A5. At first, I was attracted to making a real-time PvP game. I participated in RPG and Shooting games’ development, but the opportunity for the real-time PvP game, a genre that I wanted to try at least once, rarely came by. Fortunately, I found out that 5minlab was making a real-time PvP game named ‘Smash Legends’, and I had the opportunity to test the game. After the test, I saw the possibility of joining 5minlab by looking at the gameplay, genre, and the team members. Afterwards, I decided to join 5minlab right away.

Q6. What culture in 5mimlab are you satisfied with the most?

A6. I think expressing individual opinions to everyone based on trust and respect is the proudest culture in 5minlab. Sometimes, individual opinions are not easily respected and disregarded due to the team’s circumstances. However, 5minlab respects member’s opinions and is willing to listen to others. By any chance, opinions are contrary. Members provide more constructive feedback to help individuals understand processes or ideas. The working atmosphere at 5minlab, where all members trust and respect each other, is the culture that I like the most.

Q7. Is there a career roadmap that you want to create?

A7. First of all, as an art director of ‘Smash Legends’, I am faithfully fulfilling my responsibilities. After that, I want to be a person who can continue making amazing games and providing opportunities to others in the end. Because of someone’s help, I was able to take my first step in the game industry. To this day, I am still developing my career with the help of people in various fields. Therefore, I want to be a person who can provide help to others in the future who want to be in the gaming sector.