Animation traditionally has been an indoor medium, with artists hunched over drawing tables or computer screens. But a trio of Los Angeles-based animation pros is breathing fresh air into the industry by telling their colleagues to go outside. With the creation of Warrior Painters, Assistant Art Director Michelle Lin, Art Director Angela Sung, and Production Coordinator Kayleigh Ma promote en plein air, the act of painting outdoors.
Founded in 2016, Warrior Painters has grown a loyal following of those working both in and out of the animation industry. The group bonds during weekend painting sessions in Los Angeles and San Francisco with a rotating roster of hosts choosing locations. Sung’s interest in fishing has led them on an oceanside excursion, for example. Another outing, organized by Lin, took the group to Downey, Calif. and the oldest remaining McDonald’s.
The pandemic couldn’t stop the warriors. When the rest of life went virtual, so did the group with members sharing their work on Discord and gathering for digital paint sessions. Even as outdoor events resumed, Ma says their page on the chat platform continues to be an active online community with membership nearing 7,000. The amount of international artists joining the forum also means setting up sessions in an array of time zones, and some of these creatives have even managed to make it to the U.S. to join in-real-life sessions.
Sung says the ferocious-sounding name came from the idea that she and other members are physically active and “pretty badass for painting every weekend.” The group utilizes the hashtag #NoPleinNoGain, a jeu de mots on a phrase popular with personal trainers everywhere.
“When you’re painting en plein air, it’s like building a library in your mind of how things actually look… It reinforces simple techniques like ‘this is how you paint trees and how you paint clouds or buildings.’ It’s so beneficial for any artist.” —Michelle Lin
Most people who come to the events create with gouache, oils, acrylics, or watercolors because, says Ma, they prefer to use traditional media after spending their day jobs creating with technological tools. But some do show up with digital devices. And while Sung stresses that the main purpose of the group is to “unplug” from desk life and “hang out with friends and just paint,” Warrior Painters is also an off-hours activity that can benefit the work animators do.
Creating while outside, Sung says, means “you can definitely see more colors, and the lighting is different because cameras tend to compress values and colors.” Plus, she adds, this art form requires you to use your reflexes because nature doesn’t wait for a boss to sign off on a project. “You have to make a decision on the spot, and you’re designing with a limited amount of time because the lighting usually changes within 15 minutes,” she says.
For Lin, it’s boosted her confidence as a designer because “color and painting weren’t things that I felt I was very good at. Going out and painting really helped me improve my color sense. When you’re painting en plein air, it’s like building a library in your mind of how things actually look,” she says. It reinforces simple techniques like “this is how you paint trees and how you paint clouds or buildings. It’s so beneficial for any artist.”
Warrior Painters also serves as a networking group for animators and other artists. All three of its organizers are women of color, which itself can be a support system in an industry known for its diversity challenges. Lin and Sung both say they’ve hired, or shared the resumes of, artists they’ve met in the group.
“I think people actually feel more welcomed by the fact that we’re all women in the leadership roles,” Sung says of Warrior Painters’ popularity, noting that a lot of younger women and girls have come to events and spoken of how relieved they were to find it wasn’t male-led. “It’s rare to see women teaching, so it’s good we’re inspiring more younger kids to want to teach and share knowledge.”
They’ve also set up the Warrior Art Camp, a training camp with the mission “to pave the way for your art journey.” Ma says there is an objective to get more women and minorities involved in teaching the courses. There have also been gallery showings of work created during Warrior Painters weekend events.
Ma says they hope to do more of those, as well as rent space for their own exhibitions that may feature more up-and-comers because these warriors know that there is power in numbers. “If we make this group more popular, we provide more opportunities,” Ma says.
No plein, no gain indeed.
Learn more about Warrior Painters at warriorpainters.com.
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