Student
Film & TV Costume Design Student Pin-Ju Wang Shares Her FIDM Experience
Special effects makeup artist Pin-Ju Wang moved to Los Angeles from Taiwan with her Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from Hsing Wu University to study Film & TV Costume Design at FIDM. She graduates this month and her goal is to work in a dual capacity on film and television productions, as both the costume designer as well as the makeup artist. We caught up with her to learn about her creative journey.
Tell us a little about yourself and your creative journey: I’m a Taiwanese makeup artist, a fashion designer, and a costume designer. After I got my B.A. degree in Fashion Design in 2018, I moved to LA in 2019. When I worked as a makeup artist in Taiwan, I wasn’t happy. Since I was a kid, my dream has been to be the makeup artist and costume designer at the same time, for film and TV. I decided to move here and start to build my career.
When did you know that you wanted to pursue fashion and costume design as a career? After I graduated high school, I really wanted to do some creative things since I was a kid, and I love painting and drawing. We don’t have a costume design major in Taiwan, so I chose a similar major which is fashion design.
What is one of your proudest accomplishments? To be honest, I’ve been in sales since I started college, so I have over four years experience in that. In fact, before I moved here to the U.S., my boss asked me to be a manager for a store. As far as my design career, I’m proud of myself for moving here and building my career here.
Tell us about your experience working on films with AFI. Was this a connection through FIDM? Yes, they were really good experiences. I had experience as a makeup artist before, in Taiwan, but it’s been two years. I'm glad I'm back on the set.
What went into your decision to attend FIDM to study Film & TV Costume Design? I was thinking about getting my Master’s degree here, but I looked at a lot of schools and I figured I didn’t really need one to do costume design. I think the most important thing is experience; it will be more helpful than a degree, when you are really in the industry—and FIDM is helping me with that.
What are your career goals and how is FIDM helping you get there? My goal is designing the costumes and doing makeup for the films and TV shows at the same time. I had never done that before, but when I was working on that student film for AFI, I got a chance to do it. It was a really good experience.
You also have experience in special effects makeup: Yes, I love to do FX makeup, and I love to do horror and sci-fi movies. Doing special effects makeup is a really good skill. I also want to be a makeup artist for the films here, too.
What do you love about being a creative person? Being an artistic person, creative and making the impossible into a real thing. I really enjoy my creative zone. A couple cups of wine, candles, and music. Sketching my next piece of art. I love that moment of being in the zone.
Keep up with Pin-Ju Wang on Instagram @10969_roshia.
Categories: Film & TV Costume Design International Student
