hyunjee clara ryu

concept designer for film, tv, and themed entertainment

clara hails from south korea. she likes creating playlists she’ll never listen to, doing hour-long en plein air sessions, browsing the criterion channel, and swimming even though she’s bad at it.

haunted mansion queue, disneyland resort

supervisor: Kim Irvine, Director of Concept Design

A beautifully landscaped pathway with brick pavers, bordered by a black and gold railing, and lined with lush green plants, decorative garden sculptures, and vintage-style street lamps. Tall trees with abundant foliage are visible in the background, creating a peaceful garden setting.
A whimsical garden with a central large tree surrounded by colorful flowers, enclosed by pink and yellow walls. There are statues, a fountain, and various garden features, with lush greenery, a greenhouse, and outdoor lighting, creating a magical atmosphere.

part of the long awaited expansion project of the beloved haunted mansion, I was responsibile for illustrating the marketing concept art used to announce the construction.

A festive, Halloween-themed outdoor scene with a decorated house and yard. The house is adorned with purple and black decorations, jack-o'-lanterns, and spider webs. There are hanging lanterns, scarecrows, and various Halloween ornaments along the pathway. The setting appears to be in the evening or early night, with the trees and plants decorated for Halloween.
Outdoor construction wall with a large framed mural depicting a garden scene with pathways, flower beds, and a greenhouse, flanked by two black lantern-style lights.

my illustration was published on the walt disney company’s park-affliiated instagram accounts and the offiical disneyparks blog.

Artist's concept drawing of new garden and retail shops at Disneyland Resort, featuring landscaped gardens, fountains, gazebos, a greenhouse, pet cemetery, and horse-drawn funeral hearse.
Artist's rendering of Haunted Mansion grounds at Disneyland with a garden, colorful plants, and a greenhouse, surrounded by trees and a pathway, hinting at an immersive theme park expansion in 2024.
The logo for Dull Softwing Imagineering with stylized text.

the illustration was also printed in large scale and hung on the construction walls for the haunted mansion queue for a year in 2024.

a dreamscape trapped in stories

Interior of a Moroccan-style room with intricate patterned walls, colorful cushions, a pink flowering tree, ornate hanging lamps, and a textured rug.

one thousand and one nights

part 1. scheherezade and king shahryar

Intricate blue and gold mosaic facade with arched windows and ornate geometric patterns.

one thousand and one nights is an anthology of middle eastern tales more commonly known as the arabian nights. I am interested in portraying a fairy tale that appears happy at first glance, but is in reality unfortunate. The audience will be taken into a dynamic journey that spans across multiple tales with the royal blue colour of the king’s chamber seeping through her warm, fictional world.

this is a story about a woman who is objectified as amere plaything that constantly tries to escape her fate through her imagination, yet fails to do so. scheherazade is brought into tell stories to king shahryar, only to face the fate and fear of becoming beheaded the next day after betrothal. to save her own life, she must keep him entertained, and she starts telling her stories.

Composite of architectural sketches and digital renderings of a modern building interior and courtyard with a central tree, large windows, and ornate wall decor.
A collage of nine colorful, sketched thumbnails of interior and exterior architectural designs and spaces, including a palace exterior, a music hall, a grand hall, a banquet hall, a historical palace interior, a statue exhibit, a fountain, and a castle interior, with labels indicating their settings.
A collection of black and white sketches depicting different scenes, including buildings, a sailing ship, an interior room, a rocky landscape, and a cityscape with towers and domes.
A collection of colorful, abstract digital paintings of various outdoor and architectural scenes, including a cultural indoor space, a mountain landscape, a garden, a cityscape, a seaside view, a waterfall, and a whale island, with handwritten style titles and brief descriptions.
A vibrant marketplace scene set against a grand, ornate building with intricate tile patterns and arched windows. The market is bustling with people shopping among colorful stalls filled with fruits and vegetables. There is a large pink flowering tree on the right side, adding to the lively atmosphere.

Scheherazade tells the story of a merchant who angers a jinri that tries to kill him (Tale of the Trader and the Jinn).

The image features a medieval courtyard scene with colorful patterned walls, potted plants with red and pink foliage, several carts with wooden wheels, and an arched entryway under a warm sunset sky.

part 2. the merchant and the jinri

ext. bazaar

part 3. the city of brass

A digital painting of an ancient city scene featuring a large ornate doorway with tall stairs and two small figures walking nearby, one dressed in historical clothing, set against warm earth tones and mystical colors.
A fantasy scene depicting two figures in front of an ornate palace entrance with steps. One figure is dressed in regal or ceremonial clothing, wearing a mask or headdress, while the other kneels or sits nearby. The background features intricate patterns and abstract textures in warm and dark colors.
Design plan for a door embedded in a desert rock formation with ornate patterns and minaret-style towers.
Abstract painting of a landscape with twisted tree trunk and sprawling branches, with a background of soft clouds and distant hills.

In the story that Scheherazade tells about the merchant, the merchant tells the angered spirit about a ghost city home to a brass lamp (Tale of the City of the Brass).

Abstract watercolor painting of several rock formations in earthy tones against a black background.
Digital painting of a Middle Eastern cityscape with historic architecture, domes, and towers, set against a background of mountains and a cloudy sky.
A colorful, abstract painting of a sailboat on a body of water surrounded by large, vibrant leaves and mushrooms, with a stormy sky in the background.

part 4. sinbad's adventures

Scheherazade also narrates a story about a sailor named Sinbad who accidentally discovers a whale island.

ext. the whale island
A colorful watercolor painting of a small sailboat with a yellow sail on a vibrant lake, with a large whale surfacing in the water behind it, and mountains or cliffs in the distance.
Illustration of a wooden sailboat with yellow sails, floating on a dark background.
Colorful digital artwork of two traditional Arabic dhows sailing on water at night, with a dark and colorful abstract background and a paragraph of text in the middle.
A digitally painted scene of a lush forest with a waterfall flowing into a cave. A small girl stands near the water, and a glowing treasure chest is visible inside the cave. The forest is filled with colorful trees, rocks, and foliage.

part 5. ali baba and the forty thieves

ext. the treasure cavern

Scheherazde’s character, the travelling merchant from story Part 2, tells a story of o of a man who is saved by a clever slave girl from being murdered by thieves for gold.

Luxurious hotel lobby with ornate chandeliers, decorative arches, lush plants, a vintage-style carpet, and elegant furniture. A person dressed in formal attire carrying a briefcase walks through the space.

barton fink

Pattern of palm and other tropical leaves in green, brown, and beige tones.
A split image showing an artist's sketch of a luxurious hallway on the left, and the finished, decorated hallway on the right. The hallway features high ceilings, arched doorways, ornate lighting fixtures, and elegant furniture.

the main inspiration for the exterior of Hotel Earle will be the Cecil Hotel. though there are many historic hotel buildings in Los Angeles, most of them are inspired by the Beaux Arts tradition, which I do not believe is suitable to the descriptions of the hotel that the script provides. 

int. hotel earle lobby
Interior view of a room with pinkish textured walls, hanging chandeliers, potted plants, wooden chairs, a small table, floral arrangements, a bookshelf, and floor lamps.
A woman sitting at a vintage desk typing on a typewriter in a dimly lit, vintage-style bedroom with dark wallpaper and a bed with a headboard. There are windows on the side and a framed picture on the wall, with a small table and lamp beside the bed.

when we are stuck in a creative block, there are no walls or definition that provides a glimpse of a hint into what may become a storyline; there is only nothingness. My challenge is to create a space that is true to the period while accentuating that suffocating nature of an emptiness that seems to point to no visible way out.

int. room 621
A vintage bedroom with peeling wallpaper, a metal bed with beige bedding, an armchair with a floral pattern, a nightstand with a lamp, a wooden writing desk with a chair, a floor lamp, and windows showing the night outside.
A hallway with patterned green and orange wallpaper, lit wall sconces, a closed decorative iron gate at the end, and a person peeking from behind a wall on the right side. 
ext. 6th floor hallway
An artistic digital painting of a large, old brick building with towers, set against a dark, stormy sky with swirling clouds, some illuminated with pink and orange hues. A person stands at the bottom right corner near the entrance, which is glowing with warm light. 
ext. hotel earle
A dimly lit restaurant interior with empty tables and chairs. Three people are sitting at separate tables, one is a man with headphones looking at his phone, another is a person taking a photo of the scene, and a woman walking past. The restaurant has windows with curtains, hanging lights, and a patterned door on the right. 
int. studio commissary
A deer standing in a lush, green forest near a pond with reflected trees and foliage.

the tempest

Illustration of large twisted tree trunks in a forest with colorful abstract graffiti on a hidden door in the background

at the louisiana’s bayou

A technical drawing of an extinct prospector tree on the left, with two painted illustrations of the same tree on the right, one with purple hanging lights in a colorful forest scene and the other a more muted, natural landscape scene.
A painting of an old sailing shipwreck near a mangrove shoreline during sunset, with the sky painted in warm hues and the water reflecting the sky's colors.