Jason Nguyen
/Where did you grow up and when did you decide to become an artist?
I grew up in Canada Ontario, in the Niagara region. I felt like ever since I was young I always wanted to be apart of the video game creation process. So that initially sparked my interest, although going into high school I pursued programming/computer science in hopes of creating video games while keeping art as just a hobby. So I pursued the computer sciences mostly through high school. However one day, while I was waiting on my dad to pick me up I decided to pick up a sketchbook at a local dollar store in order to pass time. After drawing for hours waiting, I realized at that moment that art interested much more than programming. So when I got home I researched all night about art for video games. This was really sparked my interest in becoming an artist.
Did you go to an art school or are you self taught? How did you develop your skills?
I am currently self taught. I learned everything I know from youtube videos and online tutorials as well as studying other artists and their painting techniques. A lot of my early knowledge and painting techniques came from watching feng zhu's videos as well as you tube channels such as sycra, sinix design etc. Then I started to study more of the fundamentals through books such as Jame's Gurney's color and light, Andrew Loomis Figure Drawing for All It's Worth/ Drawing the head and Hands and Burne Hogarth Dynamic Figure Drawing. I also learned a lot for studying the artwork of artists I really admire and figuring out how they achieve a certain look, whether it be by looking up online processes from them or doing master studies of it in order to figure out a way to implement their techniques into my own style.
Have you always been supported in your artistic path or has it been challenging to let your family and friends understand your choice?
In general my family has been pretty supportive with my career choice, they wanted me to be happy and pursue a career I loved, however it took a lot of convincing in order to show that I would be able to make a decent living doing this. Although I did have my fair share of people saying that It was a bad idea pursuing a career like this.
What was the strongest influence you had when you were growing up ( artists, movies, cartoons, comics etc.. ) ?
Growing up, I really loved playing video games such as Final Fantasy, Golden Sun, Fire emblem, Halo and many more! I was mostly inspired by video games back in the day, this was what really made me want to be apart of the video game creation process. In terms of artists that inspire me now, my biggest inspirations are: Ruan Jia, Zhong Feng Hua, Even Amundsen, Wes Burt, Craig Mullins, Bayard Wu, and so much more!
Did you have a favourite subject to draw when you were a child and do you still have one today? If you do, what makes it so special?
My favourite subject to draw is definitely Fantasy. It's something that I've drawn and loved since I was very young. Knights, wizards, fairies, angels etc. is something that has always fascinated me. When I was a kid I would create my own fantasy worlds and pretend to be a knight or wizard going on adventures and quests. Fantasy is something that I will always love drawing.
From the initial client idea to the final work: what goes through your mind when you are designing and what is the method you use when starting a project? Could you describe it?
After given a briefing of the project I'm working on, I start by developing a series of thumbnail sketches, roughing out the main components and general composition. Afterwards I would do a more detailed sketch of the thumbnail they chose. Then I start adding colours. Once everything is approved and I captured all the little details and symbolism the client would like, I start rendering it providing frequent updates and adjusting it based off of feedback until the piece is finished.
What is your process in colouring your art and what type of tools and media do you use?
I use photoshop CC to paint on, and my current workstation is a Microsoft Surface Pro 3
What part of the creation process is the most fun and easy and what part is the hardest?
I think the funnest part would be when I start adding details and rendering the piece. The hardest part is definitely starting a piece and trying to figure out a nice composition and subject to paint.
Finally, Where can we see your art online and get in touch with you? How can we buy your creations and support your work?
You can see my artwork and contact information here: ( jasonnart.com ) I also post on places such as Artstation ( artstation.com/artist/jasonn ), Tumblr ( jasonarts.tumblr.com ), Deviantart ( jasontn.deviantart.com ), Drawcrowd ( drawcrowd.com/jasonarts ) and Facebook :)
Thank you Jason :)
