Today we’d like to introduce you to Hieu Vu.
Hieu, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam. When I was a kid, I used to glue myself to the television, watching cartoons and just be completely mesmerized by the colorful characters and their extravagant movements. Those memories stuck with me and as a wildly imaginative kid, I used to daydream about colorful and cartoonish scenarios – from being chased by thousands of flashing light beams or a giant monster destroying the city.
Later as a teen, my brother introduced me to a bootlegged version of Photoshop. That sparked my interest in design and animation. I dug deeper, trying to make visions of my imagination reality. We spent a lot of late nights crafting up the most vile and uncanny creations. It was huge fun and I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything else.
Life soon caught up with me and when I was 18, I found myself in the States and began to start my university education in graphic design. 4 years later, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my dream of being a motion design artist.
Has it been a smooth road?
I wouldn’t describe my journey so far as treacherous. Although my parents initially didn’t understand what I wanted to do for a living and wanted me to take a safe route, they were fully supportive of my goals. I was also lucky enough to have surrounded myself with overall great friends and acquaintances who helped excel each other’s abilities and knowledge. When I feel defeated, I would just think back about my family and the friends I’ve made along the way and feel grateful for the incredible opportunities I’ve had.
When I first started out with motion design, I was extremely self-conscious about the works I made. I would worry so much about whether people are going to like them or if they are going to be able to find any rookie faults in my works. Before I knew it, I was comparing myself to other, more experienced professionals in the field. I saw little of myself and wanted to be more like someone else. However, the more work I put out, the less I cared about what people think about me. I fell in love with the process and what matters the most to me is how much I had grown with my work.
Please tell us about your work.
What I love most about what I do is being able to create emotions using 2D and 3D animations. I appreciate all the feedbacks, the ‘I like’ and ‘I don’t like’ from people when they watch my works but what always gets me is hearing how my works make them feel. I believe that helps me to be a better communicator, especially when I’m so bad about verbalizing my thoughts and feelings. Visual arts have slowly become my favorite way of conveying emotions.
That’s why with each of my works I’d always try to see how far I can push with that idea. My ultimate goal is creating the most intense and extravagant work that can tap into most possible levels of human emotions.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
When I first came here a year ago, I knew straight away this is THE place that I want to live in. Los Angeles screams creativity. The ambition of the people here is a force to be reckoned with and I knew deep down that I wanted to feed off of that energy. It is also probably the coolest place on Earth. I have met countless idols ever since I moved here and even got the honor to work with some of them. 15-year-old me would be proud to see how I’ve turned out if I could ask him.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/hvudesign
- Email: hvugraphics@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hieuvudesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hieuvumograph
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/VuDucHieu97
- Other: https://teespring.com/vi-VN/stores/radia-apparel
Image Credit:
Nam Le
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