Meet Brian Thuok

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Thuok.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
There was little that appealed to me as a kid: I hated academics; I was a terrible student; I loathed sports. The only thing I ever wanted to do was draw X-Men Characters, watch Sci-fi movies, and play Metallica covers on guitar. It wasn’t until I took a commercial art class in high school that I discovered that I could have a future as a creative.

Fast forward to senior year in college: I was doing a general internship on a video game TV show. The producers knew I did graphics – so they sat me down with their Motion Graphics Artist and he showed me how to animate and design. I created on-air graphics while everyone else was fetching coffee. At that moment it clicked – motion design combined every medium I loved: visual storytelling, art, design, sound, and music.

That put me on a path to get more motion graphic gigs after graduating with a useless liberal-arts degree. Eventually I would go on to work on national spots, TV show title sequences, and more tech focused product work.

Please tell us about your art.
I’m consider myself an animator, designer, and director. I basically make everything from animated shorts, to posters, to sassy GIFs, to interactive applications. Everything’s usually made on the computer – I concept, design, and animate everything using Adobe Creative Suite and Cinema 4D. Occasionally, I’ll direct a live action shoot or break out pen and paper to illustrate. The liberal-arts education actually wasn’t all that useless, as I do a lot of writing too.

My work up to this point has a lot humor and tends to have a very colorful, pop art feel. Usually I want people to laugh or be entertained, so I keep everything very short. For the 30 seconds or 1 minute I have your attention – I want you to have a good time.

I do feel my work will move into a darker or more emotional place because I know if I can make people laugh or smile; I can also make you cringe or cry.

Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
The role of a creative is exactly the same as it’s been for years: to create works that reflect the environment around you with specific intent. That intent can range from provoking thought to making someone smile or feel rage.

I’m a big fan of Horror as cinematic genre and literature. It’s a genre that has always taken social/global issues and subverted it into entertainment. Where my work is headed, it definitely rips a page from the Horror Playbook; taking issues from the world around us and applying my point of view.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Chances are people have already seen work I’ve done on TV, online, or on streaming networks. But you also can check out my portfolio site, Vimeo, or Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: brianthuok.carbonmade.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orphanwidow/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/user326563

https://www.instagram.com/p/91Nl9vmaSF/?taken-by=orphanwidow

Image Credit:
Brian Thuok

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