Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Tsui.
Vincent, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up as an only child in the Parisian suburbs, not too far from Versailles, in a pretty modest household, unlike Louis XIV! At age 11 I was reading a lot of manga and I started copying some of the drawings. It became an obsession for several years until I got the perfect replica.
I was really into manga and wasn’t really exposed to art in a meaningful way until I went to Art school in Paris. I learned so much during the 1st year and met two of my best friends. This led me to study Graphic Design for a couple of years until I missed characters and drawing too much. Which is one of the reasons I transitioned to Animation school after getting my degree. I spent another three years studying before I moved to LA right after graduation, in 2015, to start working in an Animation studio called Buck where I spent 2.5 years.
Today I’m still in LA and I freelance, or at least I’m trying to figure out the meaning of life!
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I work primarily with Animation. I have made a couple of personal short films, so far. That’s something I’d like to keep doing, even though the process of hand-drawn animation is particularly long and tedious. Otherwise, I also do Illustration, Graphic Design, and some Web Coding. My work doesn’t focus on any specific theme in general. What I can say is that there is an element of playfulness in both my films, one depicts wooden figurines in a miniature world and the other one, teenagers and big balloons. It looks like I’m resisting adulthood… you tell me!
Overall, the best I can hope for is for my work to be worth your time, and mine. I hope you and I both get something out of it, whatever this might be. The worst that could happen is for you to be left indifferent and for me to wonder why I wasted so much time. That’s why I spend a lot of time figuring out whether an idea sticks or not. In other words, I need to relate to the idea, topic, or message on a deep level, because I know we’ll spend many days and nights together.
I try to draw inspiration from artists across the board. Here are some that have influenced me over the years, on the top of my head, in no particular order: John Stezaker (British conceptual artist), Amy Bennett (American painter), Patrick Smith (American independent video game developer), Alpha Wann (French rapper) & Georges Schwizgebel (Swiss Animation Director).
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
I can tell you what I’m sure aren’t essential qualities for an artist: attention-seeking and greed. These two, in my opinion, are the most corrosive to art-making.
If you can ask yourself why you’re making art and manage to find the answer, then I think you can start becoming successful. I am making art because it gives me a sense of accomplishment, community, and fulfillment.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I just built myself a new website over at https://vincent-tsui.com , but you can also see my work on my Vimeo & Behance. I guess the best way to support it right now is to follow me on Instagram or Twitter (@vct_tsui). Or you can just tell a friend about my work!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vincent-tsui.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vct_tsui/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/vct_tsui
Image Credit:
Photograph by Mavra Peponi
Images by Vincent Tsui
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