Daily Inspiration: Meet Ian Truong

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Truong.

Hi Ian, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I can remember, art has always been ingrained in me. The desire to authentically express my inner self has been a constant goal of mine.

For me, it all started with an elephant. Dumbo was the first movie I ever saw. I watched it repeatedly (like any passionate movie-going Millennial) until the VHS tape wore out. Something about an elephant with big ears really stuck with me. To satisfy my Dumbo cravings, I would always ask my mom to draw him for me. As a five-year-old, you can imagine this happened frequently. After losing countless Dumbo drawings, my mom finally insisted that I should draw him myself. So I did. When I finished, I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness and pride that I had brought Dumbo to life with my own hands. It felt like unlocking a door full of endless possibilities, with a pencil and a piece of paper as the key.

Growing up in a family full of doctors and engineers, the idea of pursuing art as a career was frowned upon. Out of love, my family encouraged me to think practically and treat art as a hobby. For a while, I genuinely believed they knew what was best for me, so I prioritized my general studies over my true passion.

During my sophomore year of high school, Disney released the movie “Big Hero 6”. As a huge Disney fan, it was a no-brainer for me to see the movie in theaters. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the short film “Paperman”, played before the main feature. At first, I thought, `What the hell!? I just wanted to watch Big Hero 6, nothing more and nothing less.’ But as the short began, I felt my heart sink. I was in awe of everything, from the beautiful art to the enchanting score. Watching “Paperman” reawakened my passion for art and made me realize it had always been my true calling.

Fast forward to a couple of years later: I went on to attend Ringling College of Art and Design and Fullerton College. From there, I scored my first gig in the animation industry, the role of Visual Development Trainee at Dreamworks TV. After finishing up the program, I started freelancing for Pin USA, which transitioned to my current job: Visual Development Artist at Disney Media Entertainment Distribution.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Wanting to do art for a living was definitely a big struggle for me. Although I was facing challenges externally, the biggest battles for me were always internal.

Juggling the juxtaposition of what I wanted to do vs. what I should do plagued me in many different ways: should I be compliant with my family’s desires or should I forge my own future with uncertainty? Should I make art for myself or should I adhere to the industry standards? Do I paint the mountain Blue or Red?

To condense it down to five words, my biggest struggle has always been: the fear of the unknown.

Although there is an impossible answer to the unknown (hence being the unknown), the way I’ve been able to cope with it is to acknowledge it; acknowledging the idea that we can never have the answers to all of life’s problems. The unknown makes us human and being human makes us artists.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I thrive on embracing anything and everything that my mind is capable of exploring.

When it comes to my work, I always try to hop around all over the place. What keeps my creative wheels turning is always trying new things whether it be sculpting with paper or carving into wood. There’s always something so refreshing/exciting about working with different mediums. Recently I’ve noticed that I like to be very hands-on with my work. Every time I craft something with my own hands, a wave of childhood nostalgia washes over me. It’s like my brain suddenly fills with memories of my youth, and I welcome those feelings with open arms, anytime.

One challenge I face is maintaining a positive relationship with my art. While art can cure the soul, there are moments when it can feel destructive as well, and that’s okay. There’s moments where I’d be working on a piece for hours and no matter what I would do it just keeps looking worse and worst. When moments like those occur: I have to constantly remind myself to trust the process and that the time used to ultimately fail is never wasted.

What’s next?
I’m not the best when it comes to planning for my future. Alongside doing art 24/7, I always try to manifest my dream position and let fate carry me the rest of the way. Personally, I find it hard to plan for the future. From my experience, the art industry is unpredictable and I never know where I’m gonna end up.

When it comes to future dream roles, I’d love to be a Visual Development artist at Pixar. Overall I feel like they’re an amazing company to work for and the work that comes out of there is pure art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ian-truong.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animatorwannabe/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-truong-a2267a131/