INTERVIEW BY 1844DESIGN

Drawing inspiration from fascinations of understanding all sides of the story, Huan Tran has some of the most captivating illustration/design styles out there.

1. Tell us a little bit on what got you interested in illustration and in design?
Like most artists, I grew up watching cartoons and read comic books, doodled in my notebooks to the detriment of my studies. But I completed a degree in Computer Science and ironically, it was not doing art that caused me to realize that I wanted to do art.

2. What inspires you the most?
Inspiration comes from my fascination of understanding all sides of the story. This can pertain to how something works, viewpoints in politics, human interactions, pretty much everything has many stories and explanations.

3. When working on a new illustration, what is your usual thought process?
Relating this back to the answer above, I start an illustration with many sketches of ideas, viewpoints and perspectives on the given subject for the illustration. When I hit on an idea that works, which means it is simple, clear, concise and has a twist, then I refine it and execute the piece.

4. What advice can you give to an illustration student just coming out of school?
My best advice is to pay attention to the news, watch it when you can, this includes MTV and stay on top of social issues. This will be invaluable in helping overcome the initial hump of staring at a blank piece of paper with pencil in hand.

5. What has been your favorite project so far, and why?
My favourite project would be a job I did for Sony Music in which I got to do the illustration for a promo CD, help with developing the promotion strategy and fully creating the web designs and print designs for the campaign. I like it when I get to do the whole breadth of a project.

6. Where do you see yourself in the future?
The future? I see myself sitting in a small village somewhere else in the world, observing a mother carrying about her day as her 3 year old son, who is close by, is having an adventure understanding how dirt and sticks interact. I see myself continuing to see the world.


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