Meet Jamie Tran | Character Designer and Visual Development Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamie Tran and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamie, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Neil Gaiman’s works. I read Coraline and watched the movie adaptation by Laika a hundred times. That was how I was introduced to Neil’s work, and The Graveyard Book was one of my most favorite books of his. I’m not sure why this book has such a firm grip on my childhood, it might be the mysterious life of these characters, Neil’s ingenious storytelling, or the captivating illustrations by Dave McKean. I just keep thinking about it from time to time, even after all these years consuming so many other amazing books, movies, or games.
In 2018, when I was working on my first character design portfolio, I chose to design the characters from The Graveyard Book. I had a lot of fun and I remember I was very proud of the final product. However, as my style evolved and my artistic eye changed over the years, I once again wanted to revisit the project. So, as I’m graduating from my MA program, it is now my thesis project and I’m having so much fun working on the characters I’ve known so well again.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was born and raised in Vietnam, but I used to live in Singapore for 8 years. I graduated from LASALLE College of the Art with a Bachelor’s degree in 3D Animation back in 2018. During my last few months in college, I belatedly realized that what I’m truly passionate about is character design and not 3D modeling. I still finished my thesis project of course, but on the side, I was working hard trying to build a character design portfolio on my own, and I was lucky enough to get a job as a Concept Artist right after I graduated. It was tough since all I’d been doing up until this point was just reading books, taking some online classes, and studying other artist’s work. I have to thank my colleagues and supervisors for being so patient and kind to me. A lot of what I’ve learned about concept design, as well as work ethic and communication, were thanks to them.
My art also changed a lot during this time because I kept experimenting with different drawing styles, from feature animation to TV series. This helped me gain the skill of quickly adapting to any style the production needed me to, thus giving me many opportunities to work on different types of projects, from animation to games and toys. It was super fun, and it also added a lot of different flavors to my portfolio.
However, I’m still chasing that childhood dream of working at a big animation studio as a character designer. So in 2023, I moved to the States and started pursuing an MA in Visual Development at the Academy of Art University. Hopefully, one day all of my hard work will pay off.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Though I’m currently living in San Francisco, many of my friends live in Los Angeles, and a lot of the animation events like Lightbox Expo were held there as well so I have the excuse to visit the city a few times. I’m such a movie nerd so we definitely need to visit the Hollywood sign and the Paramount gates. Disneyland and Universal Studios are also a must. Nothing better than meeting your favorite characters in real life, enjoying the fun rides and attractions, while also learning about the art and history of cinema. We can also hang out at some museums like the LACMA or the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Me and my friend’s favorite activity is to hang out at the museum or library to draw people and talk about art.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shout out to my friends and family, who’ve always been there to encourage me and support me throughout my art journey. I also want to shout out to two of my professors, Raul Garcia and Rachel McAlister. Without their wisdom and guidance, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today.

Website: https://jamiedraws.wixsite.com/portfolio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eggdrawsthings/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamietran95/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/eggdrawsthings/

Image Credits
N/A