Meet Phung Tran | Associate VFX Artist @ ArenaNet

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

Hi Phung, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
One of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make was whether or not to go back to school. During the time that covid hit, I was already struggling to find a creative job and ending up laid off because of Covid. It was then that I was speaking with the school counselor at Gnomon and had to make the decision on whether or not I wanted to make the full commitment to taking out student loans again and applying for Gnomon. I had just paid off my student loans from before and didnt want to go through that again, and didnt have the money to afford school, so this was definitely a turning point in my life where this one decision would change everything. I was either to find a more secure, but dead end job elsewhere and remain debt free, or risk everything and go back to school.
Needless to say, I made the decision to go back to school and it’s absolutely paid off. I now work as an Associate VFX artist at ArenaNet, working on Guild Wars 2, a franchise that I’ve been playing for the better part of my life. I couldn’t ask for a better turnaround in my life and career. Despite having to deal with student loans again, I believe it was worth it because at the end of the day, and after decades of dead-end jobs, I’m finally doing something that I thoroughly enjoy for a living.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art specialty revolves around Real-time VFX for games. I really fell in love with this during my last few terms at Gnonon and made the switch to game VFX from live action VFX. I was able to make my breakthrough into the games industry through a lot of no life hard work, and sacrifice at school. It was actually pretty challenging to get back into school mode after being out of school for so long. This was especially true for a school as demanding as Gnomon. I didn’t overcome these challenges on me own, but with the help of all my schoolmates and instructors. I asked lots of questions, sought advice, and learned whatever I could from other like-minded artists. If the world were to know anything about my brand or story is that anyone can achieve their goals and dreams if they put their minds to it. Hard work, commitment and dedication to your craft, whatever it may be, will pay off in the end. It maybe a long windy journey with ups and downs like mine, or it can be more straightforward. Whichever path your life takes them, don’t give up and you can achieve your dreams too.

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?
Places I would definitely go in LA to hangout would be Korea Town, The Grove, San Gabriel Valley for food, Universal Studios or Disneyland. Depending on the season, you could go up to Big Bear for snow sports and back down to the beach to surf all in one day.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
All the people I’ve met along the way at Gnomon School of VFX, Games, & Animation. Too many to mention.

Website: https://www.ptranartworks.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phung-tran0126/

Other: https://www.artstation.com/ptranworks

Image Credits
Content Source: NCSoft, ArenaNet, Guild Wars 2
Singularity Image: Personal work.