Meet Victor Ha | Visual Development Artist

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

Hi Victor, how do you think about risk?
The greater the risk, the greater the return. I never would have imagined that I’d have a career in the animation industry. As an adolescent, that was not on the list of “things I could be as a grown up” – not even an afterthought. I took the safe route as a typical first generation Asian-American would in the 90’s, I studied business like my parents wanted and after a few years I graduated with an accounting degree. Seems like everything was going according to plan, but the burn out leading up to my post-graduation chapter threw a curve ball in my life and left me to ponder what I really wanted for myself. Up to that point, I never designed or painted regularly, I would do a portrait sketch once a year and drew a comic strip once as a child. I had no business – pun intended, going into art. I took a giant risk to try my hand in the animation world, but I think it’s paid its worth and then some.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I just love to be involved with a story that I believe is worth telling. It can be very tempting as a layout artist in the television world, to fill my layouts with as much as possible to showcase our “storytelling skills,” but If I do my job correctly, the background should support the story and if the audience is thinking about why the busy background elements are standing out in a middle of a scene, it takes away from story that eventually leads us to trouble down the line. It also makes for extra work to our overseas crew.

I think this is why I prefer the beginning stages of pre-production because we can explore as much as we like and then dial back to what fits the budget and timeline.

Being a production artist is a lot of give and take, it can be more give than you as an artist would like but at the end of the day, it’s someone story we are hired to bring to life and sometimes people in, and out of, our industry, or those trying to get in, fail to understand.

Because of the nature of production art, artistic gaps occur and to fulfill those needs, I do personal art on the side. Sometimes fan art, sometimes just a simple sketch or painting. I wish I can say I have a specific art style, but I’m not even sure what my art style is. It evolves from project to project, which sounds like a double-edged sword. On one hand, I can be adaptable which can allow an artist to jump from studio to studio with completely different styles, on the other hand, it makes it harder to build a personal brand since one piece of art may speak with a mass audience, but another may completely bomb, and I have no idea why. The challenges of social media marketing – I guess.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am personally more a foodie than a hiker, so I would probably show my friends and family the typical tourist areas but really explore the food locales. I would start with Philz coffee along the Santa Monica Pier, Tsujita Noodles in Sawtelle, Main Chick Hot Chicken, Paper Rice, and Prince Street Pizza in Old Town Pasadena, Kim Tar Seafood Restaurant, Hue Thai Bakery & Deli, and Pho Filet in the San Gabriel Valley, Original Clyde’s Hot Chicken in Fullerton, Porto’s Bakery and Cafe, In-N-Out, Shake Shack, K-town and Korean BBQ for sure, hot dog and beer at Dodger’s stadium. There’s just too many!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would not be where I am without the love and patience from my family and support from my friends. There’s been plenty of ups and downs along this path, a couple of moments where I even thought about giving up, but having a support group to help keep a positive mental environment is how I did not faulter through the rough times. I was not the generational talent in art school, not even on the radar, but the encouragement from my mentors and lots of hard work proves that even I can find a place in this art world. Finally, I would not be here without the kindness of an old friend who saw my progression and took a chance by referring me to a producer. He got me my first job and I try to take that approach, to pay it forward, hopefully help change a life for the better. Thanks Lotan!

Website: https://www.victorha.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-ha-461b6723/

Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8947069/

Image Credits
Copyright images belong to studios mentioned and are given permission for use, the images do not belong to me. Copyright characters of Illidan and Millhouse Manastorm belong to Blizzard Entertainment.