Q+ A: Duckie
We interview Duckie, a Vietnamese visual artist and digital storyteller based out of Australia. Duckie fuses his Vietnamese culture into his digital illustrations by utilizing vibrant colors, stylized images, and traditional themes as a way of bridging older and younger generations together.
Tell us your background and how you ended up as a Visual Storyteller.
Duckie — It is difficult for me to describe my artistic path since I have put a lot of effort into it. As a child, I enjoyed sketching and painting all the time. It took me hours every day to work on A4 paper. To be honest, I drew everywhere, everytime even on the mirror while having a shower. The reason for this was that I wanted to bring everything in my imagination to life since the feeling of accomplishment is so satisfying. I really enjoyed that moment. Months turned into years and I recognized how much I rely on giving everyone my experiences and my ego through art in general. After graduating from high school, I studied graphic design for nearly three years before realizing it wasn't for me because design is far more problem-solving than visual storytelling. Then I decided to study digital drawing and painting over the Internet. When I began researching illustration, I was shocked by the diversity of jobs available. You can work in editorial if you enjoy working in the publishing industry, or you can stick to advertising if you enjoy communicating with many people. Back to the present, I have been a freelance illustrator for about four years, and I have never regretted following my dream or my passion.
Can you walk us through your digital art process?
Duckie — Honestly, artists always have many different arts processes. As if they all breathed and lived in the same atmosphere, I wanted the series to remain consistent. Combining images creates a story. Narration is a mysterious force that emerges spontaneously between separate elements, when one idea sparks a series of ideas that are ultimately resolved by the final image. I have a hard time visualizing something at once before I begin. And it always changes along the way.
How do you balance bridging the Vietnamese traditions with the contemporary culture of today?
Duckie — Most of my commercial works always begin with a mood board, I mean a very detailed one, which includes many different perspectives of other artists when they also look into a same topic as me. To balance Vietnamese traditions with contemporary culture, I must consider individual values, circumstances, and the aspects of culture I wish to bridge and try to shape it in my style.
If I wanna mix and combine anything or any images together, I will always make sure that I do deep research about the different aspect Vietnamese traditions as well as contemporary culture to identify the core values of them. By having the knowledge, I will be confident enough when I create my work. I believe that I will also be able to determine the themes and target audiences.
Are there any artists you admire?
Duckie —There are many masters in the art industry that I really admire. But I think James Jean and J.C. Leyenedecker are my favorite so far. James Jean is a Tawainese-American - visual artist who is famous for many extraordinary colorful artworks. I am Inspired by the way he plays with color combinations, forms, and compositions especially because he is one of the pioneers in storytelling of Asian cultures and traditions in art. While the inspiration from James is about color theory, Leyendecker was good at stylized characters in most of his works. He was one of the preeminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book and advertising illustrations, the trade character known as The Arrow Collar Man, and his numerous covers for The Saturday Evening Post. He is also an iconic artist who set a foundation for illustration of today.
Duckie — Being born and raised in Vietnam I had the privilege of experiencing countless Vietnamese opera performances alongside my grandmother since I was 5 years old, captivated by the remarkable talents of the artists and the splendid costumes they adorned. It was during these formative experiences that I came to appreciate the rich cultural tapestry of Vietnam, which, like other nations, possesses unique and distinct cultural identities. This profound realization have consistently served as a wellspring of inspiration for my creative endeavors, providing abundant material for my artistic works.
To maintain cultural traditions, I think my way is to keep doing what I'm doing right now- creating more projects that honor Vietnamese culture and traditions. My goal is not only to expand my project within the Vietnamese market, but also to expand internationally.
How do you maintain cultural traditions and embrace community?
How do you define art?
Duckie — Art is a multifaceted and expansive concept that transcends traditional notions of drawing, painting, or digital media. It encompasses a diverse range of creative expressions and forms. Art can manifest as sculpture, three-dimensional motion art, performance, literature, music, and so much more. It is a reflection of human creativity, emotion, and imagination, serving as a means of communication and interpretation that goes beyond the limitations of any specific medium or technique. Art, in its essence, is the embodiment of the human capacity to convey thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a myriad of captivating and meaningful ways.
What does the future hold for you as a visual storyteller?
Duckie — My goal is to become an influential visual storyteller . I want to spread the story of Vietnamese culture to international friends. Currently, I have only been working as an illustrator and storyteller for four years. For me, this is just the starting point. I want to be more complete in my expertise and storytelling in my paintings in the near future, thereby being able to inspire more people.
I hope that all my audiences will always follow my journey of making art.
