Tell us a little about your background. What were the stages of development that brought you to where you are creatively?
I've had an interest in art ever since I was young. When I was around 4 or 5, my mom would bring me to work with her, sit me in a vacant cubicle and equip me with markers and papers to keep my attention. I started out by drawing stick figure versions of superman or the Transformers and as I got older I got into sketching ninja turtles and cartoons like that. But at the time, I never really thought that I wanted to be an artist. It wasn't until I got to my first couple of years of college that I was influenced by some friends to pursue art. I finally decided on illustration as a major, instead of design, because I valued the hand skills that the graphic design program couldn't teach me.
How did you get into designing motion graphics and what does the work entail? Does your background as a dancer contribute to your sense of putting art into motion?
While going through the illustration program at SJSU, I met a transfer student from Arizona named Fred Vieux. He's about 10 years older than me, and somehow we hit it off and began working on traditional animation tests like sack drops and brick drops, and whatnot.
At the time, I was working for a silk-screening company doing graphic design, and Fred would kick me down some knowledge on efficient ways to use Photoshop and illustrator. He had maybe 10 years experience in design before he had moved out to San Jose so every tidbit he gave me I soaked up real quick and applied it whenever I worked.
Our relationship built, and after I graduated I got a design job at a local design company called MeezyArt. While I was there, I developed a good relationship with the owner Gamel, and Fred and I soon began working after hours at MeezyArt on our own side project. This is when Fred began teaching me After Effects and we both had the goal of making a demo reel. So after about four months we completed our first project and got juiced to keep doing more.
As far as what the work entails, motion graphics is a combination of anything from illustration, 2d animation, 3d animation, design, video and compositing. It can be really basic or it can be extremely complex. What we strive to do is take each of our projects to the next level if possible.
My background as a b-boy and dancer definitely contributes to the motion graphics work we do. All the skills I've learned form b-boying somehow, in some form or another, translated into motion. For instance, in b-boying you must have foundation such as basic footwork, rhythm, style, etc. The same applies to motion graphics in that the foundation is the knowledge of applications such as Photoshop. If I didn't know Photoshop, there's no way I could design anything and have it ready to be animated in After Effects. So basically, you gotta pass one level to get to the next.
But aside from all the technical know-how, concepts such as style, rhythm and originality can be translated into motion also. If I'm working on a project, I'll definitely want it to have some sort of flavor; definitely want it to have good timing and anticipation; and I'm gonna want it to look like something no one's done before.
As you are quite aware being the creator of the Brothaman/ Stablished design firm, State-side artists are forced to be business people as well as creatives. What are your thoughts on the Business/ Art schism and is it easy for you to move between frames of thought?
To clarify, Brothaman/Stablished is Fred Vieux and Ratha Nou. Since we've begun, and because we're just a two man team, we're forced to have our minds in the creative as well as business. But because we're such a small team, it gets difficult at times to concentrate on the business when we're swamped with production work. Sometimes, we won't be hustling as hard to get new business because we've got so much to do like designing, revising, meeting with clients, waiting for rendering, or even trying to have a normal life. But at the end of the day, you feel proud to be able to have done all of that.
When it comes to being able to alter our focuses from business to creative, its all starting to seem like the combining of the two together is an art in itself. Being out there, hitting the pavement, networking with the goal of bringing in a new job is sorta fun, kinda like a game. And to see it conceptualized and executed to completion is kind of like a game also. It keeps the work enjoyable if you see it this way. It all starts to be one thing.
But when it comes down to it, business is business and creative is creative. It's smarter business to have people doing a specific task rather than all the tasks. So as a two man team, we struggle to be efficient as a business, and may struggle at times with the creative if we become too concerned with business obstacles. In the end, we're forced to transition between the two to get both done.
Whether its djing, b-boying, creating visual art, you have a history of building with other artists and blending your talents into a greater whole. What do you get out of your collaborations both creatively and personally?
Collaborating makes creating more fun. Back in high school, when I first started learning hip hop choreography and performing in a crew called Boogie Unit, it was just a fun thing to do with your friends. You get to be more effective in developing a presence. Some of these friends moved on to be great DJ's who were putting out album. They gave me the chance to flex my skills for their CD covers and it felt good to build with the people you grew up with.
I've always loved the fact that I was raised with a group of people that were supportive of what I did, it made it easier when realizing that I was becoming an artist. After high school, I got in a dance crew called Mindtricks and we performed all over California. This collaborative effort made me feel like I was a part of something original. I went on to form a b-boy crew called Rewind Status and entered battles, which lead to shaping a mentality that I could do whatever I wanted so long as I was focused and trained hard.
I guess I don't concentrate too much on what I get out of it. I just do it cuz I like to. I like the fact that I'm challenging myself physically, mentally and creatively. And by doing this, it makes me feel like I'm not a part of a mass hypnotized system.
With such a wide range of experiences and interests, can you identify the people, philosophies or events that have been your primary influences?
Back when I was a kid, it was all about Superman, He-Man and the Ninja Turtles. By the time I was in high-school, it was dance crews like Jedi Clan and Style Elements. In college, it was my own crew, Mindtricks, and Rewind Status. I also like artists they taught in school like John Singer Saergent, and conceptual artists like Ryan Church, Erik Tiemens, Feng Shu, & Craig Mullins. But I've always had an appreciation for hip hop art like graffiti. I love the work of Daim, Mear One, and the Heavyweights. I'm into designers like Kofie, Fatoe, and Syndrome. I really love Syndrome's work; they're the ones that inspired me to get into motion graphics. I'm influenced by the discipline of Bruce Lee and the “I don't give a f--- “attitude of Tupac. I would like to say I'm a combination of all these influences. |
