The Art War's 2nd place winner Jason Nguyen beat incredible odds to claim his place in the top 3. We're excited to present this interview we had the pleasure of conducting with him to learn more about who he is and how he did it!

Check out the full interview below and have a look at a selection of his gorgeous art.

Miscellaneous facts about Jason:

• Average number of layers when you paint ➖ I typically have around 100 layers in a painting since I like to experiment a lot with my paintings. Recently they have been going up to around 200 haha
• Inspirations ➖ Inspiration from me comes from everywhere really - nature, books, movies, video games, and other artists
• Coffee or tea ➖ Tea! Coffee is a last resort for when I need extra energy to get through the night
• Good habits ➖ Self motivated and constantly try to learn new things
• Bad habits ➖ Not very organized. Bad at saving
• Favorite movies ➖ My favourite movie series is Lord of the Rings! It played a huge role in my love for fantasy
• Favorite games ➖ I love playing JRPG's such as Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem! My favourite game from my childhood is Golden Sun on the Game Boy Advance
• Favorite music while doing art ➖ I really enjoy listening to video game sound tracks when I paint. My favourite one at the moment is the Ni Hon Kuni soundtrack
• Future goals ➖ One of my main goals right now is to just travel and to experience more of the world . I feel like it will provide a great source of inspiration for my artwork
• How do you bounce back from a bad day ➖ When I am having a bad day I like to go on a long walk, maybe an hour or two in order to clear my head and refresh my mindset
• What is a good day ➖ A good day for me is when I am able to get all the work done on my daily schedule without having to stay up extra to finish it

Can you introduce yourself?

Hi my name is Jason Nguyen, I am a freelance illustrator and concept artist based in Toronto Canada.

What got you into 2D art, when did it all start?

I was an avid doodler for as long as I can remember really - my notebooks and duo tangs were always riddled with little drawings throughout my school years, though I never really took it too seriously. When I started high school I didn't draw as often anymore, I mainly focused on school work and video games.

Then one day, during the summer before grade 11, I was waiting for my dad to drive me home but he was taking a really long time. I decided to visit a dollar store that was near by, I ended up buying a sketchbook to draw on to keep myself occupied. I drew for hours, even after my dad drove me home. I stayed up all night and filled out the entire sketchbook. That was the day that I discovered my love for art and became addicted to drawing. I decided to pursue a career in art after that and never looked back ever since!

How did you get to the level you are at today? Did you study in any particular way you would recommend?

I learned everything through tutorials and online resources really. When I first started learning how to draw I watched a ton of videos and drew as often as I could. Every time I would struggle with something I would look up tutorials on how to draw it. I also studied a lot of artist works and tried to replicate their techniques.

I think the most important thing is to draw as often as you can to build up your mileage and to study the fundamentals a lot!

Why did you enter the Art War?

The main reason I entered Art War was because I wanted to really challenge myself. I've never fully developed a character before from start to finish so I felt like this would be a great way to test myself.

To rank this well against hundreds of other contestants is an amazing feat, why do you think you did so well, and what are some things you would do differently?

Honestly I never thought I would make it this far, It is a huge honour to be placed in the top 3!

I didn't really go into this with the intention to win. I wanted to push myself and learn as much as I can during this time frame. I think this mindset allowed me to constantly experiment with my character and illustration and never settle until I thought it was good enough.

For example, I ended up changing the composition and character pose for the illustration 3 times until I found one that I was happy with. I spent around 10+ hours on each different composition, the most being 20 hours before realizing that I didn't like it, so I scrapped it and moved on to the next. I was never upset when this happened since I was always learning something new each time.

If I could do something differently, I would have liked to develop the characters story and world a lot more and have that influence the character design more.

Other than your own hard work, are there any particular things you can think of or people you can point to that helped you get to the level you are at today? Basically, is there anything you're thankful for?

My parents and family played a big role in my success. They supported me throughout this whole way and kept encouraging me to pursue something that made me happy.

I think the art community in general as well played a major role in getting to the level I am at today. A lot of the people I meet and talk to are very open to sharing resources and tips. I would never have been able to get this far without the all the support and feedback I get from my peers.

Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring artists out there who might be looking to get to your level one day? What's your recipe for success?

You are only going to get good at the things you invest time into. The more time you invest in it the better you will get at it.

This was something I had to keep reminding myself in order to motivate me to keep drawing and to improve on things outside of my comfort zone.

You should not expect to be good at something when you haven't invested the time into researching and practicing that subject. So every time you are struggling with something take a step back and do some research, look at tutorials and then continue to practice it.

Other than that just keep working hard and drawing as much as you can, it is very important to get that mileage in, especially when you are just starting out.

What do you think the Art War experience taught you, and would you participate again next year if you could?

Yes, Definitely! I really enjoyed participating in this contest, and getting to know this community a lot more. Everyone was incredibly kind and provided valuable feedback that helped me a lot during this contest.

Any final thoughts? Anything you want to add?

I would really like to thank the judges and everyone involved in running this competition for all the hard work you all put into organizing Art war. You all did an incredible job. Thank you for this awesome experience and opportunity!

Contact:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: @100004835409803

Website: jasonnart.com