About Thach Nguyen
Third place winner of Automotive category
I was born in 1988 in a rural area of Binh Thuan Province (Vietnam). At early age, the dream of being an artist of a boy from a poor family was considered unrealistic.
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At the age of 18, I joined the army, and while still a student at the military vocational college, I still did not give up my passion for drawing. During that time, in order to pay money for tuition at art centers, I had to do many different seasonal jobs such as performing as a mascot, security guard for an old apartment building and so on.
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In 2010, Airbrush was extremely new to Vietnamese people. To collect information about airbrush, I translated English documents on the internet via Google Translate. All the explanations of knowledge about airbrush at that time were quite limited for me. I was determined to turn those vague theories into reality.
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At the age of 21, I tried all the way to survive in Ho Chi Minh City because I wanted to pursue my career. I often fell into a deadlock due to financial difficulties and did not receive encouragement from my family, except for close friends, because airbrush was basically a new concept to the majority.
In 2016, I founded Wolfpack House with 3 students. As a team leader, I was responsible for painting and balancing service costs, finding customers, opening training classes for students…
After nearly 15 years with airbrush, although I was opposed and doubted by many people about my choice, I never wanted to give up and persistently proved that it was the right path.
Winner’s Interview
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, what is your background? When did you start airbrushing and what was the learning process like for you?
My full name is Nguyen Huy Thach, short name as Thach Nguyen. I was born in 1988 from a rural family in Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam. I accidentally learned about airbrush on the internet. At that time, airbrush was extremely new to most Vietnamese people.
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I started airbrushing in 2010, probably more than 14 years now. While I started practicing this kind of art, I also did many other jobs to maintain my passion such as performer as a mascot, security guard in an old apartment building in District 1, repairing phones,... for a period of about 2 years until I am confident enough in my airbrush ability.
2. Can you tell us a bit more about your winning entry piece? How / why did you choose it? How long did it take, and what inspired you?
I am deeply influenced by legend history, culture and stories. The chance to incorporate these elements into airbrush art is probably one of the great motivators that fueled my creativity.
“Warrior Woman” brings a feeling of strength, resilience and determination. With sharp eyes and stern expression, she shows a fighting spirit that does not back down, ready to face any challenge. With the image of surrounding Roman Colosseum, the work evokes a combination of strength and history, highlighting the warrior spirit in a
heroic, classical background. The combination of colors, especially the vibrant red of the cloak and hood, conveys
a feeling of fire, passion, and courage. This image can inspire maintaining faith and resilience in all circumstances, like a warrior who is not afraid of difficulties on the path to conquering her goal and always ready to fight to protect others.
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That's why I made this piece and finished it for 3 weeks.
3. What challenges did you encounter during the creation of this piece? What is your favorite part of the work, and why? What airbrush techniques did you use in this creation?
My favorite part of this work is the female warrior's expression, especially her eyes and face. Sharp and determined eyes create a strong, attractive and mysterious feeling. This is the highlight of the entire work, it not only shows concentration and readiness to face all difficulties, but also creates a strong connection with the viewers.
To create this “Warrior Woman” piece of work, I used some of the following airbrushing techniques:
1. **Gradient creation technique
2. **Layering technique
3. ** Masking technique
4. **Highlighting technique
5. **Detailing technique
6. **Shading technique
These techniques combined create an airbrush work that is not only highly detailed but also vibrant and attractive, clearly expressing the idea I want to achieve.
"Creating art is an endless source of inspiration for me."
4. What does airbrushing mean to you and what drives your passion for airbrushing and creating art? Also, how do you find the ideas for your other works?
I find inspiration in the different genres, themes, characters, stories, messages, and emotions from various forms of media such as books, movies, music, podcasts, games, comics, magazines, and more.
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Airbrush is not only the technique but also an artistic language that I can express my thoughts, feelings, and visions in a subtle and detailed way. This kind of art can help to turn my creative ideas into reality and give me freedom, allowing me to explore over beyond traditional artistic limits.
These are factors that drive my passion for airbrushing and creating art:
1. **The pursuit of perfection and detail**: My passion may come from the desire to develop my skills and ability to create detailed artworks. The process of creating an airbrush work requires meticulousness, patience and hard work which I’ve really highly appreciated.
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2. **Love of art**: Creating art is an endless source of inspiration for me. The ability to turn the ideas in my head into vivid images can be a powerful motivator that pushes me to keep working and developing my skills.
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3. **The feeling of satisfaction from creating**: For an artist, there is nothing more precious than the feeling of satisfaction when completing an artwork. My passion may be fueled by the joy and sense of accomplishment of seeing my work recognized and loved.
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4. **Interaction and feedback from the community**: Positive reception from the art-loving community and customers is my huge motivation. As my works are meaningful and can bring joy and inspiration to others, I’m encouraged to continue pursuing this artistic path.
All of these factors combined can help me continue to be passionate and creative in my work, while affirming my position in the airbrush artist community.
5. What are your goals / targets for airbrushing? What do you want to achieve?
My goal is to develop the Airbrush community in Vietnam so that young people have more opportunities when choosing this as a promising career. I hope Airbrush in Vietnam will develop strongly in the future.
6. Do you specialize or prefer to work on a specific surface?
I can work on many different materials, but the specific surface I like best is on vehicles.
7. How would you describe your style(s) in airbrushing?
My airbrushing style is a combination of realistic and creativity factors, such as:
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1. **Realistic and Highly Detailed**: with the ability to reproduce extremely sharp and realistic details, especially when working on complex surfaces such as motorbikes, cars, and helmet, I often create images with depth, with strong contrast and dramatic lighting effects.
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2. **Variety of themes. I work on many different types of ideas, from celebrity portraits, animals, landscapes, to other abstract and geometric images. This allows me to explore and express diversity in my art.
3 **Shading and Lighting Techniques**: One of the characteristics of my style is the shading and lighting technique. I often uses these techniques to highlight details and create impressive 3D effects on flat surfaces.
8. Any advice to beginners looking to start airbrushing? What would you tell your young self?
Don't miss out the little joys along the journey of practicing airbrush !... Perseverance helps you overcome almost any challenge. When you set your mind at achieving something, you must be ready for everything which requires or brings to you, including patience, frustration, or you even must change your strategy to achieve it,
but then you will realize the omnipotent wonderfulness of steadfastness.
Constantly trying to improve our abilities. I hope you will keep trying!
And most importantly, don't give up on the path you have chosen.
9. Do you have a website or blog? How can people reach you on social media?
People can reach me on popular social media planorms like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube by searching for my name (Thach Nguyen) or my brand name (Wolfpack House)
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