About TAO

QUICK STATUS:
BIRTH DATE: May 1970
ART TRAINING: California Institutes Of The Arts
(majored in the school of Film&Video: Traditional 2D Animation)
STUDIOS WORKED FOR: Walt Disney Feature Animation, Dreamworks Feature Animation, and Warner Bros. Feature Animation.
DISNEY FILM CREDITS: The Lion King (special edition DVD), Home On The Range, Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Fantasia 2000
DREAMWORKS FILM CREDITS: Sinbad: The Voyage Of The Seven Seas, The Road To El Dorado, The Prince Of Egypt
WARNER BROS. FILM CREDITS: Looney Toons: Back In Action, The Iron Giant, The Quest For Camelot
PARAMOUNT PICTURE FILM CREDITS: The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, The Beautician And The Beast
OTHER FILM CREDITS: Universal Studio's Curious George
CURRENT RESIDENT: Orlando, Florida
EMAILS: prosketch@hotmail.com or taonguyen2000@hotmail.com

MY YOUTH AS AN ARTIST:
I've been drawing since I was about five years old, but never took it seriously until the end of my senior year in high school. (I figured getting into an art college was a lot easier than getting into a four year university.) However, I do remember it's always been a part of my life and can point out some of the highlights from my childhood: 1) There was a time when I got band from the elementary school library because I drew inside the 'whites' of the book covers. 2) In the 1st grade, I drew 'Casper, the friendly ghost' and then all of my classmates were lining up to have me draw one for them as well! 3) In the 5th grade, I drew a picture of Beethovan and my teacher had secretly submitted the drawing in some art contest- and I won! She also drove me up to the state capitol of Oregon to get my award. Along the way I bought a Jim Davis' Garfield book to kill time on the road and that's when I fell in love with comics. I soon started doing my own comic strips inside a small blank book. Looking back at it, I can say I wasn't the greatest artist, but I can see what great passion I had for art. 4) In the sixth grade I won a young author's book award because I did my own illustrations along with the story I wrote. After this, there was a big gap of a no-drawing period until my senior year in high school (I attended Corvallis High School- in Oregon). Suddenly, college and the 'real world' made me think about my life's future. And then it all started coming together after seeing "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in the movie theaters. I thought to myself- I liked drawing. I think I could do this for a living. This inspired me to become a Disney animator. Walt was right, dreams really do come true when you believe.

WHO ARE SOME OF MY DRAWING INSPIRATONS?:
As you can see I'm a really big fan of any form of Art. I'm into everything: from animation, comics, painting, anime, and yes, even toys.
Here are some of my other inspirations:
My favorite animes are: Iczer, Chobits, Totoro, and many other films by Miyazaki.
My favorite painters are: James Christensen, James Colman, Harly Brown, and Alfonso Azpiri.
My favorite animated features are: The Jungle Book, Aladdin, The Iron Giant, and Tim Burton's: The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The people I admire in animation are: Brad Bird, Tim Burton, Frank & Ollie, Glen Kean, James Baxter, and John Pomeroy.
In comics, I admire artists such as: J. Scott Campbell, Joe Madureira, Bruce Timm, Jim Lee, Chris, Bachalo, Fracisco Herrera, and my all time favorite comic artist-- Carlos Meglia!

MY GOALS AND DREAMS:
I am currently starting up my own publishing company called The Amazing Factory and temporary taking a break from animation.

I have created several animated tv projects in the past and now turning them into children's books. One of them is MIGHTY MITE- about a little alien boy adopted by an earth family, who also happens to be the world's smallest superhero. Hopefully this would lead to something great. It's always been my dream to self publish because I love to write and draw. And now I'm getting that chance.

My biggest dream however, is to become successful (not by wealth) with the things I've created and give back for God's glory! I've always admire people who can go out and make something of themselves like Walt Disney or George Lucas. Someday I hope I can create something that would impact the world like Mickey Mouse, Star Wars, or something even bigger! I just don't know what it is yet, but I'm still working on it... God blessed me with a talent and I plan on using it! -TAo!