Nana – student in the program Game Dev
Nana is part of the first graduating class of the Academy. With her strong aspirations and skills, she can make us all start painting… even if we can’t. Surely many of you will rediscover yourself in the story of Nana – from an early age watching cartoons, then became passionate about games and so decided to develop in the creative industries. What are her dreams and plans for the future and how ARC helped her develop personally, you can find out in the interview we took from her!
1. Introduce yourself in a few sentences. Tell us what you are doing at the moment, hobbies and tell us about the ARC program you’re part of. 
Hi, my name is Nguyen Ngan, but everyone calls me Nana. I am 29 years old and I am part of the Game Dev Advanced program of ARC Academy. I’ve always been drawing for as long as I can remember, and it continues to this day. When I was a kid I was inspired by the old classic Cartoon Network animations (Dexter’s Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Courage, Samurai Jack, Tom and Jerry, etc.) and this was the spark that still drives me today. I hope one day to create movies or games that will inspire future generations. Now I work in a company as a 2D animator and I hope to enter the 3D field little by little. I believe in the saying “only the sky is the limit’ and this is why I like to learn and test new things in life. I have different hobbies – I like to go snowboarding with friends during the winter, and the rest of the time I love to travel, read books, play the violin, spin fire, and dance… generally, I’m not often bored ?
2. What is your path of development and when did your interest in video games arise?
My path of development is quite straightforward. I graduated from high school with painting and graphic design, then I continued in Animation Cinema at New Bulgarian University and in the meantime attended various courses, including the “Background Design” course with Dimitar Petrov, the creator of the animated series “The Golden Apple”.
As to my passion for games, I owe to one of my closest friends, who introduced me to Starcraft. The story immediately grabbed me! Since then I have been playing different genres of games and my interest in games continues to grow. I would describe myself more as a PC gamer, but I recently acquired the Nintendo Switch – just to play Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and I plan to get a Playstation in the future.
3. Tell us more about what you focused on and whether the Academy has changed your views.
At the beginning of the Academy, I was unsure of what to focus on. I still define myself as a person who wants to try everything. I am grateful for the communication with my colleagues, the challenges I encountered during the training and the guidance of the teachers, which I consider to be of great help. I can say that I have the desire and I am working on myself in the direction of 3D animation. I really want to inspire the people around me, and if one day I see my creation on TV, it will be a dream come true.
4. What are the biggest challenges while studying in ARC?
One of the biggest challenges is being able to communicate with my colleagues and work in a team. I would describe myself as a more closed person, and to convey my ideas or show what I mean is something I struggle with every day. Being able to handle tasks and explain myself clearly to people can be a little scary to me. I will be proud of myself if I overcome it completely, but I’ve made progress in that too.
Even entering the Academy and balancing lectures and work is a challenge, but it is part of the charm of life.
5. What is your way of learning?
As a person, I would say that I am more practical, but over time I have learned that theory is something that goes with practice. I will give a real example: after a lecture on Concept Art by Hristo Chukov, 3D Animation with Elena Nikolova or 3D Character Design by Zlatina Ganeva and Hristo Savov, where the theory is explained first – how to work in the program or what is the way to approaches to the specific project, then it is easy for me to approach the homework or a project practically. This also applies to other lectures.
Follow Nana on social media to see more of her art!
Instagram – scarye13
Art Station – scarye13
