We were lucky to catch up with Vicky Zi Wang recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vicky Zi, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.
I’m a 3D character animator and character designer. A lot of times, when I reach a certain point where I can’t tell if my animation and drawing is good or not, I will leave it there and try to do something else. The good thing about interested in both animation and designing allows me to switch from each other. If I get tired or am meeting a creativity block for animation, I could just simply switch to working on drawing instead and vise versa. Besides this one method, going outside and do hiking, boxing and other exercises helps me to relief my stress and gain some fresh air, which helps a lot with creativity blocks.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a 3D Animator and Character Designer. I’m currently an Animation Intern for Apex Legends, a game that I really love. I have worked on Pokemon and Lego before as well. The most exciting part in my industry is being a part of a project that you might have dreamed of when you were a little child. In my situation, I’ve always loved playing all the Pokemon games and watching all the TV series. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl is my favorite Nintendo game ever. And later on in life, I had the opportunity to be an animator on an official Pokemon project, which is also Pokemon Diamond and Pearl related: Bidoof’s Big Stand, where I was able to animate my favorite Pokemon, Piplup and the shot I did became a meme after. It was a dream coming true for me! And now, I’m working on Apex Legends, which is also my favorite FPS shooting game all time!
The best part of this industry, is you get the chance to work on what you love!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities I think are most impactful during my journey are: 1. Never give up
2. Be determined about my own decisions
3. Be positive and optimistic
My advice would be if you really love what you do, even if it might seem to be impossible, don’t give up, and keep going, people who don’t give up will eventually get or be really close to what they want.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed, I usually stop whatever I’m working on and have in my hands. I step out of my room and just do walks outside, trying to not think about anything and emptying my mind. After that I will go back home and make some good food, eat well and sleep well. The idea is to take the day off and let my mind rest and start fresh the next day. Another way, I like to do is to overwhelm my body instead of my brain. I would go to the gym and do boxing, punch some sandbags and relieve all the stress out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zivickywang.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zvickyanim/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-wang-91081a160/
Image Credits
All Illustration uploaded drawn by me. All 3D Animation shots uploaded animated by me.
