Hi there! I'm Cindy Tran, a developing artist currently attending San Jose State University as a digital media art major with an interaction design minor.
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Art was a big part of my life growing up, as I recall drawing and doodling just about anywhere at any time. I drew on my parents’ bathroom wall, my own bedroom wall, and just about any blank space I could find, including the back of my tests and homework assignments, in which I did get in trouble for a couple of times. When I was very young, my parents did a zhua zhou for me and my older sister. For context, zhua zhou (抓週) is an Asian ritual where the parents place various objects before a child in which their choice of object may symbolize certain career choices or personality traits. Based on my parents, I had either picked up a pencil or paintbrush.
Majority of my possessions growing up were hand-me-downs and items from the clearance section, including children’s toys. As a young child, not having the latest toy or doll sometimes felt isolating but I was able to find some comfort in art where a sheet of paper and pencil could take my imagination anywhere. Besides drawing and doodling, when my family got a computer, my sister and I were super excited to play free online games and MMOs like Fantage, Pixie Hollow, and Zynga games from Facebook just to name a few. Interacting with these games brought me so much joy and made me realize how there are so many ways to incorporate art and technology into our lives. With the rise of technology and innovation, I learned that I could do so much more beyond traditional art which urged me to pursue a career that combines art and technology.
As a self-taught artist, I started off having no specialized knowledge or skills. The concept of creating art in an unfamiliar and complex space is daunting yet intriguing to me. Although my current skills and studies vary across a spectrum, I enjoy the process of persisting through trial and errors with creativity and curiosity. Most of my artistic experience originates from the realm of traditional art (i.e watercolor and mixed media). Currently, I enjoy exploring new ways to approach art such as coding, 3D modeling, web designing, and creating digital image compositions. As an emerging artist, I have yet to establish a specialty or art style of my own. Nevertheless, with artistic exploration and experimentation, I aspire to learn and expand my creations beyond mundane and conventional means.
In order for me to take proper strides towards that goal, I had to expand my knowledge and abilities beyond traditional art, and challenge myself to learn and maneuver around certain softwares. The knowledge and skills I have been able to attain from my instructors, allowed me to be in a position where I am able to research, problem-solve, and eventually advance my artistic abilities moving forward. I aspire to pursue a career that merges art and technology with other subjects I am interested in such as education, psychology, and/or business. It was tough being told most of my life that art will not change the world or save lives. With such narrow-minded beliefs, I aim to show the world the beauty, the flaws, and the true realities of our world in the form of art. Art reaches far beyond a flat canvas, holding universal truths, and ignites immersive and interactive experiences that simply cannot be defined in a singular form.
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Art was a big part of my life growing up, as I recall drawing and doodling just about anywhere at any time. I drew on my parents’ bathroom wall, my own bedroom wall, and just about any blank space I could find, including the back of my tests and homework assignments, in which I did get in trouble for a couple of times. When I was very young, my parents did a zhua zhou for me and my older sister. For context, zhua zhou (抓週) is an Asian ritual where the parents place various objects before a child in which their choice of object may symbolize certain career choices or personality traits. Based on my parents, I had either picked up a pencil or paintbrush.
Majority of my possessions growing up were hand-me-downs and items from the clearance section, including children’s toys. As a young child, not having the latest toy or doll sometimes felt isolating but I was able to find some comfort in art where a sheet of paper and pencil could take my imagination anywhere. Besides drawing and doodling, when my family got a computer, my sister and I were super excited to play free online games and MMOs like Fantage, Pixie Hollow, and Zynga games from Facebook just to name a few. Interacting with these games brought me so much joy and made me realize how there are so many ways to incorporate art and technology into our lives. With the rise of technology and innovation, I learned that I could do so much more beyond traditional art which urged me to pursue a career that combines art and technology.
As a self-taught artist, I started off having no specialized knowledge or skills. The concept of creating art in an unfamiliar and complex space is daunting yet intriguing to me. Although my current skills and studies vary across a spectrum, I enjoy the process of persisting through trial and errors with creativity and curiosity. Most of my artistic experience originates from the realm of traditional art (i.e watercolor and mixed media). Currently, I enjoy exploring new ways to approach art such as coding, 3D modeling, web designing, and creating digital image compositions. As an emerging artist, I have yet to establish a specialty or art style of my own. Nevertheless, with artistic exploration and experimentation, I aspire to learn and expand my creations beyond mundane and conventional means.
In order for me to take proper strides towards that goal, I had to expand my knowledge and abilities beyond traditional art, and challenge myself to learn and maneuver around certain softwares. The knowledge and skills I have been able to attain from my instructors, allowed me to be in a position where I am able to research, problem-solve, and eventually advance my artistic abilities moving forward. I aspire to pursue a career that merges art and technology with other subjects I am interested in such as education, psychology, and/or business. It was tough being told most of my life that art will not change the world or save lives. With such narrow-minded beliefs, I aim to show the world the beauty, the flaws, and the true realities of our world in the form of art. Art reaches far beyond a flat canvas, holding universal truths, and ignites immersive and interactive experiences that simply cannot be defined in a singular form.