Interview With Ross Tran
Location: Lightbox Expo 2022
Interview Date: 10/15/2022
Anime Herald: What is your origin story as an artist?
Ross Tran: My origin story? Dang…
I’m a kid that always loved drawing. I loved creating worlds in my grandma’s backyard. For as long as I remember my grandma’s house was my home of choice to just be safe and feel like I could be creative, and have happiness. I’m an only child, so in the backyard I create monsters, I go through dungeons, and I travel with my imaginary friends. That’s how I got started.
My dad is a bit of a strict dad. Growing up with a traditional Asian dad, his idea of success was more of good grades, science, math, dentistry. He forbade me from drawing, so I could not draw for a really long time. I would have to hide it. I would draw on my homework, my tests, and my desk at school. My teachers always knew which desk was mine. But if my dad caught me, I’d be in big trouble.
Fast forward, my parents got divorced. Just naturally. My dad moved out of the house. Suddenly I had room to be myself again and explore my passion for art. It was just me and my mom. I got to slowly open the door to art again. I found out you could make art for a living. You could be a professional illustrator. I found a whole world of art and comics that I had not known about. Since then I’ve been going at it, trying to make it as an artist.
I went to art school, and then I felt really lost in my life. I had this whole vision for my life: I was going to graduate from art school, work at a studio for the rest of my life, and then I was going to die. I felt really scared that I didn’t get to experience life, at all. And so, with my last semester left at school, I quit to pursue acting, because I wanted to challenge myself and do something different and have life experience.
I moved to Hollywood, went to acting school, and auditioned for commercials. I wanted to challenge myself. I thought I would be really good at it. Also, I felt really lost. You know when you feel lost you go do a bunch of different things, randomly? At this crossroads, I had one semester left of school and I didn’t want to finish it. I knew I loved to draw and I loved to make people laugh, but there are no role models for that. So, I started a YouTube channel. I just started one and hopefully, it went well. It gave me an opportunity and a platform to make people laugh and make people draw.
So yeah, I started my own channel, and the rest is history. I’ve come out with an art book, Nima. We are trying to make it into an anime series and that brings us to the present day.
Anime Herald: How old were you when you went to art school?
Ross Tran: I started at seventeen.
Anime Herald: That’s pretty young. Had you graduated high school?
Ross Tran: I graduated high school at seventeen. Then I went to art school and turned eighteen a few months later.
Anime Herald: Where did you go to acting school?
Ross Tran: Funny story. I had no idea where to go, so I Googled “George Clooney acting school.” “Brad Pitt acting school.” I had no idea where I was going, so I tried to follow in their footsteps.
Anime Herald: So you ended up going wherever they went.
Ross Tran: Yeah.
Anime Herald: What kind of CEO is Milo?
Ross Tran: Oh Mile, he’s the best CEO. (He Looks around) Actually, he’s the worst CEO. He’s not here right now. Just kidding. He gives great bonuses.
Anime Herald: When did you first get the idea for Nima?
Ross Tran: I started her in school. We were tasked with recreating 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I… didn’t want to do that. I wanted to put it through my own lens. I wanted to make this project very me. So, I twisted it and turned it on its head, where Captain Nemo is now Nima. The ship is now a floating boat. I tried to make it very “me,” so I took the general concept and just mashed it through my brain.
Anime Herald: Did you get a good grade?
Ross Tran: I got an A! The teacher loved Nima!
Anime Herald: Awesome!
Ross Tran: He was the first person who ever saw Nima. It was on the wall, as a critique, and he walked by “This is a good character.”
I was like, “Fuck yeah!”
Anime Herald: Apart from Nima, what else are you working on?
Ross Tran: I’m trying to work on being a human being. Over the past seven years, I’ve gotten pretty popular, but I never learned how to take care of myself. My overall health, mind, body, spirit. I was going 110% into my career. The grind, the hustle. I forgot how to listen to my intuition, my voice. It got kind of cloudy. So right now I’m just trying to work on being a human again. Work on my inner self, and then I can come back and be a better artist.
Anime Herald: Speaking of artists, who are some of the artists who inspired you?
Ross Tran: Growing up, my mentor was Jaime Jones. He’s huge in the con art sphere. Craig Mullins. My friend Eliza. She’s incredible. I love (J. C.) Leyendecker, (John Singer) Sargent, Alphonse Mucha. I love classic and new. Right now I’m really into anime.
Anime Herald: What are you watching these days?
Ross Tran: I didn’t get to finish a lot of them. Don’t laugh at me. I’m rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura. I’m watching Fullmetal Alchemist for the fifth time.
Anime Herald: You know what you like. You’re going back to the classics. What has your Anime NYC experience been like?
Ross Tran: It’s been good. Anime Expo has always been a great con for me. This feels like a mini Anime Expo on the East Coast. I live in California and I’ve always wanted to come out here. People asked me, “Are you coming to NY, are you coming to the East Coast?” I’m like, “I don’t know, maybe.”
This show is a great home for people who like anime. I feel very at home here.
Anime Herald: What’s your process for creating your art? When you have an idea, how do you want to start working on it?
Ross Tran: I get inspired by visual things, so sometimes my pieces start with a moment in a photograph. Maybe the tree looks really beautiful in the photograph, and I would make that the star of the piece. In passing I’d say “Oh that looks beautiful, I’ll take a picture of it” and it would remind me of a concept. I think as I go about my day and life, I’ll see pictures, sometimes on the internet, that inspire me, and then I’ll try to make a piece from it.
Anime Herald: You are now RossDraws™ at this point. You’re basically a business.
Ross Tran: Oh my gosh!
Anime Herald: What are your goals for RossDraws the business?
Ross Tran: That’s a really tricky question. I actually never thought it would be a business. I started it as an intimate project, just for myself. Sometimes, it’s a little blurry between Ross Tran and RossDraws. My goals for RossDraws, I want it to be a reflection of my journey as Ross Tran.
You’ve seen RossDraws transform people into characters. Ross with his mom. Ross with Milo. There’s an ark to the chapters of my journey. I want to still keep going on that journey. I might make a style switch. I might transform into something completely different. I want RossDraws to be an embodiment of “It’s okay to change. It’s okay to transform. You are human. In the darkest moment, you can look within and find your light. You can transform into your final form.” I never want it to stay stagnant, but always evolving into whatever my passions are, like a musical artist.
Anime Herald: Ah, like a David Bowie type. This is going to be a little darker. Were you a fan of Kim Jong-Gi?
Ross Tran: Yeah. I was really shocked at his sudden passing. I think I woke up and I was… I couldn’t process how I was feeling. I think it’s a reminder of how life is precious. He was so young and had all of his life ahead of him. The way I think about it, he’s already inspired millions and millions of people in this lifetime on Earth. Now he’s done his job here and now he can transcend and do more work elsewhere, and mark more of an impact elsewhere.
Anime Herald: That is a beautiful way of looking at it.
Final question: How do you want to inspire people? What do you want the next generation of artists to take from your work?
Ross Tran: I feel like like for the last ten-to-fifteen years, there’s been an emphasis on hustle culture. Maybe the last five to ten years. Grind, grind, grind. They don’t listen to their bodies. It’s all output.
What I want people to learn from my journey, my art, and my videos, is that at the end of the day, you’re human. You need to take care of your soul and your spirit. That will allow you to make your most authentic art.
Anime Herald: Thank you so much for granting us this interview.
Ross Tran: Thank you so much, I appreciate it.
Ross Tran can be found on his website RossDraws, as well as on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Patreon.
Edited By: Samantha Ferreira
