Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sang Lam. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sang, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

At the age of 15, I decided to participate in an exchange student program to study in the United States. Which brought forward my interest in pursuing art as a career. There are a lot more creative job opportunities here than in Vietnam, where I grew up. I had packed up my things into two luggages and stayed with an American family for a school year. It was nerve-racking flying to a new country by yourself, not knowing anyone there. But I loved the experience and did another year of high school in the US. I then went to Ringling College of Art and Design to pursue an art career. My career path would have been very different if I had not taken part in the exchange program.

Sang, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got started as a background artist in animation. Painting environments for 2D animation and designing background sets for 3D animation. While in between projects, I started my own shop and exhibited at conventions.

Bringing with me my experience as a background painter, most of my prints are cozy slice-of-life landscapes. Since character-focused art is more commonly found at conventions, my work stood out and was very well received. It has broad appeal to the crowd. You don’t need to be a part of a fandom to appreciate a good sunset painting.

Selling at conventions gave me the financial freedom to pick and choose which animation projects I wanted to be a part of. Working in animation gave me the credentials to be accepted into bigger and more competitive conventions.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Finding your art community online like Facebook and Discord is extremely helpful. When I started doing conventions, the Artist Alley Network International group on Facebook was a great resource. It was a great place to ask questions about specific conventions, suggestions on how to handle different issues that come up on the job, and more. I was also invited to a small Discord of convention artists where I could share data and ask questions. Lightbox Expo Discord is a great one for the animation industry artists. Drawtober also started a very active Discord.

I think finding your own community can give you great insights and feedback to push yourself forward.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the things I love about exhibiting at a convention is seeing everyone’s live reaction to my work. It is extremely rewarding to hear positive feedback in real life compared to a comment left on social media. Once in a while, there will be some strange comments in person but they make for great stories.

I found a lot of my art friends and communities through conventions as well. I love how friendly the convention artist community can be.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://sanglam.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanglamart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sang-lam/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanglamart
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SangLamArt