We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chaz Woo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chaz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My family moved here from Korea when I was 4 years old during the Vietnam War. Since my dad was stationed overseas, my mother and siblings were basically on our own to figure out the language and culture of the United States. Given the United States was in their third war involving an Asian adversary, proved to have its issues. No doubt these barriers isolated us, so not having friends meant my siblings and I had to entertain each other. This often meant a lot of pretending, or playing our version of hide & seek, exploring the Willamette River, etc., and one other thing that would soon occupy much of my time, drawing.

This fire was lit when my mom took me to the local elementary school for enrollment. While being shown around, at the back of the class were drawings posted on the wall. I was captivated to learn these were done by other students. My mom got me a Big Chief notebook, and I immediately began filling it with my, erm… “art”. It was terrible at first, and I was so frustrated that my drawings didn’t look as good as those in my class, but in a matter of weeks some other teachers were taking notice of my improvements. One of which brought me up to his third-grade art class to draw with the older children. My Korean features were enough to instigate some bullying, so the teacher set my desk up in the hall outside the class. He’d come out occasionally and sit with me as I’d explain my latest work. I wish I could remember his name, since he was very encouraging and didn’t allow anything to distract me from my art. This time to really focus on my art proved instrumental in me being identified as the class, even school, artist up through high school and even my service in the US Naval Submarine Force.

But drawing was only a part of the artistic influences of my early childhood. Later that same school year my mom brought home a 13-inch black & white television. My brothers and sisters had little interest in it, so I’d watch Godzilla, Star Trek reruns, and anything else with a laugh track to occupy me when I wasn’t drawing.
The trifecta was completed when I discovered comic books. The bronze age comic publications like Conan the Barbarian, Silver Surfer, Captain America, Batman, The Flash, and the X-Men to name a few secured my desire to tell stories with art.

I’ve been an avid enthusiast ever since and continue to seek out like-hearted storytellers with the hope our skills and interests are of mutual benefit.

Chaz, 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’m a late bloomer. As I previously mentioned, my dad wasn’t around, so our family was always having to figure out things on our own. This resulted in me going down the wrong path multiple times during and after high school. I worked various jobs to the point where a creative job became a pipe dream, but nothing else tugs at me like art, design, and storytelling. As a last-ditch effort, I enrolled in a Denver art college.

After a couple of months, I realized the art school wasn’t going to help much, so I took a portfolio to a local game development company in nearby Boulder, Colorado. They were moving into a new building and as luck would have it, a door was propped open for the movers… Once inside I was soon approached by a guy who asked if there was something he could help me with. I asked where the Art Director was, and he happily walked me over to him. Keep in mind I’m expecting someone who looked like Jim Shooter or even Stan Winston. However, who I found behind the desk was so much better. This dude was branded in tattoos and piercings, and not only had a love for death metal, but was also in a band. He asked me for my portfolio, and I was soon employed working on a game that was slated to be in the first string of games for a new game console called the X-Box.

I wanted to be an animator, but those slots were filled, so I took a position doing particles. At that period of game dev there wasn’t an official title for the position, so I was referred to as “the spells guy”. A few years later that job got me into EA in Los Angeles. The studio was recently DreamWorks Interactive, but Electronic Arts bought the studio (people, building, assets, etc.) and they wanted to try out a dedicated VFX guy on their new game called Medal of Honor. Woot, I had an official title, “VFX Animator”. After Medal of Honor, I’d work on the Goldeneye franchise and eventually end up at Shiny Entertainment working on games of The Matrix and His Dark Materials franchises. I was also able to do some concepts for the latter which was great. I’ve also done FX for the Call of Duty franchise.
Much of the commercial arts, especially in the entertainment industries, is about navigating a maze of concerns while problem solving. It’s akin to falling out of the sky while building an airplane. In short,

I don’t know if there’s anything that sets me apart as an artist or even a designer —which I find a more relatable title. No doubt artistry is important, but ultimately, it’s only frosting if the design isn’t correct. I’ve learned the hard way it doesn’t matter how much lipstick you put on a pig or how much glitter is put on a turd. If the design isn’t right, you still have a pig or a turd. I’m just a guy that thrives in figuring that out. I don’t always succeed, but it’s never for not trying.

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

When I was 17, my plan was to move to Los Angeles in the summer after graduating. The plan was to go with three of my closest friends, but when they bailed, I chickened out and didn’t go either. Instead, I rotted on my mom’s couch for a year before enlisting in the Navy just to do something with my life. I had talent and enthusiasm but was missing a critical resource for my character. It’s heartbreaking that I’m not alone when it comes to this missing resource.
At the risk of sounding holistic, the most notable would have been trusting myself. I don’t think there’s a more critical resource than having confidence in oneself. Confidence can easily be confused for cockiness and even arrogance, but true confidence is neither of those things. Those other things are compensation mechanisms for a lack of confidence. With confidence comes a willingness to solve issues, put forth risky ideas, improve productivity, etc… I would’ve saved myself decades if I had this earlier.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Talent is often viewed as some kind of divine anointment, but it isn’t. At its core, talent is a repeatable skill, and skills are developed by dedicated practice. This often takes years, so please don’t devalue creativity because it appears effortless. If someone’s work impresses you, they deserve your respect as well as your admiration for what they create.

Image Credits

All artwork was created by me using digital painting software. No AI used.