Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
Hello! My name is Maria Nguyen. I’m a Vietnamese Canadian board artist working in Los Angeles. I went to Sheridan College and worked in Toronto and Vancouver before moving to LA. I have worked at Guru, House of Cool, Bardel, Kickstart, Disney TVA, and Titmouse, and now I’m currently storyboarding at Nickelodeon.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
Growing up I was inspired by Disney animated films, Ghibli movies, and anime. Now I’ve been super inspired by my friends and fellow peers who are super talented. I have also been inspired by my previous and current supervisors and directors who create a positive work environment that supports their artists. When you have talented artists being supported well, you’re going to get their greatest work.
How has the animation industry helped give you representation?
To be honest, as a queer South East Asian woman, when I was growing up there were not many instances where I could see someone who looked like me in animation. There was Mulan, but she was Chinese and not South East Asian; she wasn’t queer, but she did break the mold of female characters. It’s gotten much better within the industry as diverse people in leadership are creating shows about their own lived experiences and cultures, and I hope audiences can see that Asian people are not a monolith and there is so much complexity in all our cultures.
What words of wisdom would you give to people in your community who would like to get into animation?
Be yourself and draw what you like drawing because you’re the only one with your voice and your stories. If you won’t tell your own stories, who will? Being kind is very important because animation is a group effort. At the end of the day, we are making cartoons and no one should ever suffer for it.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
My hope is work on more shows with queer characters. There are so many institutions in the world trying to silence LGBTQA+ voices, struggles, and ideas, and one of the ways we can fight that as artists is to have more media with characters that represent us and our lived experiences. Normalizing who we are to those who don’t want to see us as equals is important to me, and I think the world would be a better place with more tolerance in our expression, in our ideas, and in how we express love in all forms.
My personal ultimate dream project though would be a queer fantasy riddled with drama, romance, and heart.
What does being in the Union mean to you?
I have worked in a lot of non-union studios, and now that I am part of the Union I can definitely see the difference in how those studios that are non-union operate and treat their workers. I am so very thankful for the people before me who paved the way to better work conditions and who continue to fight for our rights. Being part of the union to me means your fellow peers uplifting and supporting each other.
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