Vicki Nguyen article
Vicky Nguyen is an undergraduate student majoring in Journalism. Previously dabbling in game development, she realized this was not her passion and switched over to Media & Communication, while pursuing comics on the side. Her interests mainly have to do with the grey side of humanity, especially in regards to the court cases and how they function, as well as Norse mythology.
Vicki Nguyen at Squishface Studio.
A person of many interests, Vicky Nguyen has always had an interest in comics, but it was not until she finished her degree in Game Design, where she discovered her dissatisfaction with the Game Industry, did she resume doing it.
Vicky Nguyen’s interest in comics began by doing a fan-comic of the Mass Effect series when she was younger, exploring an alternative ending to the original saga. Eventually Nguyen realized that comics was a medium that she could explore further. Considering herself a visual thinker, as well as a storyteller, she thought that comics would be an interesting medium to explore, and thus she continued to delve deeper into it.
At first Nguyen worked fully digital doing her fan-comic of Mass Effect 3, but soon discovered that although the advancements of technology made comic-making more effective, for her workflow she sensed it was hindering her artistic abilities. She found out that her digital techniques are seen as a crutch, this led her to change her work style to traditional. She still uses digital technology for the sketching process, which she then prints out, before inking her comic page traditionally. Nguyen finds that with drawing traditionally, she is able to fix most of her bad drawing habits, and thus is able to improve more as an artist.
Nguyen’s art is characterized by soft-transient flows of watercolour, bordered by soft sepia lines on watercolour paper. Thus, her drawings have a historic undertone to them almost as if they are from an archive from the past.
An example of what Nguyen is working on from the Goldfire series.
When asked about the projects she is working on, Nguyen answers that she is working on the 1st book of the Goldfire Quartet series, Moonlight City. Goldfire is a crime, urban-fantasy series that explores the relationship between the Gods from Greek mythology and humans, as well as the darker sides of humanity that are involved. Magic is used in the setting of the story, while the narrative explores the theme of authority and how one opposes such authority.
In addition to such themes, Nguyen aims to challenge standard conventions that are prevalent in fantasy and fiction today. Conventions that she will challenge include: a female protagonist who is a family woman, and a more diverse cast (including LGBTQ characters, and characters of different ethnicities).
In addition to the Goldfire Quartet series, Nguyen aims to complete another graphic novel project known as Duality of Ideas. A historical-based series that she has currently put on-hold, which is about the mentor-student relationship between the founder of MIT and a student, due to unsettling recent historical discovery.
This article was written by Sabine Kwan, an intern at Squishface Studio. To see more of Vicki’s work, feel free to view more of her work on her website.















