Together with Da Lat, Phu Yen and Kon Tum, peaceful and shimmering images of Hue have been brought to anime, a specific style of Japanese drawings by Nguyen Quang Thinh.
The peaceful Ngo Mon Gate drawn in anime style
Beautiful Vietnam
To 1989-born Nguyen Quang Thinh, perspective drawing in anime style was not his major study. His one year working for a software company helped the young from Nghe An realize his life passion.
Determined to pursue his life passion for anime, a cartoon genre recognized worldwide as one of the typical Japanese cultural features, Quang Thinh decided to quit his job and he has been working with this style of drawing for 9 years now. His passion and effort have been appreciated as he was invited to contribute to many big anime projects, such as Attack on Titan, Dr. Stone, Baki, Jojo, Conan, etc.
Thinh had many drawings of Japanese landscapes. He realized that the landscapes in his own homeland is as beautiful as those in Japan, and they are suitable for the setting in anime.
“The idea to make ‘Beautiful Vietnam’ occurred then. To make it possible, I decided to travel through Vietnam to see with my own eyes and have first-hand experience with those the beautiful scenes,” said Thinh.
The young artist departed from Ho Chi Minh City and spent many days visiting Da Lat, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Quy Nhon, etc., to inspire and bring love into his favorite drawings.
Anime-style landscape drawings with peaceful and realistic colors
Beautiful landscapes such as Lam Vien Square (Da Lat), Nghinh Phong Tower (Phu Yen) and the Wooden Church of Kon Tum, etc., have come to anime drawings.
He said: “The reproduction of Vietnamese and Japanese landscapes in anime-style drawings is not so different among artists, although each will have their own drawing method. In addition to those places, the scenery, contemplation, and unique architectural works in Hue really attracted and held me back in this inspiring trip.”
The shimmering Ngo Mon Gate
According to Quang Thinh, spending much time in Hue experiencing firsthand the scenery of the ancient capital has given him inspiration and imagination of the landscape, as well as created different angles of beauty. “Thanks to this, I have shaped the ideas for a drawing more truthfully and depicted clearly the typical characteristics of the scenery here,” he said.
The image of Ngo Mon Gate - the Meridian or Noon Gate, (Hue Imperial Citadel) was selected for the anime drawing not only because this is a typical large-scale work, but also because the admiration of this work from different angles has helped Quang Thinh shape more ideas to draw the complementary surrounding scenery. This helps Ngo Mon Gate stand out in the drawing, while still ensuring the principles of general layout, golden ratio, and shadowing.
For the nature of his work requires architectural accuracy, elaborate and meticulous in every detail, he gave priority to creating the basic structure for this drawing. After many days, an ancient and stable Ngo Mon Gate with shimmering and magical beauty was created.
The hues in his anime drawings are tranquil with the blue sky and floating white clouds, which reflected his sentiments for Hue. The highlight for those realistic and attractive drawings was rainbow, drawing the viewers’ attraction as if they were admiring part of Hue Ancient Capital in real life.
Talking about future plans, the young artist revealed: “I will continue to complete anime drawings of the country landscape as soon as possible. I also want to make an anime travel clip from anime drawings – a trip around Vietnam’s provinces and cities. Of course, the most typical and unique scenes of each province and city, including Hue, will appear in this product to bring viewers with a different, fresher and more unique perspective.”
Story: Mai Hue. Photos: Quang Thinh