Denny Chou
Production Professional
Animation, Mobile Games, Entrepreneur, and Production Branch Councilor of the Creators Society
Did you know who or what you wanted to be when you were 10? How about 15? 25? Heck, sometimes I feel like I will always be trying to figure out who I am or what I want. However, for some lucky few, their life’s work has always been clear. This is the case for the subject of this Member Spotlight article. Denny Chou knew that he was destined to be in the creative field at the age of 5.
“When I was 5, I saw my older brother drawing Super Saiyan Goku from Dragon Ball Z for fun. I just wanted to copy him. Before I knew it, I picked up a lifelong passion,” he says. “As someone who spent a part of his childhood in Taiwan, I basically grew up with massive varieties of Anime and Manga with a hint of Disney. There has never been any doubt that I’m going to work in the creative field. And Animation just seemed like a natural trajectory.”
Well, it sounds like he had everything figured out and locked up, right? Of course, as we artists know, things don’t always go according to plan. Which is what Denny Chou discovered on the path to realize the destiny that he saw so vividly for himself at 5 years old.
Mr. Chou was always an artist, but decided on animation in his late teens. He did well by landing a spot to study animation at one of the top schools in the country for the field. However, things at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) weren’t always easy.
“I basically made the decision to become an animator when I was thinking about college. I picked CalArts because I heard that’s the best animation school. Miraculously, I got in. AND I STRUGGLED!!! Animation is filmmaking and storytelling. Draftsmanship is a tool, not a scale for success by any means. Crazy enough, I couldn’t figure out my place in animation throughout CalArts. I had the skill set and the knowledge, but I was more confused coming out than going in. I found myself halfway through all aspects of animation. Nothing that I wasn’t interested in, but that’s just as good as nothing I was interested in. CalArts, now that I look back, WAS and still IS the best place to nurture the best animation professions…only if you know what you want. If I had chosen a path, I would have had the best peers to grow with, but In my case, I was pretty lost.”
After schooling Denny found that he still had a lot to learn. He found himself learning at a very interesting time for the industry. “The animation industry was transitioning out of pencils and papers when I got out of CalArts. I taught myself to draw digitally in 4 months and got a job! Luckily, all my earlier jobs never asked for super high fidelity in artwork, so I was able to just learn on the job. Working on pitch decks, animating for shorts, drawing storyboards, making pilot animated episodes - you name it. I was ridiculously lucky to have found those jobs compared to some of my classmates who graduated at the same time. Life was moving fast, and I was having so much fun learning.”
Apart from being an animator Denny also has a great deal of experience in concept art and game design. I wanted to know how his work in those worlds influenced his style or approach to animation. “At that point in my life,” said Chou, “I was pretty much a jack of all trades, master of none. Even these days, I can still mimic styles really well. I did not find my identity; not during that time,” he muses. “To answer the question - yes, my experience in everything I did had an influence on each other. I guess one good thing that came out of that period was that whether it’s attracting executives, catering to gameplay engagement, designing user experience, serving a business model, or going all out on personal projects, they have equipped me with multiple perspectives on approaching projects these days. And that is probably something I would be proud to share with young artists. There are so many layers to a production. When you get stuck in a one-dimensional thought process, more often than not, it’s going to put you at a disadvantage. Understanding those will definitely put you in a better position to succeed.”
As his career advanced, Denny explored the production side of projects. Being the flexible, team-player that he is, Denny brought his passion and love for the creative process to his many leadership positions, “I’ve always liked building stuff when growing up. One of my all-time favorite toys was Lego. I found out that in a way, doing artwork was like putting things together for me; colors, brush strokes, shapes, and composition…etc. And production work just made sense to me. Basketball and Choir are probably two of my favorite things outside of animation. In basketball, I believe in teamwork. I was never the guy who needed to take the last shot. I enjoy being one of the pillars to the team when we achieve victory together. And when I sing in choir, it’s not my voice, but our voices at all times. Being someone who elevates others to achieve a bigger goal. That is what I live by now. I just love it.”
I always wonder if having an artistic mind helps one to find themselves in a producing role? For Denny, he says that it helps him “tremendously.” “The best people in production I’ve seen are fans of the people. Yes, we are organized and able to put things in order for the artists to thrive on their work. But oftentimes, people misunderstand the spirit that goes behind what we do. Animation Production works to assist the team, empower the artists, and most importantly, put people in a place to succeed. I believe everyone exists to connect the past to the future. We as human beings are responsible to pass on everything good that was given to us. It started with the creators before us, sending their passion through their work and onto us, allowing us to flourish into the people that we are today. And eventually, we will take that passion, combining it with our own, and pass it onto the people behind us. The cycle goes on.”
“When I was gradually taking on this idea, it had prompted me to leave the mobile industry. I went on a personal entrepreneurial journey to dig deeper into this ideology of achieving greatness through empowering others. Eventually, I ended up in my current studio, Halon Entertainment. I was super happy to have found a studio with similar values!” Chou continues, “Nowadays, I’m super appreciative of what they have given to me and am extremely grateful for what I have received. While I’m still receiving, I believe it’s also my duty to connect others to the passion that was shared before us.”
Since this is Asian American & Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, I wanted to take the opportunity to ask Mr. Chou if his upbringing has influenced his art and creativity. He said, “While I spent the majority of my life in the United States, my heritage comes from Chinese history. A lot of good values I hold dearly were passed down from generations before me. And oftentimes, it shows inside my work whether it’s art or production work. I was always taught to have grit from my family -- to always work hard and think critically. In my adulthood, I was able to recognize more from my upbringing about the wisdom I have inherited from my culture. And that is the balance in life.”
Apart from him personally, I wanted to get his thoughts on how he and the animation community could help open the world to Asian culture and points of view. Denny said, “In the world we live in right now, the boundaries among cultures are starting to be challenged and blurred. I see it as not what influence I bring to the table, but rather what hybrid we, as creatives from different backgrounds, can create together. It’s funny that like all things in life, everything is both harmonious and contradictory. While we creatives strive to be different, our work has the ability to bring people together. I find that extremely fascinating. Truth be told, hilariously, I am a die-hard Chinese History fan. When it comes to Chinese stories, I almost feel like the authenticity is sacred and cannot be touched. At the same time, I don’t think that way for anything else. And I believe the clash and mixture of different things are the keys to creativity. Talk about the irony!”
A history buff he may be, but Denny Chou has many wise lessons that future generations should take heed: “Never stop believing in yourself. At the same time, work harder than anything else to be your better self.” He humbly advises, “I wouldn’t recommend people to follow in my footsteps because it was one hell of a struggle. If there’s one thing I would tell the young artists, it is that to never stop pursuing. Even when you don’t have a clear goal on where you’re going, just keep going. Talk to people and connect yourself to the world and never stop going forward. You’ll eventually find yourself in a good place.”
Denny Chou is truly a fascinating, generous and talented man. His main goal of being an artist may have always been steadfast, but his path to arrive there had a few bumps along the way. After overcoming setbacks, constantly learning to better himself, and working harder than anyone else in the animation world, I think (and I’m sure a certain five-year-old would agree) that Mr. Denny Chou has found himself in a good place.
