Of class K27 of Graphic Design at DTU, four students chose to create 3D animated films as their graduation projects. All four films drew significant attention.
DTU Graphic Design students at their Graduation project defense - Photo: DTU
High level of completion
Mr Nguyen Le Hoang, Art Director at DTU’s film studio Silver Swallows Studio (SSS), supervises Graphic Design students with their projects. He won the monthly first prize of Fox’s Got Talent 2020, a competition honoring impressive works in computer graphics (CG) by 3D-visualization professionals.
Mr Le Hoang also mentored a student who won the Innovative Technology Application award at the 2024 national science conference on Applied Arts Education in the Context of Cultural Industry Development.
“The graduation projects by DTU students this year demonstrate a high level of completion,” Mr Le Hoang, with extensive experience in 3D animation, affirms. “What stands out is that the students didn’t chase complex visual effects, but instead focused on storytelling, emotions, and relatable values such as everyday life, culture, family, childhood, and love for one’s hometown and country.
“It’s this authenticity that makes the projects resonate with the audience. The students developed visual storytelling by observing life with sensitivity. Then they chose a simple yet profound way of telling their tale. I also emphasize practicing perspective, composition, lighting, and drawing from personal experiences to give each project its own distinct signature. Sincerity and responsibility in storytelling are the foundation if you want to go far.”
Lecturer Nguy?n Lê Hoàng (far left) at DTU Silver Swallows Studio (SSS) Film Studio - Photo: DTU
The four films each tell a unique story with distinct visual styles, clearly demonstrating artistic thinking, visual storytelling skills, and emotional expression - core elements of contemporary animation and motion graphics.
An Impressive animated film series
Inspired by the poem “Lu?m” by poet T? H?u, M? Linh focuses on portraying the story of an innocent, pure-hearted boy who carries a great mission on his young shoulders. Through this narrative, the film powerfully highlights the stark contrast between childhood innocence and the brutality of war.
“Communication Line” by Nguy?n Th? M? Linh - Photo: DTU
Student Nguyen Thi My Linh explains, “The story in Mach Lien Lac (Communication Line) is about more than a mail route between battlefronts. It’s also a thread of emotions connecting past and present, and linking a generation’s quiet sacrifices to the peace we enjoy today.
“Through the language of animation and photography, I hope audiences can perceive Luom not as a distant historical symbol, but as a real boy - someone from the innocence and purity of childhood, but linked with the silent sacrifices of wartime.”
Choosing 3D animation as a contemporary language to recreate and bring back to life cultural heritage that is gradually fading from modern life, Cam Nhung’s Hoi Tich Boi quickly gained popularity on social media.
“H?i tích b?i” draws inspiration from “Ði?m huong,” a performance within the Xây ch?u Ð?i b?i ritual of the Southern Vietnamese K? Yên Festival. During the production process, C?m Nhung not only utilized software learned at the university - such as Substance Painter and Adobe Premiere - but also integrated self-taught skills developed using Blender and Procreate, resulting in a work that is both professional and emotionally rich.
“H?i tích b?i” by Nguy?n Th? C?m Nhung - Photo: DTU
For Trà My, “Ði?u bé nh?” (The Little thing) is not merely a graduation project but also a milestone marking the beginning of her personal creative journey.
“The Little thing” by Hoàng Th? Trà My - Photo: DTU
“What I enjoyed most in this project were the modeling and rigging for the characters,” student Tra My explains. “To create appeal at first sight, I drew inspiration from the lovely and chubby features of the baby known as ‘square face’ Pam.
“I used Blender techniques to shape the forms and give the character soft facial features and flexible expressions, to evoke feelings of love and affection.”
Quy Ngoc’s outstanding project earned the title of valedictorian of the K27 Graphic Design graduation projects. Banh Xe Ky Uc (Wheel of Memories) tells the story of a student exhausted by the pressure of studies and work who returns to childhood memories to heal and to rediscover the reason he began university.
Quy Ngoc dedicated the film to his mother, and it is a heartfelt personal reflection on his own path to maturity. Introverted and sensitive, Quy Ngoc pursues a style of gentle creativity and prioritizes storytelling and emotion over technical showmanship.
“Wheel of Memories” by Nguy?n Quý Ng?c - Photo: DTU
“Mr Nguyen Le Hoang supported all four of us from the beginning of our projects to the end,” Quy Ngoc affirms. “From shaping ideas and reviewing scripts and storyboards to refining shapes, composition, lighting, and narrative rhythm.
“Studying Graphic Design at DTU gives us many advantages: hands-on practice in a professional environment like Silver Swallows Studio, a curriculum closely aligned with real-world practice, and early exposure to 2D and 3D technologies, animation, and visual effects.”
(Media Center)