Vin Teng, also known as Sculpster, is a Los Angeles based artist.
Born in Saigon, Vietnam to parents of Chinese descent, Vin was only three months old when his family emigrated to the United States. His family initially stayed in Arizona for about six months before eventually settling in Echo Park, CA.
The youngest of four children, Vin showed an interest in art at a young age. To keep himself entertained, Vin would draw his favorite characters from cartoons. There was a ceramics shop next to his school that produced miniature sculptures that fascinated Vin as a child. One day, the whole class took a fieldtrip to the ceramics shop and all the kids were given a small bag of clay to take home. This would be Vin’s first experience working with clay and he really enjoyed it. However, clay wasn’t readily available and so drawing remained his main artistic outlet growing up.
In 1993, Vin would attend San Diego Comic Con for the first time and would discover the world of garage kits and figure model kits. He would be introduced to polymer clay and take up sculpting as a hobby.
A self taught growing up, Vin would take his first art class while attending Rio Hondo College. He would eventually transfer to CSU Fullerton, enrolling in the Entertainment Arts and Animation program and earn his BFA. During this time, sculpting became more of a focus and started to transition from hobby to possible career path.
Vin’s professional career began with Gentle Giant Studios, first in the mold shop and then as sculptor. During his tenure at Gentle Giant Studios, Vin would be asked to come back to CSUF as an adjunct faculty to teach 317C, Sculpting Life Forms, which he has done continuously since 2005.
During the past two decades, Vin has worked for a diverse number of clients and studios on properties such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, The Incredibles, Mortal Kombat, Aliens, Hellboy, Elvira, Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Game of Thrones among many others.
Born in Saigon, Vietnam to parents of Chinese descent, Vin was only three months old when his family emigrated to the United States. His family initially stayed in Arizona for about six months before eventually settling in Echo Park, CA.
The youngest of four children, Vin showed an interest in art at a young age. To keep himself entertained, Vin would draw his favorite characters from cartoons. There was a ceramics shop next to his school that produced miniature sculptures that fascinated Vin as a child. One day, the whole class took a fieldtrip to the ceramics shop and all the kids were given a small bag of clay to take home. This would be Vin’s first experience working with clay and he really enjoyed it. However, clay wasn’t readily available and so drawing remained his main artistic outlet growing up.
In 1993, Vin would attend San Diego Comic Con for the first time and would discover the world of garage kits and figure model kits. He would be introduced to polymer clay and take up sculpting as a hobby.
A self taught growing up, Vin would take his first art class while attending Rio Hondo College. He would eventually transfer to CSU Fullerton, enrolling in the Entertainment Arts and Animation program and earn his BFA. During this time, sculpting became more of a focus and started to transition from hobby to possible career path.
Vin’s professional career began with Gentle Giant Studios, first in the mold shop and then as sculptor. During his tenure at Gentle Giant Studios, Vin would be asked to come back to CSUF as an adjunct faculty to teach 317C, Sculpting Life Forms, which he has done continuously since 2005.
During the past two decades, Vin has worked for a diverse number of clients and studios on properties such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, The Incredibles, Mortal Kombat, Aliens, Hellboy, Elvira, Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Game of Thrones among many others.
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