Interview with Wonjoon Lee

Hello, my name is Lee Won-jun, and I am a graduate of the VFX Program.

When I first started, I did not even know what Maya was. During the first week of classes, simply learning the interface felt overwhelming. Before I knew it, however, graduation had arrived. While creating my personal portfolio, I originally planned to focus on animation, which was what I wanted to do from the beginning. However, my ambitions grew, and I started planning a much larger-scale project. In the end, I returned to creating an animation piece, but despite changing directions midway through production, I gained a tremendous amount of valuable experience throughout the process.

When you plan something too ambitious, there is a high chance that many aspects of the project will need to be revised along the way. I believe it is far more efficient to establish a clear focus and build your project around that goal. I would like to sincerely thank all of the instructors who guided my portfolio in the right direction and even sacrificed their personal time to help us improve our work. I also want to thank the workshop, a place filled with unforgettable memories. It feels especially meaningful to me because it was where I reignited the spark for a second chapter in my life.

Working alone can be exhausting, and there are many moments when overcoming obstacles feels nearly impossible. However, when you work alongside friends who are going through the same challenges, you can exchange knowledge, help each other solve problems, and provide encouragement whenever someone feels discouraged. The workshop became a place of comfort and belonging—a place I still want to revisit even after graduating.

More than anything, this is a reflection of how valuable the people I worked with have become to me. During my time as a mentor, I received tremendous guidance from the instructors and an incredible amount of support from my fellow artists. I will always be grateful for that. I met many wonderful friends, and thanks to them, I never felt alone throughout the production process.

To those who have not yet finished their portfolios, do not give up. If you hold on and continue to the very end, I am sure you will achieve great results. To everyone who loves VFX, keep pushing forward and never stop creating.

Good luck to all of you!