Some words about who I am, my childhood and what I enjoy doing.

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Copyrighted (c) 2002 by Seung Ho Henrik Holmberg

Seung Ho Henrik Holmberg
Born: Seoul, South Korea. December 24, 1980
Nationality: Swedish
E-mail: henrik.holmberg (a) spray.se
Phone: +46(0)49912026
Cell: +44(0)7919131808

Röskärsvägen 22
383 92 Mönsterås
Sweden
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I was born in Seoul, South Korea 1980. When I was 13 months, I was adopted to Sweden by my lovely parents. I owe them so much, and they raised me to be open, understanding and humble. Drawing has been something important to me through life for as long as I can remember. My grandma used to tell me how I forced her to draw cars and other technical stuff. Every time she tells my about it, she starts smiling and It makes me blush. The town I lived in is called "Mönsterås". A very small and quiet town in southern Sweden. Water and woods have always been a big part of my life as I grew up, and I think it'll always be my biggest source of inspiration. School started at the age of 6, and as far as I can remember it wasn't really that enjoyable. In fact, I found it quite boring. As a lot of kids do, I felt I didn't quite fit in. The other kids were pretty quick on noticing this too. So, to add a little more adventure to my life, I got a Nintendo for christmas at the age of 8, and I can tell you, the games I didn't play back then, they weren't worth playing. I remember spending all of my time playing on that machine, so I guess that's what opened up my interest for art and design. (Anyone remember the old Zelda, Mega Man, Metroid, Bionic Commando etc etc.)    When studying in high school, I used to work all summer to afford a computer. The day I bought myself an Commodore Amiga is an amazing memory, and guess what, I kept on playing games! It was so funny. At this point, I didn't know anything about art other than the cool imagery seen on the screen. But I did try to do my own graphics on the Amiga with Deluxe Paint. Oh, that memory when the save disk crashed still remains. So, I first came across some freeware 3D software when I bought my first PC. It was an amazing machine with 66Mhz and 12 MB of RAM. The 3D software is long forgotten, but my memories last. You couldn't do any modeling in it, but only insert already finished obejcts and free text. This wasn't much too look at, but it was enough for me to be amazed. At the age of 15 I was introduced to 3D Studio. I enjoyed doing very simple geometry and reading all those magazines on how you could create amazing imagery. At that point I didn't realize it's potential, but what the heck, I kept modeling and animating as time passed by. Now it was time for me to leave the mandatory school, and pick subjects to read. I chose a mathematical/physical way, which I soon realized was not suited for me. So before I further developed my interest in the art field, I was an average student with big dreams. My first summer job was at a metal factory creating steel springs. The job was ok, but my dreams were on a different level. Those thoughts remained throughout my "young" days. Working as a painter(walls, houses) while trying to figure out what to do with my life. I had a hard time keeping up with all the maths, so after 2 years of hard work, I decided to leave my childhood town, and move to Stockholm, capital of Sweden. When I was 17, I'd been working with 3D Studio MAX long enough to take this kind of decision, and I felt really motivated to get into the VFX business doing animation. I dreamt of a career at one of the major studios, like ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Rhythm and Hues, Pop studios and Digital Domain at that time. I knew the goal was far away, I might not even get there in a lifetime. In fact, to me it was surprising that one could make a living out of drawing and animating. My years at "Mediagymnasiet" in Stockholm was a disaster. Not in terms of a bad time in life, but rather in terms of my 3D ambition. The computers were crappy, and they simply couldn't do what I expected. So I started studying all aspects of Media, ie journalism, film, web, photography and communication etc. It was a nice period of my life though. I met some friends there, and I hope they won't forget about me. I will certainly not forget them.    As you might tell from my story if you're still here, my dreams started to fade away. Long gone were my dreams of 3D, as I didn't do any work at home either. I got my own flat, nice friends and still in school. At the time I couldn't see myself in another position. After almost 2 years, I got my first internship with small game developer "Paradox Entertainment". I met a couple of great people there, while working on some 3D animation project. After finishing my internship, I got back to school, still thinking about my future. What should I do? A few months later, I got contacted by the biggest game developer in Sweden, UDS, and they offered me a position in 3D/modeling. I was very happy, and thought this was it, the top of the mountain. I had a great time there, met a friend I hope will not forget me, but I left after a short period of time since I realized my future lied somewhere else. I moved back to Stockholm, and started my employment with another small game developer. This was the most terrible decision I'd ever done. I was constantly picked on, everything was my fault. No cheerful "hi and welcome", but a lot of "stupid asshole" and hatred. I was devastated. I thought my life was over. I didn't know what to do as I saw my goals jumped on a ship and sailed away. I left a very secure job for this place, and all I wanted was to get out.    My rescue was a 3D artist I met at Paradox Entertainment. He had started his employment with Amuze, and they needed people. He contacted me, and soon I was employed by them as a 3D animator. This period was wonderful. Ok, a lot of overtime, some cranky bosses, but the "cutscenes department" I was in, we had a great time. Even when times were stressful, bosses in a bad mood and crashed renderings, I remained relaxed. Thinking of the horrible time I had the year befor made me laugh. "Hey, this ain't bad", I used to say to myself and smile. I stayed there for one year, and then I was layed off. So now it was time for me to find another job. Life can be a bitch. I cancelled my apartment in Stockholm, moved back to my parents home over the winter, and spent 4 months on my portfolio, adding and refining. When the portfolio was sent out, new employment opportunities appeared simultaneously, in lots of different fields all over the world, from Hong Kong to Vancouver. I had a hard time choosing, but ultimately I chose to move to London and an opportunity to work with a very cool team at The Mill. I learned a lot, both in terms of the job I do, but more important about how the VFX industry works and to make friends with people "behind the scenes". Once a very wise man said; "In every man's life, you experience a certain event, where time is divided into two parts, before and after". This is my favourite quote, only my "event" is not only one, but many. Life's going to be a bumpy road, with it's highs and lows, this is what amazes me and keeps me inspired. When you've gone through a rough time, you'll think back and appreciate what you have today. I see the beauty of it now; how you can work so hard your entire life, and when you're reaching a crossroad, the choice might not be obvious, but it's all yours to make. My focus in life has changed since the days I was in school, dreaming of animation and painting, but it's a healthy thing as I see it. Life's in constant change, and you'll change with it. Think anyone who stays true to their dreams, at some occasion realise there's so much more to explore. My life is a little different today fom what I had wished for, maybe even expected, but that's again, the beauty af it all. Today I'm working as a freelance conceptual designer and matte painter, and life is not bad at all. Life can be tough on you, but never give up. If I was to give you one single advice it'd be; "Set up your goals, work focused, learn what is important to get you there, and be humble to the people you meet." You never know when they might help you, or vice versa. Don't give up, try hard and aim high, because people WILL take you down. Don't see the hard times as just "hard times", smile, because you know it's a time for something better to come. Stay true to what you believe in. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Maybe we'll meet some day, and if we do, I'll buy you a cup of cappucino. ;) Back to contact and info

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Copyrighted (c) 2002 by Seung Ho Henrik Holmberg

Seung Ho Henrik Holmberg
Born: Seoul, South Korea. December 24 1980
Nationality: Swedish
E-mail: henrik.holmberg (a) spray.se
Phone: +46(0)49912026
Cell: +44(0)7919131808

Röskärsvägen 22
383 92 Mönsterås
Sweden
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