Young Vietnamese artist Pham Quang Phuc is one of the illustrators who brought ‘The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac,' the first official companion to the Harry Potter books, to life.

The Vietnamese edition of the book, which was described as a visual encyclopedia of the wizarding world, was released concurrently with translations in over 30 other languages early last month, making Harry Potter fans -- especially those in Vietnam -- greatly excited.

Phuc is the only Vietnamese artist to take part in this large-scale book project. 

He was in charge of illustrating the book cover and 16 double-page spreads.

Born into a disadvantaged family, Phuc could not afford ready-made toys when he was little as they were expensive for him. Hence, the little boy learned how to create handmade toys of various shapes using paper and medicine boxes.

After graduating from college with a graphic design degree, he became a graphic designer and an event organizer, but his passion for drawing remained undimmed.

One day, he read some picture books beautifully illustrated by foreign artists, including Black Dog by Levi Pinfold.

“I found Black Dog by Levi Pinfold really impressive. He later became my idol that inspired me to pursue illustrative work,” Phuc recalled.

“His artwork helped me figure out that it would be amazing to be a children’s book illustrator."

Then, Phuc tried to educate himself to become a book illustrator and began working as an illustration coordinator at Kim Dong Publishing House in Hanoi in 2012, where he met artist and editor Khoa Le who mentored Phuc and helped him fulfill his potential and determine his drawing style.

His picture book entitled Bữa tiệc của Vua Mèo (The Party of Cats’ King) earned him the fourth prize at a story-writing and illustrating contest held in Denmark in 2015.

Three years later, he proudly took home the ASEAN Children’s Book Illustrator Best in Fiction award at the 2018 ASEAN Illustration Awards.

One day, Phuc received an email inviting him to join a secret book project from publisher Bloomsbury.

After signing a confidential contract, he was informed that the secret project was producing illustrations for ‘The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac.'

This news delighted him a lot as he was a fan of the Harry Potter series as a child, Phuc recalled.

To prepare for the project, he reread and rewatched all the Harry Potter books and movies that he used to love when he was little.

He was asked to draw a spread named ‘Dragons’ in the companion as a test under this project.

He spent around four months getting the spread adjusted for more than 10 times before becoming the only Vietnamese illustrator to take part in this large-scale Harry Potter book project.

For a young illustrator, it is like a dream come true.

His happiness was multiplied as he was able to illustrate the same book as his idol Levi Pinfold.

The artist shared that he was proud to gain achievements after a decade of trying to keep his passion for illustration alive.

Being part of the project is a significant milestone and a source of motivation on his career path, he said.

Some senior artists in the field said that Phuc’s drawing style impressed them a lot in terms of the characters and their stories. He really loves drawing dragons, monsters, magic, and fantasy worlds.

“Phuc impressed me with his professional attitude at work," said Khoa Le, artist and editor at Kim Dong Publishing House.

“Despite difficulties at times, he always tries to find a way out."

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