Welcome to my 16th Cosmic Convos! This week’s artist Paola started out studying traditional art, but her style evolved over the years into the beautiful 3D animations she creates now. Her inspiration mainly comes from fashion and video games, which you can see reflected in the artworks she makes. I love how she combines all these elements together, for example the more clearly animated hair of some of her pieces with a more realistic person wearing it. Her style is still evolving and I’m curious to see where this will lead her in the coming years.
Rei: Hi Paola, can you give us a little background about yourself and where you are from?
Paola: Hi! I’m Paola and I’m a 27 y/o artist from Italy where I am currently based. I’ve spent my formative years in London where I have studied Digital Arts and really started to get into 3D. I’m now a full time 3D artist.
Rei: Can you name a few things that would define you as a person?
Paola: I am quite an outgoing person, most of the people who knows me can tell I am friendly. I also love everything that makes life a little bit more beautiful – like fashion and design, but I’m also a bit of a nerd. I’m into chess, video games and everything tech.
Rei: When and how did you start making art and how did it evolve into the 3D animation style you’re creating now?
Paola: Since I was a kid, I was obsessed with drawing, especially characters. I would also compulsively make portraits of my friends, I have always been drawn to people. But I also always loved video games so it’s funny to look at what I do now and see how it fits to what I’ve always loved ha.
At 14 I started studying traditional art in Italy, which gave me the basics of working with colours and proportions. I then moved to London where I got so much inspiration from digital arts exhibitions, and together with discovering net art online really motivated me to start learning 3D.
Since trying Blender for the first time in 2018, I never doubted it was the right tool for me. I absolutely loved 3D from the beginning and never looked back. During these past few years I have experimented a lot artistically and recently started to develop a more coherent style – which is still evolving. What I make now is the blend of all of these above experiences.
Rei: What are specific sources of inspiration for you to create your art?
Paola: Mainly fashion, the internet, and video games. Sometimes I meet people and I want to create characters inspired by them. Sometimes instead it is life stuff or love that inspires my pieces. Sometimes it’s a film, music, everything. I’m pretty open to get inspired by anything really.
Rei: How long do you work on art every day and how exactly does this process work?
Paola: I work everyday but I try to take one or two days off a week. Since I also work on commission, I usually split the day in half between client and personal work. But I don’t have a super rigid routine, I believe the best work comes when inspired. Sometimes I make a piece in two hours very late at night – that’s when I’m most inspired.
Rei: Do you want to convey a certain message with your art pieces?
Paola: I want to convey the vision I have of the world, or least the one I fantasise about.
Rei: Can you tell us how and when you got into NFTs and how do you like this journey so far?
Paola: I got into NFTs early 2021, selling my first piece in April. I haven’t minted a huge amount of pieces so far, but it’s going very well. NFTs have given a huge kick to me and my art, since last year I pushed myself to explore more and it definitely helped to develop my style – as well as bringing me other opportunities, so definitely an enriching journey.
Rei: What are your goals that you want to achieve in the NFT space?
Paola: I would like to really develop into the space and get more people to discover my art. For now NFTs are a very important aspect of my practice, but not the only one. I’m excited to bring my art into its full NFT potential in future – and I don’t exclude dedicating myself only to that at some point.
Rei: Which artists in the NFT space do you look up to the most?
Paola: I think Foundation has an amazing selection of artists, it’s mind blowing. To name some of my favs I would say Nicole Ruggiero, Gabriel Massan, Pvssycrew, Team Rolfes, Sheidlina, Relmartist, Amy Beager, Giant Swan, Heal Bell, Emma Stern, Ghostrystore, Mattia Cuttini, Matt Kane, Harriet Blend, Olga Fedorova, Sasha Katz, Lee Yunsung, Jon Rafman….Omg I can keep going for so long ahaha.
Rei: Where do you think the NFT space will go in the next few years?
Paola: I think it will eventually move more into gaming, metaverse and avatars. There is much potential in it but we’re still early in the game so it’s hard for me to say at this point, but I definitely think NFTs are here to stay and get into a more stable place.
Rei: Could you give me a exclusive sneak peak of something new you are currently working on?
Paola: There you go! Just started building something in Unreal Engine!
Rei: Lastly, where can people find more about you and your art?
Paola: Follow me on Instagram and here’s my linktree!
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Art admirer turned NFT collector.
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