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viii interviewed by Benoit Pagotto
1) Hi VIII, can you tell us about yourself and the work that you make in one or two sentences.
hiii! first of all it’s a pleasure to meet you all and i hope you’re all having a great day ^^ describing myself and my work in a sentence is pretty difficult but if i had to pick one; i’m trying my best.
i don’t think my artwork has reached anywhere near its final form, nor have i been doing art long – so all i can do is try my absolute best to keep on going till one day i reach that level.
2) What made you start to get into illustration?
ooo good question, honestly there were three main reasons. one of the reasons was a game called MapleStory – i grew up playing this game and i thought the art in this game and cosmetics were awesome, definitely inspired me to want to do art.
Naruto is definitely the second reason – it was my first ever anime and i fell in love with how everything looked and the art behind the show.
The third and final reason is a little sad, but i found myself depressed in life and slowly gave up on all my hobbies and school. as a result of me feeling lost in life, i started drawings.
3) What are some of the projects you’re the most proud of ?
honestly, this is a difficult question haha. i think every artist/creative finds it difficult to be proud of their work – personally i hate all my work ; however i’m really proud in my improvement – so in one way every project is a part of a bigger and longer journey.
that being said, there are definitely some pieces that i’m super proud of just because i never expected for these people to believe in my talent and vision.
in late 2019, i had the opportunity to work with megan thee stallion and create her cover for paper magazine – it ended up going viral on twitter and social media and everyone was in love with it – it felt amazing to get such a global response from something i put my heart into.
the following year, Lil Nas X also ended up using my art as his wallpaper ; this was also another piece i was proud of in the moment.
i love fashion, like a lot a lot – earlier this year i designed and painted this Louis Vuitton bag and i’m really happy with how it turned out (i was shaking a lot when i was painting it) . i definitely will find a way to combine my love for fashion with crypto art!
i think every project i’ve done has a little bit of a story behind it – when you try your hardest at something and you can see it slowly starting to work, you can’t help but feel proud.
i’m a constant work in progress myself, the project i’ll always be most proud of is myself – i went from wanting to give up in life to finding something i truly love and want to become the best at.
4) How do you see your style and the possibilities crypto art can inspire you ?Â
constantly evolving is a good way to describe my style, as someone who’s only been drawing for 3 years almost i understand there’s a lot to learn – i am always changing the way i do things to help me learn shortcuts and new secrets 🙂
crypto art is the same in a way, constantly changing and constantly growing. i think crypto art will help me and push me to my limits by trying new and bizarre concepts.
5) Can you describe your creative process?
okay, if i’m honest, i don’t really have one… it’s super weird but i sort of just go with the flow of things – i’ve never really struggled with ideas or such , it’s just the knowledge and skill that i’m lacking in. as beeple says, dont worry about the idea, just sit down and start working and something will get done 🙂
6) What words and phrases would you use to describe your work.
i think my work is my life, i mean all i do is draw pretty much and i would love to become a well know artist one day and be super talented. if i’m pretty much putting my everything into art that i guess you could describe my work as a part of me? they’re just small fragments of time in my life put into a picture.
when you purchase an artwork from someone you’re pretty much buying a piece of their life, don’t you think that’s awesome?
7) How did you first find out about CryptoArt?
i kept annoying my manager that i wanted to do something cool and he introduced me to SuperRare and explained cryptoart to me late 2020. yeah, it’s such a beautiful thing.
8)What excites you about the movement?
i think what interests me about the movement is the collectors – i find it beautiful how people are supporting artists and purchasing artwork for thousands in a digital format – it shows their love for art and innovation.it’s very cool and i would love to speak and find out more about crypto artists and the collectors (i don’t bite hehe).
9) Who are some of your favorite artists on SuperRare?
@fvckrender, @jstn and @bakaarts are the first ones that come to mind, along with @rtfktstudios of course who got me into the space. However i really love seeing everyone’s work on SuperRare, its helped me find some crazy artists these past few months and can’t wait to discover more and get engaged into the community 🙂
Benit0 🦖
Culture and Creators - Merging worlds. co-founder @rtfktstudios