VXCL
Residing in Manchester, 3D digital artist vxcl creates an animated happy world of cute characters, taking inspiration mainly from Japanese video games such as Pokemon and Animal Crossing.
Real name Tom; who works under the alias vxcl, believes his attraction to digital art has developed from his childhood fondness for video games, cartoons and other child-like cheerful figures/characters.
Resembling a mixture of Wallace and Gromit-looking clay animation, from the shinny life-like stance of the designs alongside clear, sleek digital artistry, vxcl touches on a unique direction to art. As you get sucked into his world of adorable, you meet characters similar to Mario's browser, Pikachu and various others.
This year vxcl has already taken part in an exhibit in Boston and is keen to showcase more, he says "I love all things digital and try to blend the digital world into real life with my art." In a more in-depth interview with the artist below, we discuss his journey, inspirations and his future plans.
Tell me a bit about yourself? Where are you from, and your journey to being the digital artist you are today?
I'm a self-taught artist who works primarily in 3D. I've always enjoyed video games and animations and grew up with many originating from Japan like Pokemon, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Crayon-Shin Chan, Dragon Ball and Doraemon to name a few. I also grew up using the internet a lot from an early age, particularly at an age where user-made content was becoming more and more popular through sites like Newgrounds, YouTube and Niconico, which allowed me to view independent art from all over the world probably the first notable time. These all gave me a huge interest in art which I tried pursuing for a long time but didn't really get "good" at it until I learnt how to use 3D to make art pieces. I always wish I got into 3D art earlier, I spent a lot of time thinking I was bad at art when really I just didn't work well in the mediums I was using.
Can you explain your design process?
My design process is pretty messy actually, I don't really sketch pieces or think them out a lot before I make them in 3D. Throughout the day I get ideas for pieces and then really quickly scribble stuff on the notes on my phone, they look awful and I have to fill in the blanks but I just keep them there so I remember the general idea later. All the actual work is done in Blender 3D, with 2D assets being done in programs like Aseprite, Illustrator and Photoshop. A lot of the time though I don't even plan stuff out in my notes and it just all comes together as I go along with making it. Sometimes I scribble stuff down right before I fall asleep and when I wake up I have barely any idea what it was supposed to be, I end up looking at it differently than I did before and I think that makes for more interesting pieces.
You say you are inspired by clay artists like Yuka Morii as well as early 2000's games and internet stuff, was this something you were interested in since childhood?
Definitely. I've been playing video games and absorbing media like that through the internet since I was like 3, playing games like Runescape, MapleStory, any flash game you can think of and watching a ton of stuff on sites like Newgrounds, Niconico and YouTube. It probably shaped my brain weirdly. I've always enjoyed media like that, but I don't think I appreciated it at all artistically until I was like 15. It's a similar thing with the clay art by artists such as Yuka Morii, I loved looking at it on Pokemon cards and on game box arts when I was a kid, and when I rediscovered it later, I was reminded how charming and beautiful it is and appreciated the art and the effort that was put into it.
Even though your art is digital, it is very similar to clay models - have you ever thought of doing physical versions?
I've tried to work physically way before I got into 3D, with drawings and even little sculptures, but even after practising and trying for a long time it never felt right or looked as good as I wanted. Then I started learning Blender and I felt extremely satisfied with what I was creating. A great thing with 3D models though is that they can exist on my computer, but I can also print them out with a machine so they can exist in real life too for me to paint and enjoy. I really wish I had the hands for stuff like pottery and clay though, I have tremendous respect for those who do.
When you envision the people who like your art, what do you imagine?
I have a hard time envisioning my audience, they're all really nice when they've reached out which motivates me a lot. I make the stuff I make because I like it, so if people enjoy it, personality-wise, they might be like me in some way. It's comforting to know you're not alone in your interests.
Are there favourite characters you make, if so who?
I've got a good few characters I've come up with for pieces, My favourite of my own characters is a little pink guy I call 'water carrier', a little green alien, a big yellow giant and a little blue dragon. I can never think of good names for guys, I just like making them and hearing what others call them or interperate them as.
What do you want to achieve with your art?
I want people to look at my pieces and smile, whether that be from invoking emotions of nostalgia, or they simply find my art charming or cute. I get messages telling me how a piece I posted really brightened their day, and that feeling I'd get from reading that is what i'd like to replicate in my art, to have someone else enjoy something you also enjoy.
And where do you see it developing within 5 years' time?
I'd hope in 5 years’ time id've continued to improve artistically, more authentically clay looking, better colours, better composition, nicer shapes. I'd also hope that after improving, Id've done some kind of editorial illustration work, or maybe even worked on a video game of my own. I'd like to collaborate with a lot more artists in different mediums like musicians, fashion designers and potters. I have a lot of ideas that would be hard to see to fruition on my own.
interview IZABEL ROSE
More to read
