The intriguing world of Digital Art is as colourful and innovative as it is sometimes confusing. While on the surface some art may look quite simple, even naive, behind all those complex arrangements of pixels are dedicated Digital Artists who need to be constantly updating their skills and knowledge of new software and programs, and who are faced with increasingly endlessly choices in terms of the tools, textures and colours at their disposal. This issue we meet 15 Digital Artists in Macau to learn more about their creative processes and inspirations in this exciting artistic field, and also the challenges they face. And we also delve into the strange realm of NFTs to try to understand exactly what they are all about and why they are such hot topic in the Art world these days.
Uses: Photoshop, Illustrator & Procreate
I’ve been creating Digital Art on and off since university as I was studying animation and motion graphics as my major. I like creating Digital Art because it has the flexibility for me to test various concepts without being restricted to a particular medium. Whenever I paint canvases or murals I usually do a “test run” using digital sketches to try out new concepts, compositions, subjects and colours. It’s the same with creating a Digital Art piece as well, I don’t need to worry about how the watercolour reacts to certain types of paper, or the acrylic paint behaving with different brush types. It eliminates these concerns of different mediums and lets me focus purely on the subject and the story I’m trying to express.
I paint as part of an art duo under the pseudonym AAFK, and our major inspirations are animals, and also humans for the emotional connections we have with them. We paint what we call “Animalia Imaginaria”, where we paint things not as they are, but as how we imagine them if we close our eyes to capture the energy, textures and colours that we see in our imagination. Our style is an abstraction of real-life subjects, mixed with our own reimagining of the subject itself.
We also enjoy playing with different forms and colours to create a contrast between opposite ends of a colour wheel or textures to represent the flow of energies between opposites. We explore what it takes for a hard form to become soft, and a warm colour to become cold as an analogy of how things can find a way to change and coexist.
I think the challenging aspect of creating Digital Art is to create interesting art, because stripping away the technical challenges of traditional paint to paper or paint to canvas, leaves more room to focus on how interesting the story is behind each piece, its design, its mood and so forth. Because audiences are now focused 100% on the art itself, to bring that to the next level can be a huge challenge.
To people hoping to enter this field, keep trying and keep exploring. With Digital Art you have every texture, every colour and every type of composition at your disposal, so don’t limit yourself to what you’re familiar with, but go beyond and don’t be afraid to try wild and crazy things.
I don’t really take a lot of commercial jobs in Macau, but I can see a need for it as these days especially with the pandemic, a lot of things are becoming more and more digitalized. Even gallery art itself seems to be moving towards a more virtual platform, so I think Digital Art is also starting to play a more important role in the art industry.
Uses: C4d & After Effect
Our company, UntitledMacao started to create multimedia artworks in 2015. At that time we created some outdoor dynamic posters, and also designed multimedia art for the 'Present Future Film Festival' and the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau’s events. We wanted to present our work in a dynamic way to attract the public to visual arts and events. And as most of our work is commercial branding, we need to create work in a different way to make it fresh for our clients and the public. I think Digital Art is relatively ‘eye-catching’ for the public, and the dynamic approach enhances the interaction between the work and the people.
We like the fact that Digital Art is a record of the technology and culture of the time in which it was designed, giving us a sense of the art culture of that time. Digital Art can be more direct and quicker to understand what you are trying to say, and it also provides interactions and contact between the work and the people. So we feel that this is one of the advantages of this medium.
Our inspiration often comes from life, including watching films or taking photographs. I think design needs to be relevant to society and our lives. When we create or design, we need to think about our lives, our local culture and so on. I think it’s important to connect design with life because if we can combine them, the work will be more alive and add to the thoughtfulness of the work. Our usual inspirations or themes are mostly cyberpunk or futuristic ones. I also prefer a minimalist feel, so we create each design with a little bit of our life to add a touch of the future. Our team’s style has a minimalist, futuristic feel and we want to convey our design philosophy to the audience in the simplest and quickest way possible.
We think this is a collaborative era and we are always working and communicating with different partners, using various software to bring to life what we imagine. The challenge is that we want each creation to have a different style. We don’t want the same design every time, we want to create something different and interesting every time.
Those who wish to create digitally should be more aware of what is going on in their lives, as well as new media, both domestically and internationally. Knowing more about what is happening in society can stimulate your thinking and imagination, which is important for artistic creation.
Our work is mostly commercial branding and our clients are interested in learning about our Digital Artwork. There is a growing demand for Digital Art because clients know that it is the trend, and they can see the imagination, views and ideas of designers through it, so that they can understand that commercial design can be different. And I think there will be more and more opportunities for this in Macau, as animation is now a necessity in design.
Uses: 3D material rendering software Cinema4d and sculpting software ZBrush
I studied at the Department of Creative Media Design at Taipei Shih Chien University. I first came into contact with digital creation in the year I graduated from senior high school and I found that without the constraints of the real world, it gave me a lot of space and imagination, and so I embarked on a semi-drifting career in Taiwan as a Digital Artist.
Digital Art creation has created an opportunity for me to create a dream and a space that is infinitely extended. For a creator-artist struggling to get by financially, it has helped me to deal with a certain lack of space, material and money resources and to achieve a temporary sensory satisfaction. “Even if I can’t afford a house, I can make a world by myself.”
Inspiration often comes when there is something on my mind, such as all kinds of worries; emotional worries, interpersonal worries, they all seem to come when I’m in pain. When I’m happy, I don’t have anything to say. I’m probably so happy that my head is in the clouds and I can’t think of anything and just laugh.
My style changes a lot, and my new work to be released in the near future will be quite varied, but one thing that remains constant is that I like to hide messages in my drawings. The reason for this is that I believe that there are many things that cannot be said, and to say too much would be vulgar, and to hide too much would end up as wishful thinking. I tend to ask my audience for their interpretations, and they are usually relatively objective, and I like to hear different people’s opinions.
One of the most challenging aspects of creating Digital Art is the sheer volume of information and the rapid change of software tools, which can easily lead to a sense of exhaustion. With the rapid pace of software updates and the many choices available, people who are too lazy to read information, like myself, can miss out on a lot of things, which can lead to a slower pace on the creative path. I think it is more important to be creative than to be technical, but sometimes new technology can be a motivating force for ideas.
In terms of advice on digital creation, first define what kind of creator you want to be, what it means to you to be creating. Find your own rhythm and avoid a competitive mentality, because creation is a purely emotional and self-expressive outlet; it is personal and must also be honest.
Uses: Photoshop, Illustrator & Blender
I started creating Digital Art around eight years ago, since I went to the University of St Joseph to study Design. I like Digital Art because I can make more new forms of art. I can try anything in virtual reality. My themes are based around making some normal things in life turn into cute 3D modelling. I would describe my style as Cute or Cyberpunk. The most challenging thing about creating Digital Art is that you constantly need new creative tools and to recognize all kinds of new trends. Artists in this industry need to constantly improve themselves and learn new skills, so it’s suitable for those who want to continuously improve themselves. There are many business opportunities for Digital Artists in Macau, but also a lot of competition.
Uses: Photoshop, After Effect & Premiere
I have been creating Digital Art since I graduated from my studies in New York about six years ago. I would describe my style as raw, soulful and idiosyncratic, and what inspires me are the people I meet in the underground (subway), the dreams and the playfulness of the game. What I like most about creating Digital Art is the diversity and the ability to “go back” to the previous step and make changes. For example, 3D software is like digital sculpting, where you can recover from mistakes, and you can try out all kinds of tools, such as Render. As long as you still have battery life, you can keep playing, without much cost, but the downside is the exhaustion of your eyes from looking at the screen for a long time. It’s also challenging to always keep up with the development of technology and make progress ourselves. For example, in addition to the usual film screenings, there is now a new section on VR, where creators have to tell their stories in a new way. Although there are many more ways to tell a story, it can also be confusing. For those getting started, while enjoying the convenience of technology, don’t forget about the importance of originality and sensuality. I don’t think there are many commercial opportunities in Macau, but when it comes to business, there are more opportunities to do “design” and more demand for Motion Graphics.
Uses: Nomad, Blender, PProcreate/& Adobe Illustrator
I majored in Graphic and Advertising Design at university, but it was only in the past two years that I started to create digitally. Initially, I felt that Digital Art could bring out some visuals that I could not do normally, and it could also enrich the whole picture.
Through digital creation I can experiment with many different materials, and with composition and lighting I can achieve the image I want to present in many ways. It is also more convenient for me to work with digital media, as I would need more space and tools to work in reality, which I cannot easily find. In my daily life I like to observe human postures and I am also good at translating emotions or atmospheres into images, so I tend to combine these two aspects. My work is usually more colourful and I like to create a surreal space. The most difficult part of Digital Art is when you don’t know what program or method to use to render the desired effect, because each project starts from a different concept, so you have to work on a new method each time. When you are just starting out, I recommend reading more online tutorials and doing some exercises to familiarise yourself with the basic operations. Digital creation gives you the opportunity to experiment until you are satisfied. There are some commercial opportunities for Digital Artists in Macau and often people will see your work once you have started. And as a graphic designer myself, I can bring a different element to a commercial project by working with other Digital Artists or creating my own Digital Art.
Uses: Touchdesigner, Blender, After Effect & Premiere
I have been working in Digital Art since I was a graduate student until now. After graduating from university majoring in Film and Video Post-production, I worked as a multimedia designer for two years and started creating digital content when I was in graduate school. The accumulation of daily life experiences is a source of inspiration for me. I like the constant flow of liquid and changing forms, combining different things to present water (liquid) in different visual forms. I’m currently focusing on flowers and nature related elements. I would describe my style as uncertain, fluid, changeable, interfered with and a fluid that carries emotions. What I like most is the ability to go back to the previous step with [Ctrl +Z]. This is an advantage, as it is easy to modify your work, so you can be bold and keep trying new things. In addition, as technology advances, the threshold for the use of many different technologies and devices has been lowered, which is good for creators, but we also need to keep up to date with relevant information. Being a Digital Artist can be challenging because it’s a bit like we’re running after the technology, learning and updating it all the time. In the beginning the most important thing is to find a creative direction that interests you and to master the basic use of digital tools, and then to keep creating. For commercial projects it’s important to explore markets outside of Macau, because after all, the place is so small and there are relatively few opportunities.
Uses: Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop AfterEffect & C4D.
Artificial intelligence includes Disco Diffusion & WOMBO Dream
I first came into art through the medium of digital photography in 2010, but only started creating Digital Art in 2016. I started photography in high school and then went to UMass Dartmouth to study digital media and photography. I create with freedom and like exploring unconventional visual art expressions. By combining these two professions, I hope to find a style and visual language of my own.
The fundamental layer of the digital world is made with data and pixels, which is cold and absolutely rational. Creators have maximum control over their creations, like the gods of these digital images. I am constantly creating and destroying in the digital world. The creative process is like a disaster, and the work seems to be Noah’s Ark.
I like the freedom of Digital Art and the possibility of continuous updating. With the advancement of digital technology, I also get more creative space and inspiration. Even non-visual technologies will affect the creation of Digital Artists, such as block chain technology.
My creative process is to visualize and landscape my cognition of the world, involving my world view, life view and social themes such as politics, gender, environmental protection, etc. I hope to present this complex social landscape and explore how we live in this era.
Religion is also an object worthy of study for me. First of all, I have Christian beliefs, but at the same time, I can’t help but resonate with Zhuangzi’s thoughts. “It wondered whether the blue of the sky was its real colour, or only the result of distance without end?” It is very resonant in my creation. These Chinese and Western religious cultures appear together in my works.
I would describe my themes as: Contradiction and Integration, Man-made and Natural, Society and Individual, Construction and Destruction.
My Digital Art emphasizes experiments, but unlike scientific experiments, mine are free, emotional and crazy. I am like a hunter who finds its prey and breaks them down, smashes the slices I captured in a corner of the real world and finds new connections from these broken data and tries to understand. In fact, the essence of digital media is very beautiful. Pixels fascinate me. Only in the digital world can I observe things that are like the essence of the world, abstract and beautiful.
The most challenging thing about Digital Art is its freedom. Freedom is a double-edged sword. The huge freedom of Digital Art makes it easy to lose direction in creation, and it is easier to indulge in various novel visual effects. Creators need to have strong creative logic and vision, and establish a clear visual system.
Uses: Procreate for illustrations, comics & simple gifs; After effect & Premiere for animation.
I have been creating Digital Art since university, about eight years. What appeals to me about Digital Art is the variety and the ability to experiment with many different styles and effects. The main inspiration for my work comes from life, and the themes of the compositions are mainly current social issues, all of which revolve around our lives. My style is cute and simple, and the content is mainly realistic, hoping to bring a comfortable and healing feeling to the public. It is quite easy to get started in Digital Art creation compared to traditional forms of art, and as everyone is doing it, it becomes easier to learn, however it’s a challenge to make progress and breakthroughs. As a Digital Artist, apart from the technical side, is it more important to be able to communicate your ideas and the subject of your creation clearly to the audience. And not all artwork works best as Digital Art, so it is important to think about what creative expressions would be more suitable for the digital medium. I don’t feel there are many commercial opportunities for Digital Art in Macau, and what there is mainly comes from large scale events organised by the government or casino-based exhibitions, but these are always limited in number. The animation market in Macau is not yet mature, so it is difficult to attract clients to produce advertisements in the form of animation, which makes it even more difficult to form an animation industry chain, so efforts are still needed to promote local Digital Art here.
Uses: Zbrush, Blender & Photoshop
I got my first computer when I was 13 years old. It was an Olivetti 386, and it pushed me into the world of computers and the Internet. Almost 33 years have passed since then. At first, I was just interested in playing video games; it wasn’t until four years later, when I finally obtained my first internet connection at home, that I became aware of the existence of online Digital Art from their earliest days. The incredible artworks created by artists from all over the world left a profound impression on me and utterly blew my mind.
From 1999 to 2003, I attended Curtin University in Western Australia to earn a degree in Multimedia with a major in Arts. This decision was the result of the slow development of a tiny seed within me. My first experience with 3D software was with 3D Studio MAX R2, which was provided to me by one of the classes I took. With this software, I created a short 3D animation that lasted 10 seconds, in addition to several 2D animation projects using Flash.
Maya and Cinema4D are both programs that I have used in the past, however these days I primarily use Blender. As a Designer, one of my habits is to experiment with many tools until I find one that meets my requirements and allows for a more efficient workflow. This requires me to always learn new and different approaches, which adds to the fun of creating Digital Art work. Zbrush is a tool that anyone can use to conduct digital sculpting, and it is where I usually start any of my 3D character portraits. After that, I use Blender to set up the lighting scenario so that I can render them.
When I am making a piece of Digital Art, one of the aspects that I appreciate the most is the process itself – modeling, establishing a lighting setup, rendering, and compositing. I believe that the ability to quickly experiment with a variety of different forms and lighting setups is one of the most significant advantages that the modern age brings to the process of creating art, and the digital approach provides me that flexibility.
I am a major sci-fi fan. Anything to do with science fiction serves as a source of inspiration for me. I don’t work in a particular style; rather, I work in a variety of styles, but they are all oriented toward the same subject: creatures and characters. When you make creatures, the only thing holding you back is your creativity.
For those interested in becoming a Digital Artist, if art is your exclusive focus, it will be challenging for you to find full-time work as a 3D artist in Macau. In light of this, I would strongly suggest focusing some of your attention, whenever feasible, on commercial projects in addition to continuing to polish your skills as an artist.
Uses: Adobe series of software & TVPaint
I majored in Animation at university and having been experimenting with the digital medium for almost 15 years. I think the most attractive aspect of Digital Art creation is its scope. For example, an image can be imported into animation software to make it move and make an animation, or it can be put into 3D software to create a three-dimensional work, and more recently, it is common to inject programming data and other technological techniques to transform the image into the artist’s desired effect and form of expression. Most of my recent inspirations have come from spending time relaxing in the library. The current project focuses on the animated character of “Ho Siu Chung”, a red-eared turtle without a shell, creating a series of images and animations about him that convey messages such as “accepting imperfection”. I would describe my art as a spontaneous, relaxed and casual style of drawing in a digital medium, where the combination of spontaneous hand-drawn strokes and the orderly digital medium creates a contradictory visual effect.
Digital creation is a very new medium and new technologies and software appear every day. It may take very little time to create a flashy visual effect or a certain visual style, and technology may be new and popular for a while, and there will be a large number of works in the same style and format, but before long, these works will become obsolete again. So I think it’s important not to get lost in a sea of new information and technology, but to keep your work focused on its core creative content and avoid being led by fancy and flashy visuals.
As far as I know, commercial opportunities for digital creation in Macau are more likely to be found in film and television commercials, or in commissioned projects for local and international art events, but they are not yet very popular or valued.
Uses: PHOTOSHOP, PREMIERE for post-production of images, ARENA for live creation & recently TOUCHDESIGNER,
an open-ended interactive software for sound and video
I have been using digital cameras since I was in secondary school (around 2009). I went to university in Taiwan to study Visual Communication Design. After graduating, I returned to Macau and in 2017 I was introduced to being a Video Jockey (VJ). It is a new media projection technique that interacts with sound used in concerts, electronic music parties and new media art exhibitions.
Personally, I like the way Digital Art is created, it has a repetitive and variable quality to it. This is especially true because of the increasing availability of electronic products and technology. Creators can develop works with simple equipment. This saves time compared to traditional creative processes. However, although digital creation is very efficient, it is also too fast. Because of the speed of digital creation, creators can lose the core thinking of their work. Personally, I like the combination of traditional and digital work for creating a new visual vocabulary.
The main inspiration for my work comes from a combination of reflections on the inner world and changes in the real world. My two previous productions at BOK Theatre were both different attempts, with the first one in 2020 involving Samuel, a local experimental musician, who created a performance combining some urban images and footage shot in recent years with the improvised sounds of musicians. In the summer of 2021, we asked local DJ ZARAH FONG to create a new projection of a 360-degree video, combining more inner thoughts with some personal images of everyday life.
If I were to define my own style, I would use the metaphor of abstraction and ethereality. I don’t like too realistic images and things that are too uniform. I like to express myself in fragments and unclear states.
The most challenging thing is learning about the software and technology as it is changing rapidly. While pursuing technology, the core idea of the creator is more important than ever. This is where being a creative person is all the more important to think about how to achieve a balance in your work.
If you are interested in digital creation, I recommend keeping an open mind and an attitude of curiosity to accept anything new. Don’t limit yourself to technology, and find out what works best for you, such as painting, photography, sound or installation. Go to a lot of exhibitions and work with different creators, and you will improve faster.
There are many Digital Artists in Macau, but commercially speaking there is still some way to go. However, there will be many opportunities in the future. The advantage of Macau is that it is still very early days and artists can devote themselves to what they like to do.
Uses: Adobe, Maya, Cinema4D, Arena Resolume & Unreal Engine
I have been creating Digital Art since about 2015. I think Digital Art has a much wider range of expressions than traditional art, and in the case of projection mapping, which is my most common medium, I love the way that light and shadows can be used to give another dimension of meaning and point of view to buildings/people/objects in addition to their original context. Most of my inspiration, to be very old-fashioned, comes from life, how I feel about things in my life, how I get on with my family and friends, what I think about the world and what is happening in our city, or what I read in books and articles. And I like to visit the local churches/ Buddhist temples/ mosques and other religious places whenever I visit a city, as well as the local museums, which have countless artistic wisdom and stories, and often give me great inspiration and some solutions to problems. I don't define my own style, I just express what I see and feel in my head through Digital Art, which of course includes an iterative process of exploration and reflection. In the projection mapping that I create most often, each building has its own story, its own historical significance and identifying symbols, and they are my canvas on which I create light and shadows. I find it challenging to express my ideas while at the same time focusing on their original history and background. I have come across business opportunities in Macau myself, but not many. I think one of the advantages of Digital Art is that it is not limited by geography, and my team and I have been invited to do business in different places outside of Macau.
Uses: Ai, Photoshop, Blender, Procreate & Nomad
It’s only in the last year or two that I have started to experiment with digital creation, and my motivation was a curiosity for something new. I hope to use this as a means to do something creative. I like both traditional and digital forms but I don’t have a foundation in art and I don’t use traditional methods such as brushes, so I chose and form that I could get used to. If I had to say one reason why I like it more, I would say that Digital Art is a very convenient way to create because you can do it at any time with just a phone or a tablet. My inspiration comes mostly from everyday observations or small details that touch me, something light and interesting. I don’t define my own style, but experimenting and exploring without preconceptions when working on each project is what makes it so interesting. Digital Art is a difficult process because each creation comes from a different idea, and to achieve the desired effect requires research into new software or hardware technology each time. But after all this, you will grow a lot. As I am a graphic designer, Digital Art and my work actually complement each other. I prefer to integrate my creative direction into my commercial projects because I feel that design and art can be integrated at this time.
Uses: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Ilustrator & Adobe After Effects
I am currently the creative and design director of TICK.DESIGN, founded in 2015 with my sister Katy. We are mainly involved in illustrations, branding and event identity design, packaging design and so on. I like the fact that there is a lot of room for fantasy in Digital Art creation, unlike traditional art which requires a more realistic direction. People are free to develop different styles. Also, Digital Art is not limited by space or time, as long as you have a mobile tablet/pad at hand, you can create at any time. All in all, the versatility and freedom are what attracts me to Digital Art. I like to draw fantasy scenes when I work freely, and incorporate people and things around me into my work, so that the audience can relate to my work. My works are mostly painted with delicate brush strokes and rich colours, creating a warm and refreshing illustration world that shows the viewer the small blessings of life and a sense of warmth and healing. In recent years, I have been fortunate enough to be involved in several projects with illustrators of global brands such as Swatch, UNIQLO, Wynn and many more. This year, I have also drawn 70 illustrations of different ICH items for the booklet “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macao” published by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao, recreating the lively atmosphere of various festivals and events in the paintings. The booklet is an artistic way to let the public know more about the interesting and unique Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macau. We hope that in the future, more commercial brands or organisations will take note of local artists and create more interesting joint art projects. If you are thinking of being a Digital Artist, start right away. You don’t have to be afraid of not being confident in your work. There is no right or wrong way to create art, just create whenever you want to. Creativity is a great outlet for the mind.