Today CoinBurp interviewed Angela Mantilla, an incredible artist that uses various genre-bending techniques, taking inspiration from a wide array of areas. Along with exceptional 3D art, Angela is an expert photographer, though her art is so good it’s hard to see what’s a photo and what is her original artwork.
Hi Angela, thank you for taking the time to do this interview.
Congratulations on the recent minting of the fantastic “Pray”, bursting with personality, the use of effects really helps show how you really felt in the moment. How did you first get into creating digital art?
I started to use 3D visuals halfway through my undergraduate degree and I was fascinated with the potential this field has to illustrate all kinds of projects, so when I completed my degree I decided to focus on this area. I came to the UK to undertake a Master’s degree in architectural visualisation, I am currently working as a 3D artist in an architectural visualisation studio.
I very recently learned about NFTs through an artist friend and I have been hooked ever since! The community has been very welcoming, supportive, and inspiring. I am very excited to be a part of this new chapter in art history and It has made me go back to doing images/animations for fun! I create NFTs in my free time when I escape the routine, learn, and experiment.
Your work primarily consists of 3D illustrations and photography that makes exceptional use of depth, making your art jump out of the screen!
What are your inspirations? This could be artists (NFT or non-NFTs), TV shows, music, or any random thing on the internet!
I’m very inspired by new places, anywhere I travel. I love walking around getting to know the streets, the buildings, the people, and I take loads of photos, especially of the architecture.
When I’m not travelling then I’m also inspired by movies with atmospheric scenes or interesting architecture (e.g. wes anderson films) and also by other photographers and artists who I follow.
How has your style changed over the years?
When I was little I used to love drawing and painting (oil), then in architecture school I was just drawing technical sheets. Later on I focused on 3D images for work and for my personal projects. Photography on the other hand has always been a part of my life and I have experience with both film and digital.
At the moment I’m actually taking all these styles and experimenting with them again !
I am drawing again, I’m doing 3D images and I’m taking photographs again. I think I don’t like settling on a specific style for now, I love jumping between them all, it’s more fun this way!
What is your work process from idea to finish?
(for a 3D image) When I’m thinking about a new idea the first thing I do is a quick pencil sketch, just to get it out of my head and see if it makes sense and if it’s possible to do. Then I go on to the computer to start modelling the scene, then set up the lighting, then the materials and all these with a lot of experimenting and testing, sometimes the idea changes and takes another direction and that’s ok! Then when i’m happy with the scene, i render it and then move on to photoshop for final tweaks.
Cryptocurrencies and NFT have been dominating the world news for the past year thanks to the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, Cryptopunks, and of course, the famous Beeple $69M NFT purchase. What are your honest thoughts on the cryptocurrency and NFT space right now?
I have just been in this space for over a month now, I wish I got in sooner!. NFTs have been amazing for all kinds of artists, the way I see it it’s like a more levelled playing field and a great step into empowering artists to be independent, to create and do what they love and get the recognition and remuneration they deserve!
I have met all kinds of artists in the scene: photographers, traditional oil painters, 3D artists, concept artists, illustrators, VR/AR artists, generative artists, the list goes on! And we are all equal! To me that’s amazing! Also, I have met many people who have been able to quit their day job and are now doing NFTs for a living! That’s the dream.
Cryptocurrencies I also didn’t know much about until i started as a crypto artist, but I have learned a lot about ETH recently and for now it seems like a great investment, I have always just used saving accounts but the interest rate is almost non existent, with cryptocurrencies you definitely see a much higher rise.
What are your other passions besides creating art?
Travelling is definitely my favourite, this past year it’s been impossible so I have enjoyed just walking around different neighborhoods, finding new places, new views to enjoy. I also have always enjoyed cooking, specially creating new dishes and experimenting with what I have available.
This is something CoinBurp asks new starters in the company as part of their Q&A interviews that get posted on the blog, but the answers are always great! What TV show or movie are you ashamed to admit you love?
Rom coms! Me and my sister love them! We only watch them when we are together. We know they are all the same and extremely predictable but for some reason we keep watching all of them! We have seen all the ones available on Netflix and have seen some more than once!
Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. The CoinBurp team can’t wait to see you grow as an artist!
Post some links to where people can find your artwork and social media accounts. Also, feel free to shout out anything else you wish.
https://twitter.com/mantilla_angy
https://www.instagram.com/angelamantillalievano/
https://tryshowtime.com/ammantilla2156
http://MantillArt.redbubble.com
Important Information
Cryptocurrencies are generally not regulated and investors do not have access to recourse or compensation schemes such as, for example, in the UK, the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Investing in cryptocurrencies can be high risk and investors should carefully evaluate their appetite for risk and their understanding of trading cryptocurrencies prior to entering into a transaction.
