Decoding Daily Deviations: The Tree of Life

Welcome back to Decoding DDs which examines the exceptional artworks from artists whose creations have been featured as a Daily Deviation. As outlined in the original series of interviews, our main purpose is to go behind the scenes of what went into the production of these paintings or drawings, talking to artists about their inspiration and the narrative ideas of each piece, along with the technical aspects that delve into their individual styles and skillset.  Essentially, we endeavour for these interviews to offer readers as much comprehensive insight as possible into the overall genesis and development of each DD, from the general message or mood the artist wants to convey, to how they are specifically able to make that a reality in a way that captures the viewer's interest and fascination. It's my firm belief that Daily Deviations should not just be eye candy; we can all benefit from spending a little more time with these pieces, digesting their remarkable qualities, but also learning from their creators and how they approach their craft. To this end, one critical aspect of Decoding DDs is as an informal tutorial, offering other artists actionable tips and guidance for improving their own portfolios.

We hope you enjoy today's interview with the Brazilian artist @Enayol about her painting "The Tree of life".

Before we get into the details of your Daily Deviation, can you share some general insight into yourself, your background, and your development as an artist up to this current time?

I really like design! That's why I have an academic background in interior design and graphic design; these two areas have always helped me a lot in my career as an artist, as I've always tried to make the most of the information from each area to bring to my artistic side.

Honestly, I think it took me a long time to start my career as a professional artist, I think mainly out of fear, because here in Brazil the artistic area was little explored, which made me insecure, as it seemed uncertain. Nowadays I see that this is not true, it is a very large market and it is growing more and more in my homeland.

2022 was my first year working 100% as a freelance artist, and to advance my career further I continue to study hard. My next goal is to start further studies on anatomy and character design.

Your illustration was part of a final project from an art course that you undertook last year. What was it like participating in this course and how do you think it benefitted your overall artistic growth? 

The course was wonderful! I studied with Kevin Gnutzmans, who worked on several projects with Riot, such as the Arcane event (in the game) and currently the Guardians event. I already knew his work since 2018 and studying with him was really cool!

I've always liked sets, and having a vision of how the setting is important within the entertainment industry was very interesting and helped me a lot to direct my career. Besides this, during the course I learned a lot about the production process, planning a project, painting, and 3D concepts.

What I think helped me the most during the course was getting and seeing the feedback in the classroom. This vision of another person helping you during the learning process is very important; it is something that helps a lot to 'mature' as an artist, because in addition to being a different view of your work -- pointing out your mistakes and successes -- you learn to have a more efficient self-analysis; nowadays I can recognize what bothers me in some illustration and I can understand what I should study to improve.

The Tree of Life features grand architecture with a focal point enriched by the beautiful application of light and colour. Take us inside your creative process of working on the painting and the artistic elements you prioritized to achieve your vision.

I loved doing this project! At first I wanted to mix an ancient temple with some magical technology (something like Disney's Atlantis movie), but during the process I wasn't able to make the technology 'coherent' with the architecture, and during a feedback session my professor suggested a tree in the central area, so with that my mind went wild!

I really like the concepts of semiotics, so in the first drafts I had already researched several details in this sense, but when my professor suggested the tree, everything connected even more.

I will briefly explain some concepts that I applied in the illustration:

In this illustration I wanted to represent a place of peace and tranquility, so I did some research on symbols and concepts that exist in real life and that refer to this theme. First I thought of the Jewish Kabbalah, which is a symbol of spirituality and contact with God, so the building has 10 floors; the building has a circular shape because this is a perfect and infinite shape; the reddish vegetation around the architecture was inspired by red lichen, which is a type of lichen that only grows in places with very clean air; and the carvings in the architecture is the labyrinth of amiens, this symbol exists inside Catholic cathedrals and is also used as a symbol of protection, environmental cleanliness and spirituality. Around the main building there are 4 auxiliary towers; I chose this because in Japanese culture 4 is seen as a death number, and there is a certain balance between peace and death.

Sometimes an artist makes an illustration just because he wants to, but sometimes an artwork has many meanings and inner ideas! (In this case I really researched and put in a lot of 'hidden' details, but it's something that makes more sense to me than others, personal eccentricities, haha).

Draft made during the feedback session:

Did you encounter any stylistic or technical challenges when working on the piece? If so, how did you resolve them? Is there anything you would improve or do differently now if you could? 

I think the biggest difficulty was coming up with the 'ideal idea.' During the research and exploration process it is very easy to get lost; they see so many ideas in their heads that you think of X and in the end it becomes a Y. Personal projects give a lot of freedom, and this freedom can be very dangerous because in the end no project may come out.

Maybe the only thing you can do to improve or avoid this is to have less heavy self-criticism and not keep looking for the perfect idea. Critiquing yourself too much can be very bad and during the beginning of creating an artwork this criticism can stop the artist and even generate a personal crisis.

What advice would you give to other artists hoping to reach this standard of work in the future? 

Study a lot! It's quite cliché to say that, but there's no way to escape from studies, art takes time and patience, it's a career where you never stop studying. The good side of this is that as you start a new stage of study, the process becomes easier and more enjoyable. In addition, if you have the opportunity, take a course with live or face-to-face classes. The recorded courses are very good -- I have already done and do several. But listening and feedback especially for your work and answering your questions in class is something very good and very helpful!

What's sparking your creativity of late? Share with us any notable films, games, books, places, or even other artists that act as sources of inspiration. 

I'm studying about color and I'm just in love with the colors of Studio Ghibli's animations. I really want to do some projects in this style because it's something that has inspired me a lot! Also, I really like sci-fi, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic, epic temples and landscapes, detailed architecture, robots and creatures (you can see some of that in my older art on DA). I recently saw the gameplay of the game Stray and I was in love with its aesthetics; the game is amazing and it has a kitten as the protagonist. I also really want to produce some illustrations in this style!

Finally, can you give a sneak peek into any upcoming projects or new paintings that you're working on? 

Sure! At the moment I don't have any personal projects in progress, I just have a few studies and client projects. I'll give a spoiler below of some that I'll post on DA and others that are still in production.

I have a lot of projects in mind, but sometimes I don't have time for it, but that's no problem as I'm really enjoying working as an artist so even with a lot of work everything is a lot of fun!

WIP:

WIP:

Color study:

Color study in progress:

Thanks again to the artist for kindly answering our questions. Click here to check out her gallery and show your support. 

If one of your artworks has recently been featured as a DD and you're interested in sharing more about it for an upcoming interview, be sure to send me a note.  :)