Hello, and welcome to another edition of Digitalists new interview series:
Behind the Screens: Digital Art Masters
Through these interviews, we will get an in-depth look into the minds
and careers of DeviantART's most influential digital artists.
Today's featured artist is Aegis-Illustration
Mario Sánchez Nevado is "a storyteller who switched his old typewriter for a handful of colors." He is a freelance Illustrator, Art Director and Photographer headquartered in Madrid, Spain. He says "To communicate is my passion, and to create, my way of life." He is a vocational, freelance artist who loves to create artworks and designs for CD albums, books and posters. Outside of the studio, he works as an Art Director of the international artistic collective Hysterical Minds. He also likes giving motivational lectures and digital art workshops all over the world.
When did you first discover your passion for art?
I think that passion for art is never discovered... It's always there. I grew up in a family with no passion for art at all but I did grow with a deep interest in creating things. I guess it just depends on how much you want to develop that curiosity.
Can you tell us a little bit about your studio, Aégis? What kind of clientele do you cater to?
Aégis is a freelance studio focused on creating artworks and packaging design for CD albums and publishing houses mostly, but it's open on creating any kind of visual commission as long as it fits the studio standards. I've been working on it for ten years and nowadays it's a healthy reference on album design. I have developed commissions for bands like Unexpect, Empathic or Ashent, and have had other clients like Harlequin, Hachette or The Medical Defense Union of UK.
in your bio you mention that you are one of the managers of the international artistic collective "Hysterical Minds". For those unfamiliar, can you give us some history behind Hysterical Minds and their mission?
Hysterical Minds is an international artistic collective aimed at promoting Spanish-speaking artists. Having in mind that English is the predominant language not only in art collective, but on the Internet promotion tools such as blogs or social media, the idea was to provide with a platform in Spanish to promote artists doing on-line and physical exhibitions, books releases and such, especially for those having a language barrier.
Growing up, did your family support your artistic endeavors? Was there someone in your life who you considered a role model/mentor?
Well, I guess they preferred something more "normal" for a living for me than an unstable artistic life, and I'm aware they thought I was a real weirdo until the studio started to bloom, but I think that nowadays I have their support. Having grown up in a very tiny village in the south of Spain, wanting to have an artistic life is something usually seen with doubt and surprise.
On a site as large as DeviantART, it can be very difficult for artists to reach a broad audience. What advice can you give to those who want to get their art noticed online?
To be honest there's not any magic trick. I've seen people doing their best for being noticed on social media, but unable to reach it, and with that I mean learning good social media practices, being up to date with trends and traffic analytics, search engine optimization, etc. But I mostly see people who doesn't care about all this marketing mess and just publish their stuff and get noticed without major problems. I guess that after all it depends on how accessible is the art you do for your target audience. But yes, until that moment reaches you, the only thing I can think of is to stay up to date in how to use social media effectively. You don't really need good stuff to get noticed, really.
Name three influential artists on DeviantART whose works
inspire you and tell us why you look up to them.
MarcelaBolivar
We started creating photo manipulations at almost the same time and have had a very close evolution since then. We're so lucky to admire each other in a genre that is filled with stereotypes! I think she's currently the most inspiring photo manipulator I know, besides perhaps the mythic Travis Smith (which is not on deviantArt).
:thumb395198399: :thumb333152710: :thumb305887532:
I was in awe when I discovered his photo manipulations full of complex narrative lines.
I think he's a simply great storyteller.
I think he's a simply great storyteller.
I think he's one of the most important illustrators of our days. A master of simplicity
and hidden messages.
and hidden messages.
Thank you Aegis-Illustration for sharing your wisdom and experience with the community!
Join us next week for another installment where we will be interviewing
