Today we would like to introduce one of the most promising artists in the NFT world.
One of our most recent additions to StadioPlus, we are talking about María Emege.
- Designer in companies like Gaumina (Vilnius, Lithuania), Unusual Wonder (Madrid) and 2K (Madrid).
- Illustrator in comics, role-playing games, videogames, books and magazines:
- Concept artist for DC/Warner's Young Justice Legacy videogame.
- Illustrator for Penguin Random House. Books by Outconsumer, Almudena Cid and Christian Gálvez.
- Illustrator for Namco Bandai, 2K, EDGE, Manual, Gigantes, Nosolorol, etc.
- Contributor to the digital sports media Bleacher Report (16 million followers on IG).
- 10 exhibitions, the last one in the NBA Café in Barcelona.
Almost nothing for how young she is!
After the fantastic work she has done for StadioPlus, we really wanted to have a coffee with her and find out more about the person behind the artist.
SP Good morning Maria, thank you very much for taking the time to allow the STADIOPLUS community to get to know you better and to appreciate your art.
Where does your passion for art come from? How was the process that allowed you to evolve to become an artist?
M.E. I love art. Architecture, painting, sculpture… in all its forms.
I've been drawing since I was four years old, in class, in the metro, all the time. It was clear to me that I wanted to dedicate myself to this since I was a child. I graduated from the Bachillerato de Artes with honours and went on to study Fine Arts. The rest of the shooting comes from accepting all the commissions to practice with different styles and work, work, work. I've become accustomed to rough deadlines. One example comes from when I had a stand at the Expocómic I did live marker and watercolour commissions, and sold posters and bookmarks of my drawings in between. One day I made 11 while clients and friends kept talking to me and buying.
Recently I was working Monday to Friday at 2K as a Social and Influencer Manager, and all illustration commissions were done during the weekend. I couldn't bring myself to leave the assignments, but I loved that position at the company and my team (I did it for seven years). Bleacher Report gave me two days for a LeBron, and that was on time and as good as it got.
For the last few months I've been fully and solely dedicated to illustrating, and I couldn't be happier.
SP Digital art and watercolour …. Why did you decide to merge these two techniques?
M.E. Watercolour has the grace that no matter how much you try to control it with water, no drawing will be the same as the previous one. It has that analogue charm, there's no Ctrl+z like in Photoshop. I don't want to abandon traditional art as I come from that, it's what I've dedicated more time and affection to and I think people recognise my watercolours.
When digital art appeared I didn't like it partly because of that, because it was the opposite of what I was trained in, but now I've seen that working with the Wacom is very practical and I've found ways to make the most of it without abandoning my original style.
SP Why do you think it is interesting to collect NFTs?
M.E. It's a new era of patronage and collecting. Many people don't understand it yet and understandably so, as the new is confusing and scary, but for artists it's a breath of fresh air. For us it is a new value for our works. For collectors it is interesting because it offers them a unique possibility, especially for those who made a lot of money in crypto and now feel this community of collecting and digital galleries as their safe and powerful environment.
SP How is your creative process to generate a piece?
M.E. I choose a theme. I look for the best way to represent the idea I want. I make a sketch in which I give visual importance to something that seems to me to be key to the character. I select the colours I am going to use and I draw with pencil on the watercolour paper. I lock myself in and concentrate a lot, as I like the original to be good for sale and it's difficult to modify without smudging in watercolour; I want my white areas clean and colours unsoiled, with layers and shapes that make it feel like I'm doing a watercolour.
SP Any anecdotes that you have experienced while making this collection?
M.E. Vince Carter shared it himself on his Twitter at the time, and those things are exciting. It happens with some gamers, actors or videogame studios, they like the art you make inspired by them and they share it with their followers.
Thank you so much for your time. It has been a pleasure.
You can discover Drops by Maria Emege at:
Twitter @MariaEmege
Instagram MaríaEmege
