Isabella Nalin Fais is a vis dev and concept artist currently living in Paris. Growing up in Brazil has influenced her art to be colourful and expressive. She always tries to include storytelling in pieces to create a connection, sometimes mixing 3D with 2D techniques.
We caught up with her to learn more about her career and cartoon characters. If you need to upgrade your own setup for digital art, see our guides to the best drawing tablets and the best laptops for drawing.
Where did you grow up and how did it influence your art?
I grew up in the south of Brazil, where the weather is pretty hot. I remember being surrounded by nature and vibrant colours, and that translated to the way I pick colours when I paint.
What else has most influenced your artwork?
Animated films and cartoons always had a major influence in my art. Especially the old ones, like Winnie the Pooh, and stop-motion movies like Coraline. I always try to paint in a way that you could relate to the character as if you’re watching a movie.
Besides that, having an interest in musical instruments influences me to think of brushstrokes as if they have a rhythm so the read of a piece feels like a flow.
What was your first paid commission?
My first paid commission was an illustration for a stream pack, for Twitch. It was a lo-fi bedroom at night, pretty cosy. It was not the most technically impressive work, but people liked it because of the purple mood and colours I used. It was years ago, so today the quality would hopefully be better, but everything has its own time.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
If I could talk to my younger self, I would advise her to be confident while making mistakes. When you’re starting, sometimes it’s easy to be frustrated with results, but it’s the failure that makes you a better artist. Enjoying the process and then moving on to the next piece is the best thing to do to improve.
What work do you most identify with?
I really identify with my latest project, Pepo. It’s a world-building project about a little duck who leaves home to seek his dreams. It reminds me of the innocence of being young and ambitious without knowing where it will lead you, even when you’re scared. I left home at a young age to study animation and it feels somewhat similar to that.
What's your next step?
My next step is to keep growing and improving, especially making more room for plain air painting. I want to work on the readability and simplification of my pieces as well as keep working to make my moods and storytelling sharper than ever.
The goal is to be able to communicate feelings through my art, hopefully to a point I can help animated movies or game productions to bond with the audience with meaningful stories.
You can see more of Isabella’s work on her ArtStation profile. .
This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
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