Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Viviane Rivas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Viviane thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Funnily enough, as a young girl I wanted to become a veterinarian. I always had an affinity for doodling, however I wasn’t aware at the time that art could be a career. One day in the fourth grade we were assigned an English project that required I search for images, and while searching I came across a funny cartoon drawing of a wolf. For reasons unknown I grew extremely attached to that drawing, and practiced drawing it every day! Eventually I began to branch out, drawing characters and animals in little worlds that I imagined from the books I read. By the time I hit ninth grade, I had grown so much that I finally realized visual development art was my calling, so I made the jump and acquired my first set of professional art tools (a step above printer paper and pencil). I’m proud to say I’ve been building on that dream ever since!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

A cornerstone of my identity is the culture and heritage passed down from my family, as Guatemalan immigrants my parents taught us to be resilient and to keep achieving. The gradual progression from hardship to comfort showed us that life’s meaning lies in the accomplishments and not so much the pitfalls, so it pays to keep it moving. I also had the added benefit of being born into a family of hidden creatives and achievers- among many other things my father was a model and disc jockey in the 80s and my mother an intelligent, medal-toting athlete. Consequently I grew up with an appreciation for artistic self-expression, so part of me feels like my path was inevitable. With such a colorful life and culture, I had plenty of inspiration to create tons of characters, and worlds to put them in. After much time and practice I found that my art had a real audience, which in turn motivated me to submit to contests and galleries, pursue and complete a BFA in Illustration with a concentration in Concept Design for Animation and Games, and start building social media to showcase my artwork. Drawing from my many experiences traversing the jungles and pueblos of Guatemala, some of my favorite scenes to conceptualize are jungle/forest scenes, sometimes featuring strong female leads. Apart from that, I also love to illustrate fantasy characters, funny moments, quirky anecdotes, and redraws/fanart of productions I’m really into. As an asset artist, I enjoy creating botanical assets such as trees and foliage, and animals. Illustration and concept art isn’t all I’m limited to, since with 5 years of 2D animation experience I like to animate on my free time here and there.
What makes me so unique as an artist is the perspective and ethic I believe I bring to any table – with clear instruction, there is no problem/task too big for me to handle. I illustrate with fresh, out-of-the-box ideas inspired by diverse life experiences, and problem solve with creativity. With conviction and integrity, I fit well into any environment synergistically, something I really pride myself in. But above all else, I am most proud of the diversity in my styles, which range from painterly and realistic, to bold and graphic. My ideas, styles, and color palettes reflect the mood I want to give, whether it be a magical cenote for my viewer to transport themselves into, or smoking birds to reflect on last week’s poker night.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think something non-creatives struggle to understand is how technical the beginning of being a creative actually is. A common misconception among my non-creative peers is that art is purely observational, like artists can just look at something or think of something and recreate it easily. That most definitely can be done – however for the artist that can do that, came first years of practice and study to get to that point. Observation is only a small part of it, the majority of artwork needs to be created from understanding first. For me, that looked like taking multiple anatomy classes to learn the skeletal and muscular system, multiple courses and painstaking hours learning perspective and atmosphere, remembering compositional rules and executing the full range of values, not to mention learning all the computer programs to render on. And while I recognize that only some of this is applicable to other creatives as “art” is such a diverse word, the process still looks the same – it takes years of understanding and learning programs, systems, styles, and trends to create effectively.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, what’s most rewarding is the fact that I can conceptualize any idea I want ever. In my eyes, it’s such a gift to be able to create whole worlds and plots complete with their own family trees and zany animal designs. I love being able to transport myself into all these different worlds like when reading books, it keeps my inner child vibrant and cheerful. Something else I find very rewarding is that my creations are unique to me, and it’s an effective way to let the outside world in. My mind can be a neurodivergent party and words can only express so much, so how better to show my whimsy than to draw it all out!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vivrivas.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artnvee/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivrivas/

Image Credits
Viviane Rivas