For our second artist spotlight, we spoke with Filipino self-taught 3D artist @solgangleader who created the first 3D rendered piece in our ‘Artist Collaboration’ series.
Thinking back to your days starting out as an artist before NFTS, what caught your eye the most & led to the style you have now?
I grew up watching a lot of cartoons on TV, from ‘Hanna Barbera’ shows, anime movies, and even modern cartoons which always inspires me. I would spend days imagining worlds and characters in them. Nowadays, I find myself looking at art online on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Now I’m 35 years old and I’m still doing the same thing, creating.
How did you first get into being a toy collector & did that inspire you on your journey to being a 3D artist?
Just like any other kid, I was given all kinds of toys by my parents. I also was obsessed with these miniature plastic toys from china that I would get from a vendor outside of my school. But I will never forget that time when I had a family trip to America — I think it was somewhere in NY, I found a store called ‘Games Workshop’ in the mall and was immediately hooked. I spent all my pocket money there and had to hand-carry the box the entire trip since I didn’t want to damage the box. It got stale after that until I met my GF and now Wife, I started collecting them again just to assemble and paint. From there I tried sculpting, then 3D modelling, and then 3D printing.
As a self-taught 3D artist how did you do it?
I believe it’s because I'm highly motivated. It’s always been my dream to be an artist. I never considered myself an artist until I sold my first NFT. The best accomplishment for me was when someone purchased my art. I didn’t have that opportunity before until NFTS so I have been extremely driven to learn and improve 3D art. Every day, I try to learn something new and make something new. Even if it’s just a weapon, a mask, or a face.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in 3D art? Are there any tools or videos you recommend that really helped you?
Blender, photoshop, and youtube were the programs I used for an entire year. I’m trying to open myself to newer programs now like substance painter and other rendering softwares, I'm sure my way of doing it is outdated so I'm trying to find more efficient ways.
‘I never considered myself an artist until I sold my first NFT.’
@solgangleader
What do you love the most about creating your characters specifically?
I love everything and every moment when I'm making them! I love making new characters and it gives me pure joy when I finish them. They are probably inspired by my emotions, imaginations, or inspirations from videogames or something I saw. My muse is my wife because she has always been unbelievably supportive of me and my art ever since I first met her!
Can you tell us a little bit about your series ‘Amica’, ‘Clay Things’ & ‘Gang Leader?
When I first went to SOL, I was so inspired by how dark the art was. Also, I am a fan of cosmic horror art. So I wanted to contribute to the amount of creepy/horror images floating on the blockchain. To have 66 succubi floating around the internet would be awesome.
Klaythings were inspired by my bad experiences starting in SOL. Made a horrible mistake when I was learning how to mint and sell here. I lost my initial investment.
GangLeader started out as a monkey with a black hat and an X and was planning to make more monkeys with different hats. Shamefully, I started as a monkey due to the hype of monkeys in the NFT space. It was never really me, I wasn’t crazy for monkeys. I decided to reincarnate as a Skeleton Gang Leader since I draw skulls all the time. I love skulls. So now I can freely create anything I like for the Gang and the world around it called Solanaheim.
What made you make the swap from ETH to SOL & are there any other platforms you are interested in at the moment?
I started in ETH because I had some friends make me do the art for an NFT project we planned. While I was making it, I learned about Twitter and found the Rat kingdom where I made 3D rats and ended up selling to some artists and collectors in the group.
Sadly, my island (Philippines) got hit by ‘Typhoon Odette’ (international name ‘Rai’). The damage was bad, and everyone suffered from no power, no water, and a gasoline shortage. Expenses piled up and the thought of money spent on Gas fees felt so wrong. But I was still so desperate to make a living off of my art, so I did my research on Sol.
I plan to release my Gang Members in Form Function. For the Amica and Klaything, they will be posted on exchange. I also plan on doing some random instant buys in Exchange.
Like many in the space you're not just an artist but also a collector, what was the first 1/1 piece you bought that you still love?
I finally won my first bid which was Fiend #58 by Mr Gooby! There are a lot of pieces I really want to buy but I'm still slowly upgrading my computer to improve my art and not waste hours rendering. I also remember bidding on the Chucky Toughie and was praying for the platform to crash. I Still wish It did. There are a lot of 1/1 works I'm eyeing and hoping to win soon.
Let's talk video games, what’s your favourite? & what’s an old school favourite?
My go-to is Dota 2 or CSGO, since most of my friends play it. Old school favourites are MMOs but I can't go back to them anymore.
What’s next for ‘Gang Leader’ in the Solana ecosystem? Do you have any projects coming up?
Someone once told me my work belonged on ETH or was more of ETH type and I remembered when I first sold my first NFT on ETH, and my collector had to pay more than $100 for the fees. It really made me feel bad. I do hope I can bring someone from ETH to collect my art where they don’t have to waste money on Gas fees. I also hope to collaborate with as many projects and artists in the space.
