2dartistAll images © Eduardo Pena
Eduardo Pena discusses his passion for art and showcases his personal universe projects in this extract from issue 131… 
Eduardo Pena is an artist with a true, all-embracing passion for his work. He describes himself as a creative, a builder, and a story-teller, and this enthusiasm for invention can be seen particularly clearly in the artwork he creates for his personal universes. As a natural explorer and a culture lover Eduardo enjoys exploring both the world around him and creating fresh, vibrant scenes based on his experiences. Always looking for personal growth he also treats failures as experiments which give him opportunities to learn and develop as an artist. Here Eduardo tells us about his love of art and culture, how his students at The One Academy inspire him and working on his impulses…
An image for a personal space opera adventure Eduardo is working on called ‘BOLO & KATO’
Hi Eduardo, thank you for talking to 2dartist! Can you kick things off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your work?
I consider myself a student of life; I am amazed by the simplicity and randomness of events. Throughout my career I have learned ways of understanding my own passions and priorities: how to grow as a professional, as an artist, and as human being.
Time and technology has brought us a constant set of tools that allow us to perform certain tasks efficiently but essential processes are left behind. So in some ways the nature of my personal work is not entirely attached to trends or specific products. I leave that behavior at work where it is needed for the industrial process. In my personal work I try to explore similar subjects, but explain different values with those universes, exploring ways of using the toolset to develop and build interesting, surreal worlds.
An key scene from Eduardo’s space opera adventure ‘BOLO & KATO’
Storytelling is really important in your work, how do you ensure there is a clear sense of narrative in your work?
I consider that a must. I am a fan of etymology, semiotics and narrative. To apply those elements in the foundations of every piece I need time; time to do research, time to explore, and time to understand what I am doing.
Of course in my profession that is a luxury, because in production work there is not much transcendental art. So I leave that luxury mostly to my personal work, where I can think and make interesting choices and experiments. This allows me to tell a story, or at least build some narrative across the piece, and I also allow myself to fail and learn more. Failing is then replaced by expansion.
A tribute to the beautiful country of Vietnam and its amazing food
What made you want to pursue a career in the digital art industry?
The fact that I can still think like a ten year old but have the skills of a trained artist, so that was, and still is, very tempting and inspiring to me. In our times we are able to experiment with more diverse and exiting universes or creative possibilities. In some way we can shape people’s imagination.
A tribute to Eduardo’s experience in Osaka, Japan
What are your preferred tools to work with and why?
I like to work with my impulses as some of them help me to make interesting decisions. So my main tool is my imagination. I try to ignore the noise of social media, trends, and the fear of failure, and simply allow myself to explore. I have fun, and honor my gift.
I find reading books and traveling helps to improve and nurture my knowledge of culture and of myself. It helps to diversify and expand the way I experience things and that is where knowledge becomes wisdom. Physical tools, such as a camera, help to improve my understanding of light, composition, narrative and of course educate the eye to aesthetic values. I also watch all sorts of movies and games to understand how design and art is applied on the final product.
To see the rest of Eduardo’s interview, get issue 131 here!