Camila Nogueira is a Porto based artist whose colorful illustrations have caught the eyes of collectors and the NFT community alike. Her work depicts magical landscapes, cityscapes and scenes of tranquility, sometimes including human or animal subjects set amidst supersaturated and surreal backdrops. She states that at the moment, her goal is to create surreal worlds that she herself would love to live in, using vibrant colours and soft gradients to do so.
We had a conversation with Camila to learn more about her process and her experiences thus far in the world of digital art.
Camila begins with a statement that it is much easier to discuss other peoples art than it is to talk about one’s own; a claim that many artists feel. Nevertheless, we see that she has a strong and distinct approach to her artwork that stands out as unique and one of a kind.
Camila describes her work as influenced by a range of sources including “Franco-Belgian artists, by Japanese woodblock prints, by cartoons from the ’90s, and by all Studio Ghibli's animations”.
The country of Portugal itself has also had a big impact on her art in several ways.
She states that “Portugal is a very relaxed country, and the city where I live and grew up in has a lot of alleys, small streets, little details in people’s windows, a lot of ruins in the middle of the city, etc.. so I think those elements enter my artworks in some way”.
“We also have beautiful nature and amazing sunsets” she continues, “which probably influences my use of color and some themes that I use in my pieces”.
We see this especially in the quant cityscapes seen in some of her work, where stacked houses are set in front of majestic and tranquil evening skies.
"I can spend one full day just playing around with colours :)”.
Camila states that her favourite part of the creative process is the brainstorming.
Specifically, “coming up with the concept, developing it and sketching until I come up with something that I think can work” is the most inspiring to her. “But I also love the colouring part” she says, “I can spend one full day just playing around with colours :)”.
Regardless of what colors are used, she says that she’s “always looking for a chill and magical vibe…so that is always the starting point” to creating a new piece. As color is an integral part of the final artwork, it requires a lot of time to come up with the perfect combinations that portray a peaceful yet beautiful vibe.“ I spend so many hours messing around with PSD gradients and doing experiments. There is no formula, just trial and error until i'm happy with the result” she says.
Collectors in the space have responded very positively to the work that Camila has released. She states that her most special moment of her career in Web3 thus far was selling her genesis piece on SuperRare. “Around 1 year later I found out who the collector was and it was a woman. I was so happy to know that!!!” she exclaims. The collector was Artgee333, a China based collector who has acquired some of the top artists in the space.
Camila states that there are also many other great memories made in the world of NFTs since she entered in December of 2020. With big gratitude to the friends and acquaintances she’s made so far, she states that she is “so grateful for everything that has been coming my way!”
When asked what is next for her, Camila responds that she "doesn’t like to make super long term plans because life is unexpected”.
However, at the moment she’s working on a very large piece for a very well known NFT Project that she cannot reveal yet, and that she also has an IRL project for “a NYC publisher right after”.
She goes on to say "in 2023 my goal is to explore more digital immersive installations like what I did this year at Festival Iminente in Lisbon (which was a success!!) and to continue creating the best work I can, either 1/1 pieces or bigger projects”.
She ends with some words of humble wisdom, somewhat reminiscent of her artwork itself, stating that “no matter what comes my way, my focus is always on continuously inspiring people with my art, because although life has some tough moments, it is still a beautiful mystery”.
We love Camila’s artwork and her distinct style stands out amongst the highly crowded world of digital illustration. Her desire to push the limits of how her work is displayed in real life, will surely continue to propel her as a leader in the medium. We are excited to see what she produces over the coming months and years of this “beautiful mystery” she calls life.
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