For this artist spotlight, I wanted to feature a new artist that some of you within the community are not familiar with. He goes by ONIONLABS. I ran into his booth this year during Anime Impulse Los Angeles and loved his work. I felt like, I might as well share with you all his work and a little background details behind it all!
Here was how the interview with him went:
Where does your artist name, OnionLabs come from?
– My name has evolved quite a bit over the years, I knew I wanted something onion related since it’s one of my favourite ingredients, the base of any great dish! Onions also have multiple layers reflecting my variety of art styles and subject matter. Later on, ONIONLABS was created as sort of an official branding of myself since I’ve been working towards creating my own online store!
What drew you into becoming an artist? Was there a specific moment or memory that caused this?
– I’ve been drawing all my life and I’ve really enjoyed it. If there was a specific memory, it would be when I first started doing pixel art. In art school, we had a lot of group projects to collaborate on. Everyone had their own unique style and I knew we all liked games; I thought pixel art would be a great way to marry all our styles together and in the end we made a website with a huge city with our own characters to explore. This moment really jump started my passion for pixel art and it carries on to this day.
Where do you find inspiration for all your artwork?
– Inspiration is all around me, whether it’s artwork, fashion, movies, games, the places I explore, even the food I eat inspires me to make new artwork! My subject matter is mostly backgrounds and I take a lot of pictures and videos of places that catch my eye. I have a whole library of vending machines and storefronts that I like to reference all the time!
Is there an art work (that you made or someone else created) that most resonates with you?
– Ahh that’s really hard to say! There’s so many artworks from artists that I value for different reasons! One artist that I’ve been following for a long time is Jun Kumaori (@J_KMOR). They draw slice-of-life scenes in a really beautiful way, the way they use light and colour is amazing.
Who are your biggest artist influences?
– I have a huge selection of both illustrators and pixel artists that I really admire. Waneella is my biggest influence for pixel art backgrounds and that’s one artist that got me started. To name a few favourite pixel artists there’s also @nonamenosocks @pixelmima @NOP_pixels @mae_1031_
– On the illustration side, I really love @JDGE180112 @tanjiu9 @tarou2 @131_nngo @kaye_bin to name a few! I love their use of distinct colours, fashion sense, and beautiful compositions for backgrounds!
Do you have any specific artist or person that you would like to work with for a future project?
– In the future, I’d love to work with more animators and music artists that are open to working in pixel art. I’d love to work with ZUTOMAYO since they have really beautiful MVs with talent from the indie anime community. Pixel art animation is a really underrated medium and it’s really rare to see! I want to make that a reality.
Do you have any favorite anime series or movies? If so, what are they?
– My favorite anime series must be Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurran Lagann, Spirited Away, and Eureka Seven. I fall in love with the visuals, themes and story! When I go back to rewatch it, I get a little retrospective and take away something different from the previous time I watched it. It sticks with me throughout different points of my life!
If you can give any current or future artist some words of advice, what would they be?
– Many artists, including myself, struggle with finding an art style that stands above the rest. Take comfort knowing that art styles can be replicated, but your own experiences cannot be, they are unique to yourself and only you can tell that story. Don’t give up, keep trying your best.
Once again, I just want to say thanks to ONIONLABS for the opportunity!
If you are interested in checking out more of his work, as well as be up-to-date with all his future works, make sure to check out all his social media down below!
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @instant_onion
Twitter: @instant_onion
TikTok: @instant_onion
YouTube: instant_onion
Website: www.onionlabs.net
