Meeting with Gabriel Morala

 From Greek mythology to abstract and modern compositions, Gabriel Morala’s work explores the contrast between objects and elements of different origin and nature. His technique usually consists of physically realistic simulations combined with abstract and aesthetic scenes in search of realism in the abstract.

Gabriel studied graphic design and various programs independently. Inspired by artists from different backgrounds, Gabriel Morala creates works that convey exhilarating and sensual feelings. He believes that inspiration can come from anywhere, and that the more you live and socialize, the more you will be inspired.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE DIGITAL ART?

  The difference between digital art and traditional art is the democratization of the way to create. It’s much easier to create and consume digital art, and that gives people more opportunities. But the big question is what deserves the title of digital art: and we come to the big question of what is art. I really believe that anyone can do something and say it’s art. But that doesn’t mean that the art has value. If for example you were to make a drawing here, we would say that it is art; but it will not necessarily have value, if it does not have this philosophy, this idea that we want to transmit and that makes the value of art. The digital art, by democratizing the art, has allowed many people to make art. But in art, there must be an underlying idea, an aesthetic goal. Everything can be art, but not everything can be valuable art.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

AS-TU SUIVI UNE FORMATION SPÉCIFIQUE ? 

I have always been interested in art since I was a child. My mother studied art history, and it was with her that I learned to appreciate art. So I was also encouraged to make art myself. I have always made art: drawings, graffiti… That’s why when I was growing up I started studying graphic design, and the last year we were taught 3D design. I loved it, I went crazy, I started watching millions of tutorials, I followed a lot of people who were doing this on social networks. Little by little I learned more things, and as I liked doing it, and also the results, and I saw that people also liked a lot what I was doing, so I continued. But I can say that in this discipline of 3D design, I am self-taught.

WHAT PUSHED YOU TO DO DIGITAL ART?

I started generating digital art because I was studying graphic design. What pushed me into it was when I realized that this tool allowed me to capture my ideas, but also, in a way, to make them real. For example, I can generate something and when the viewer looks at it, they think: this is not real, but it could be.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOOLS AS A DIGITAL ARTIST?

WHAT IS YOUR TECHNIQUE? 

« “The one I use the most is a program called “Houdini”, which is a very complex 3D design program. I like it because it allows me to generate all the ideas I have. It’s a pretty difficult program because everything is open: you can do anything you want with it, but you have to know how to do it. 

That’s why I like it: I like to play to see what I can generate, to imagine, create and explore new things. So how do I go about bringing my ideas to life?

I don’t draw anything, because my works are usually very abstract, and trying to predict them would be really complex and useless. And then, sometimes the mind is afraid of blank paper… what happens most often is that life inspires me: I see something, which gives me an idea, and then I try to materialize it in the program. Sometimes I try something directly in the program, and the ideas come to me at the moment of creation. If you had access to my computer, you would see that I have a lot of tests, a lot of works that I have started and that I have not finished.

WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES OF INSPIRATION? 

«  When I started, my main source of inspiration was other artists. That I could follow on the networks where I enjoyed the work on the internet. What they were doing gave me ideas to learn, and to try new things. Lately, as I work a lot on simulations, what inspires me the most is what I experience: movies, things I see, nature. As well as creating things that could exist, things that, although unreal, are endowed with a certain realism, I like to arouse a sensation in the viewer. This search for emotion, for sensation, opens many horizons of exploration in my art.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE WORK

One of the pieces I made that I love the most is the twisted branch, the one that serves as the homepage of my website: I made it when I decided to start my own business, to launch my own brand, and that’s why it also has a great sentimental value.

Lately, because I’ve had a lot of client projects, I’ve been working a lot on commercial projects, and not so much on personal projects, but there are several that I really like:

A few years ago I did a project on Greek mythology (Gods), which I was very excited about: it was about depicting the gods of mythology, but in a more accurate way than is usually done, trying to treat it as it was. I was interested in the enhancement and I was really trying to find the representations that were made at the time. I liked it because I had to learn about it, try things… It was very interesting.

Now I’m working on another project that I really like: something more conceptual, maybe you’ll see it soon in my networks. To be perfectly honest, I love my work so much that it often happens that my favorite work is actually the latest one: for example, I love the 3D animated flowers I made recently…