In Process is a series that examines the inspiration, methods, and tools used by artists to create their work. Each episode focuses on a specific piece.
Find all episodes of In Process on the Ep. 0: Index page.
In this episode, I take a look at Double Fold (pictured above) by DAMN Art Junkie.
When I first discovered DAMN’s work on hic et nunc I completely fell in love with the simple shapes, glitchy textures and quirky animations.
Learning how the piece was made using a mix of analog and digital processes made me love it even more.
What was the inspiration for Double Fold?
The idea was to create a smooth process where the shapes and materials I use led me through it; experimenting with abstract shapes, textures, depth, contrast and juxtaposition.
It started as a way of having fun while making art, just playing around with different shapes to create a composition and using the medium (paper) as a part of the composition, instead of simply drawing on it.
There’s also an animated element that I’ve added to the most recent pieces which I think gives me an expressive tool and gives the pieces more personality.
I like exploring duality; the piece is simple but also complex, analog but also digital, a 2D image with some depth, it’s abstract but with some figurative interpretations.
It all started with a piece I did a while ago (before I got into NFTs). When I made it I fell in the love with the process, but still felt something was missing.
Describe the technical process of the piece. What medium and tools were most important to creating it?
The process has 3 separate steps:
- Analog composition
- Photoshop colour correction and frame-by-frame animation
- After Effects video textures
Most often, I start with the folded paper element, looking for an interesting shape that serves as support for the other elements.
Then I start to play around with different cuts of paper to look for a pleasant composition that reinforces the fold depth. Sometimes I use shapes I already have and sometimes I make new ones.
This step is usually where the whole idea for the piece comes together. By playing manually with the elements I get a feeling of how I want the piece to look.
Once I have a final composition I’ll take a photo of it.
Then I’ll perform colour processing in Photoshop; make the black solid black and the colours more vibrant.
Another fun part is playing around with colour balances to create the colour palette. Usually I choose the paper cuts in the first step to have good contrast and colour harmony, so this step gets easier.
Also in Photoshop, I’ll draw the frame-by-frame animation.
Once the colour palette and animation are ready I move the composition to After Effects for the final step; adding Cellular Automaton textures. I use these to reinforce the faces and the depth of the fold.
I’ve been collecting these textures using the ca-mera app for a while. I find the CA concept and the pixel-simplification of complex stuff really interesting.
How did the NFT for the piece come about? Did you make this piece specifically for hic et nunc, or was this a piece you'd already made and retrofitted for the platform?
As I mentioned at the beginning, the first experiment with this technique was a while ago (before I got into NFTs), but I took that idea and re-visited it. I added some elements along the way and made some adjustments so that it works better as digital art.
This piece, “Double Fold” is a new one fully made in 2021 to be minted as part of the “Fold” series on hic et nunc.
Where is the best place to learn more about your work?
You can find me on Twitter as @damnartjunkie or on Instagram as @damnhaus. Feel free to drop me a message – I love talking to random people on The Internet.
