Artists make the world go round, and never cease to amaze us with their talent, tenacity, and tendency to know the future trends before we do. Class of The Future is a series of interviews with eight absolutely astronomical talents from Australia, who are the up-and-comers ready to change the game.
Animation and design come naturally to Sydney artist Jimmy Nevell, who takes his love for concept, environments, and Sci-Fi, and moulds them together into perfect artistic creations.
Working on character concepts and prop designs for a children’s animation show, Nevell bursts with an infectious smile, and is never afraid to let his inner child shine through. It’s this kind of excitement and energy for his craft that makes anyone around him want to just pick up a pencil and draw as well.
But alas, no pencils were picked up, and instead I stuck with an audio recorder.
For the Class of the Future series, Nevell kindly gave us his artwork “Launch Day”, a piece that fuses his love of Sci-Fi with his passion for crafting incredible environments.
Check out the interview with Jimmy below.
Interview with Jimmy Nevell
What are you currently doing post-uni?
I work at Cheeky Little Media, they make childrens animation shows. I work as a Junior concept designer, and I create characters, props, and environments for the shows.
Why did you choose to pursue art?
Really there’s two reasons. When I was a kid I always wanted to make my own TV show and I had ideas in my head about my own superhero character and stuff, so generally I just like making cool worlds and environments. A second part of me just loves the craft of it all. I really like painting and getting colours, lighting and environments right, I get a real kick out of it.
How has Instagram as a platform affected you as an artist?
I think Instagram is a great platform for getting exposure, because you’re suddenly not restricted to your geographical location, which is just amazing. It’s been good for me because I think it’s pushing me to just get better and better with my work. Although you shouldn’t follow likes and followers and stuff, it is motivating when you do get more likes and things of that nature to keep pushing your work to be even better.
How many followers do you have now?
Only like 600 or something like that.
Almost there!
True! I haven’t quite broken in yet. Still, it’s good for me to keep practising and have an audience there which helps me see how people react to my work. No one gets popular straight away, and it takes years to refine skills, and with the likes feature being gone now everything is a whole lot better for artists like me on Instagram.
What kind of themes do you tend to explore with your art?
I like doing cool Sci-fi, interesting worlds and creating a compelling composition. It’s less about a statement and more about me creating a mood and a feeling and an environment or place that feels tangible.
The Class of the Future, Sydney’s rising artists you need to keep an eye on.
Top Row left to right: Erin Sutherland, Sara Hirner, Jimmy Nevell, Nancy Li.
Bot Row left to right: Olivia Serrao, Rosemary Vasquez Brown, Connor Xia.
(*missing from group photo: Anne-Simone El Sokkary)
