There are a plethora of mediums an artist can choose from before setting out on their creative journey; it could be traditional, digital, 2D, 3D, or any of their sub-mediums. Yet, what if you didn’t want to settle for just one medium? Perhaps you wanted to dive into multiple and push them to their limits. What would it look like?
You’d likely get work similar to that of Dain, an expressive artist who covers a variety of mediums and themes. Their work can range from having many themes and meanings to sometimes having no meaning at all. Today, Dain shares with us his creative process and inspirations for his work.
Can you tell us a little about yourself in relation to the arts?
“When I was in Kindergarten, I was entered into a duck stamp contest and placed second/third if my memory serves me well. The piece was a watercolor work but the taste of recognition and appreciation led to a creative-based career and path forward in my life. Throughout my grade school years, I put my efforts in art class and ran pencils down to the metal eraser on blank whites. My drawings consisted mainly of my favorite pieces of media. We talking 2008 staples, Clone troopers, spaceships, and Rabbids? I had a huge thing for Rayman Raving Rabbids. My work throughout grade school pushed me to consider a career / desire to draw for a living. I took an AP studio art course to build a portfolio to submit to MCAD, won plenty of gold keys in the process, paired with a beautiful recommendation from my high school art teacher who was on the board of the Scholastic Art and Writing scoring me a scholarship.
College brought me a sense of professionalism and confidence in art, transitioning fully into digital art with the power of the iPad Pro and the apple pencil. Returning back to pencil with a Caricature internship working with MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond and his Caricature Workshop company servicing the large crowds at ValleyFair during the 2022 summer season. Through this journey, I learned to trust the marks I make. Stay creative and push my comfort in various mediums.”
I’ve seen you make work that’s really expressive and provocative many different themes and it’s amazing. Can you tell us about your process when creating your art?
“When I create art that’s wholly original or inspired by other sources, I go by a code to make the work loud and stand out. Mainly because I find the use of a wide and bold color range effective in grabbing attention, It also adds a subtle explanation for my unique and interesting at best mental behavior. I look to capture intensity and strangeness, I want people to see my work and know it has to be Dain. My process is to pay tribute and service my emotions, but also to be straightforward. I tend to believe that not all work needs to be rooted deep in metaphorical reflections of past experience. The message in work can be effective and add a layer of appreciation/understanding. For me I don’t feel I have to offer a message or meaning to work. I want to make stuff that looks cool, I could lie to you and say that my work of art is a direct counter and critique to Donald Trump/Elon Musk/Baby Vance, Yet Everyone in the creative field knows those people suck so I want to serve as a distraction of the current world and inspire people to pick up a pencil and make something strange. The current climate is against creatives and try-hards, make your name for that sake and stand out.”
Do you have any inspirations for your artwork?
“My artwork is inspired by a variety of flavors of the month. Much like my brain, it’s ever changing and takes inspiration from a rotating catalogue of artists and styles. For example, My monsters and creatures are inspired by Dan Peacock, One of the best horror artists in my opinion of the generation. (@Pencilmoose) I have a great appreciation for Halo and Sci-fi so concept artist Isaac Hannaford who has previously worked on every Halo game and Destiny to me is one of the best video game visual artists of all time. To venture outside of purely art, Music and audio is an effective tool in building a tone in my artwork. I am heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails and the work of Trent Reznor, His approach to feeling and use of synths to change the landscape of scoring film and video games such as 1996s Quake, 2024 Challengers (That wasn’t even nominated for any awards at the Oscars, Are you kidding me) has inspired me greatly in how soundscape can inspire a visual artist.”
I love the line that not all work needs to be rooted in deep metaphorical reflections of past experiences. Can you tell us more about the idea of having art with less meaning?
“My artwork is inspired by a variety of flavors of the month. Much like my brain, it’s ever changing and takes inspiration from a rotating catalogue of artists and styles. For example, My monsters and creatures are inspired by Dan Peacock, One of the best horror artists in my opinion of the generation. (@Pencilmoose) I have a great appreciation for Halo and Sci-fi so concept artist Isaac Hannaford who has previously worked on every Halo game and Destiny to me is one of the best video game visual artists of all time. To venture outside of purely art, Music and audio is an effective tool in building a tone in my artwork. I am heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails and the work of Trent Reznor, His approach to feeling and use of synths to change the landscape of scoring film and video games such as 1996s Quake, 2024 Challengers (That wasn’t even nominated for any awards at the Oscars, Are you kidding me) has inspired me greatly in how soundscape can inspire a visual artist.”
Do you have a preferred medium/software to work on/in and why?
“Right now, I still stick to Procreate on my iPad, it’s still the most responsive toolset to date. I’ve been working in 3D modeling/sculpting more often because I’m going to learn more about 3-D printing and creating sculptures and my own figures. I hope to start merchandising more because I think I could sell products well if I hit the social media market right. I currently have shirts printed that I’d like to get rid of eventually; I’m just intimidated by the shipping process.
I want to be knowledgeable in many mediums to differentiate myself from others and build a stronger portfolio.”
Wildcard Question: I’ve noticed there are some easter eggs and references to COD Zombies in your art. What’s your connection to that series? (I’m the same)
“I’ve been playing Call of Duty Zombies since the beginning in 2008. I loved the take on a wave-based survival game that never ends, much like Gears of War. I was there for every release. Ascension is my favorite Black Ops 1 map, and Mob of the Dead beats Origins (cry about it). Black Ops 3 got pretty hard, but I appreciate Zombie Chronicles. We don’t talk about Black ops 4. Cold War was a fun change. And I cannot recommend Black Ops 6 at all because of Activision not protecting its employees from AI. (and sexual harassment).
You and I share a similar experience growing up with Easter egg stories and background lore in this game mode. It captured a lot of people’s attention and now we are seeing that pay off in the meme culture of the classic Aether storyline. It also goes to show that when people like us can have this deep knowledge of something so unnecessary that borders on being diagnosed as an unknown sliver of autism, it proves how effective it was in shaping who we are today.”
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Art that carries no meaning, yet many themes can be described as absurdist, an expression that we love here at CackleCave. You can find more of Dain’s art on his Instagram and website!