How would you define your practice and what is your process to character development? Your art looks like Bratz dolls that have entered a futuristic dystopian world. From intense lighting and shadow to using figures to play with space and perspective, everything about it has always been fascinating. Which periods in art history do you weave it into your digital illustrations?Īrt history in general is such a special interest of mine, especially when it comes to the Baroque period and the Mannerism movement in classical art. The games that really influenced my creative direction back then would have to be: Soul Calibur, Silent Hill, and early World of Warcraft.Ĭlassical art, while not immediately apparent, also makes its way back into your work. Which ones in particular?Ī huge inspiration! Realizing people could have a career being a concept artist for video games really pushed me. Video Games were also a big inspiration for you growing up. The process has had a lot of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t change anything, everything has come together to get me to where I am now. After about five years of not even sketching anything, I decided to start drawing again but with digital illustration as the medium (and later incorporating 3D sculpting), and it just clicked. Although I look back fondly on that period in my life, I was definitely missing the creative satisfaction of visual art. When I was older, late high school/early college, I actually stepped away from art for many years, solely focusing on pursuing journalism in music and pop culture. I feel lucky that art has had such strong roots in my family, it’s something that just seemed second nature when I was a kid. My parents were both creative and my dad was the first person to teach me how to draw with charcoal and paint with oils. I’ve always been connected with art as early as I could remember. Was your path to art straightforward? Meaning, did you know you wanted to explore the arts early on through college or has your journey been fortuitous? It felt like I finally got to choose what I wanted to be referred to as. So when I was in school and had a Tumblr blog with the username Poi, it just stuck as a nickname. When I was younger, my family would call me either by my first name Keely or Alex because of my middle name Alexandra. “I wouldn’t change anything, everything has come together to get me to where I am now.” I’m extremely grateful and honored to have had that validation early on when I had just started making art again.įor the latest Pen & Paper, Hypeart caught up with the reinvigorated artist to discuss the origins of her practice, the process of creating each of her highly rendered characters, and how art can be used as a form of therapy. “When I think about that time it still doesn’t feel real,” she adds. Spanish singer Rosalía was impressed to the point that she even commissioned Poi to design promotional art for a live event. This prior apt for music, however, continues to seep its way back into the work - from the highly dramatic and sensual motifs of her character stances to the clothing they are clad in. In fact, she went on a five year drawing hiatus prior to 2020, instead focusing on journalism, and interviewing a number of artists daily. With an unmistakable style and an attention to detail, it would surprise many to learn that Poi hadn’t even touched 3D art before the pandemic. Known to many by her nickname “Poi”, the Florida-based illustrator has gained a sizable following over Instagram for creating beguiling female characters that look like 3D rendered Bratz dolls, if they were targeted towards adults, and placed in a dystopian future.ĭigitally created with rich textures, punchy colors, exaggerated features, and fashion styles that are both imaginary and inspired by ‘90s and early ’00s silhouettes, Poi’s women are strong, sexual, and unapologetic - traits she purposefully imbues in each to “embody the strength and attitude I strive for in my own life,” she tells Hypeart. When anxiety strikes Keely Majewski, as it so often does for each of us, art has become a form of therapy for her to feel at ease.
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