Inside Kmotion's Surrealist Animated Artscapes

Have you ever wanted to walk inside a Studio Ghibli world? Or wanted to be inside one of Dali’s surrealist paintings? I know, I have. Indian animator, kmotion, through her digital illustrations and animated videos creates similar vibrant, colorful, surrealist, and fantastical art. She creates characters and an atmosphere through her works that let the audience glean their own meaning from viewing. It is complementary in nature as the artist’s imagination runs wild during the creation process and so does the viewers’ while watching it. kmotion creates motion graphics using the software, Blender. She also sells her art as NFTs on the Open Sea platform.

In a candid interview with Homegrown, kmotion shared her journey as an artist and details about her project Open Windows.

Tell us about your project.

This piece 'Open Windows' is one of my favorite works. So many things are happening simultaneously in it, which only raises a multitude of questions in the viewer's head. The piece lets the audience create its own narrative, which is what I like the most about it. There is not a fixed storyline to the piece, and the absurdity of the elements and their constant juxtaposition lets one constantly question and imagine their own stories. The subtly animated characters and elements always add a little bit of surprise for the viewer. There is also a sense of curiosity in the piece which is achieved by the camera moving and revealing hidden elements.

What are some things you learned while putting this project together?

I realized that when developing and creating art just for myself, like this piece, I have no constraints. One detail I could point out that I learned in this piece, was the use of reflective surfaces to enhance the details in my art.

Describe your creative process and the purpose with which you create.

My process involves being inspired by a certain idea and developing a narrative around it, which then I sketch out initially. I work over that and start with composition, as I believe it makes a huge difference in the way we perceive a piece. I then finally subtly animate certain elements, breathing some life into them. I do not have a specific purpose in mind while creating my art, but personally, I would love to live in the worlds I create! I feel everything is very peaceful, calm, and serene, and one can just be comfortable even looking at these pieces. There is also a sense of curiosity I like to achieve through my art.

What have been some of your biggest inspirations over the years of your artistic career?

A huge part of sketching while growing up involved me listening to music. What I felt while putting pen to paper was inspired by the music I heard, and the emotions I felt directly impacted my art. Animating came to me quite easily, as I always wanted to add life to my sketches. I like developing worlds that are beyond the constraints of stereotypical imaginations. My inspirations transcend those of reality but stem from the simple and subtle elements that are inherently nostalgic for me- the blue skies, the slightly swaying grass, and even the background sounds, which take me back to my lived experiences. Most of the color palettes in my pieces are inspired by Studio Ghibli films.

Who are some artists currently on your radar?

Dedouze, Ryan D. Anderson, Shane Dering

You can check out more of kmotion's works here.

If you enjoyed reading this, we also suggest:

Armaan Pardesi's Animated Poetry Project Is An Inner Journey In Search of Strength

Doodle Mapul’s Latest Collection Captures A Cultural Reverance For The Animal Kingdom

The New Wave Of Homegrown Animators Making A Mark With Their Work