We present you Nate Hill – a digital artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Nate tells us the story of his path as an artist , how he started and what drives him to create new art.
Hi, Nate! Tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a 41 years old Photographer/Digital Artist/Drummer from Melbourne, Australia.
I’ve been married almost 20 years and have a beautiful 7-year-old daughter.
I love that I am able to do something creative as a ‘job’ and that I have the flexibility in my work to be able to look after my family. I wouldn’t change anything at the moment.
How did you start doing digital art?
In a word… Instagram.
It’s a well-told story now for a lot of creatives. I started sharing some photos with family and friends on Instagram not long after it was released. I then was encouraged by my family to give freelance photography a go as I was a stay at home Dad and it worked well within what I needed to do for my family. After getting a bit more serious about my photography, I discovered an amazing community of digital artists on Instagram. I’ve always had that creative side to me, and I loved the images that these artists were creating, so I started trying to figure out how they were doing it… Once I got into it and started building friendships in this community, I couldn’t stop. Digital art was a way that I could express myself and Instagram provided an amazing platform to do so and a place where you are inspired and push yourself to be better at what you do. It’s also a place where I have found so many like-minded people and gain so much encouragement for what I do.
What inspires you? How do you decide what you will create?
I would say that landscape photography was my first love. I love capturing a scene, freezing a moment in time. I’ve always been fascinated with framing a shot. What you choose to include (or not) and how you might see it differently to someone else. From there, I have tried to bring that into my digital art… I try to create something that is hopefully a little different from what you’ve seen elsewhere. It’s a challenge, but one that I continue to pursue.
Also, as I eluded to in the previous question, I am totally inspired by the amazing artists that I find on Instagram. They push me to be better. Be more creative. To try and be my own artist and not a copy of someone else…
What apps do you use in your workflow and how does Trigraphy fit in it?
I use quite a few apps. Mextures, Glitches, Matter, Alien Sky, and Trigraphy to name just a few.
I have enjoyed using apps that glitch my photography for some time now. I love to see if I can take a photo of mine, and make it into something completely different, but still a recognizable image. Trigraphy gives me a range of effects that I really enjoy using. I particularly like the Este effect!
Describe your style. How did it evolve?
Always a hard one to answer. I would say that my most liked pieces involve digitally manipulating landscapes. I love creating ‘alternate worlds’. I had quite a bit of success with an ongoing series that I called ‘Twisted Landscapes’. It really evolved as I discovered ways of using apps that were a bit unusual or different. And as apps continued to get better and offer more creative options, I want to continue to evolve and try to be as creative as possible.
What advice can you give to young digital artists?
Be yourself. Try to find your own voice. It’s one thing to pay homage to an artist that you admire or try to emulate something that you’ve seen, but it is so much more rewarding to find your own thing.
Also, I think it’s important to know why you are doing it. If it’s to become ‘insta famous’ well, good luck to ya… But if it’s because you have a need to be creative and find an outlet for that creativity, then I feel like your winning no matter what.
After that, just keep at it… It can be a long and somewhat lonely road trying to make a living out of being creative, but if you love doing it then it’s worth pursuing it…
We want to thank Nate for sharing his story with us.
If you want to be part of Trigraphy Artists Stories. – send us an email!
Looking forward to know more about you!
