Spotlight: Jeff
Jeff Romero interviewed by JJ Ramberg
Jeff Romero— an incredibly talented graphic artist — dove into the New Atlantis community head first. Barely a day begins without a GM from Jeff and he’s doing an amazing job helping us visually tell the NA story. His generosity not only of time and skills but also of spirit is infectious and we’ve yet to experience anything but that smile you see in this photo. You can see more of Jeff’s work here.
What do you do when you are not answering one of our calls about how to tell the NA story?
I’m the Founder and Creative Director for Rebel Arts. I generally work on in-show animations for science TV — shows that you would see on Nat Geo or Discovery. The work is interesting and I like the variety of topics. It can be anything from space to biology to dinos or engineering… There are a lot of good informative stories to tell!
How did you get involved with New Atlantis?
I met some of the members of the team at a crypto event. I had been looking for a DAO to get involved with so after we all nerded out about science and animation I knew I had found a solid gang to contribute to!
Lucky us! The stars were certainly aligned that day. What in particular got you excited?
The mission and the people. Everyone is so smart and friendly — and the mission is super important. Also, I think DeSci is the future of science that we all want and I think ReFi is the future of finance that we all need. It’s exciting to be at the beginning of those movements.
Did you already have an interest in biodiversity?
My focus on oceans is new — mostly because I have been naive to the scale of the problem and its consequences. But care for the environment has long been a foundational value for me. I tend to think of it as the MOST important issue that we face today because of course as our natural systems collapse or rearrange it affects us all on a fundamental level. In our modern society, it seems there is a tendency to become detached from our dependence on the natural world. I think we are beginning to see the perils of that detachment.
You have done a great job at just diving into this community. What did you do to figure out how to navigate it?
I got involved! I say my GM’s every morning, contribute where I can with the skills I have to offer, and make it a point to show up to as many DAO events as I can.
What are you working on for New Atlantis right now?
I’m working with NA on making content to help spread the message. We’re storyboarding on an animation now and working on some memes and snackable content for social. It’s super fun! We’re concepting things that cover the whole scale of ocean life — from whales right down to plankton so the visuals are really fun to play with.
What is your process for creating your art?
I regularly collect references for things I think are cool to keep my mind fresh with visual languages that appeal to me. That said, usually the process is pretty freeform when I’m actually making something. I tend to work through a story in a linear way bridging the ideas I think are the most important to the story and evaluating if the visuals are such that the audience would find them compelling. When I get stuck I put on headphones and go for a bike ride or just step away from the computer, listen to music and see where my imagination takes me.
Last question, what is your favorite sea creature?
Probably an octopus. Their physical characteristics and intelligence just blow my mind!
