A Whimsical World— Children’s Book Illustrator Arief Putra brings Imagination to Life
Our next featured artist, Arief Putra, can solve a Rubik’s cube in 15 seconds but art is a lifelong pursuit. Becoming a parent changes us and lets us feel the magic again of life’s special moments through the eyes of a child. The boundless imagination and hope in a child’s eyes makes every holiday more magical but Arief has carried this inspiration from his son over to his art. He describes himself as a grown adult with a childlike imagination.
From a desire to create whimsical art his son would enjoy emerged a career as a published children’s book artist with Harper Collins, Capstone, and Scholastic.
His playful images tell tales of adventure, magic and childhood fantasy and we are excited to feature a piece sure to capture the imagination of Desperate ApeWives holders of all ages in our upcoming drop — including our youngest fans!
Tell us a bit about yourself. Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?
My name is Arief and I am from Indonesia. I’m a published children’s book illustrator now spreading my wings to web3.
I have always loved to draw since I was little. Even when I picked a major in college, I chose architecture where drawing is needed. If I knew better back then, I would’ve gone to art school.
Your children’s book illustrations are magical. What inspired you to start drawing for children?
I love artwork that is imaginative, expressive, playful, detailed, and sparks joy so when I became a father, I found a whole new world inside my son’s picture books. It’s an art form where I can find so many different styles. It reminds me of my childhood when imagination and creativity were boundless. Since then I wanted to create artwork that my son can also enjoy.
If you could do illustrations for any children’s book in the world, which would you choose?
I love the classic Little Red Riding Hood, but it has a gory part when they take out granny from the wolf’s belly. So I want to recreate it with more child-friendly storytelling. In fact, this is actually one of my goals in the NFT space. I have started an illustration series called “The Green’s Tale” based on the classic Little Red Riding Hood but with my own twist.
Do you do any other types of art?
No. I play a little music, but that is just for my personal enjoyment.
How did you first learn about NFTs and what appealed to you about this medium?
The sale of the Nyan Cat gif in early 2021 was the first time I heard about NFTs but I wasn’t really interested in a deep dive back then. Early this year I started to learn more about it. After learning for a while I think the biggest appeal of NFTs is the freedom it offers. As a children’s book illustrator, I mostly draw based on client’s instruction. Although certain creative freedom is still applied in my client’s work, making a living out of the freedom of creating is always in the back of my mind.
What is your favorite piece you’ve ever done? Is there a special story behind it?
My favorite piece is called “Story Time” where a girl tells a story to a group of mythical monsters. Technically, it was very challenging for me at that time to create a colorful night scene, so I was intimidated and needed one whole month to be able to learn and execute the visual. This piece is a perfect visualization of what I am as an artist. I want to tell fun stories to everyone regardless of where they come from, and I want to bring a smile to people’s faces with my art.
Tell us about your piece for the DAW artist collaboration program.
I was born in Borneo where orangutans came from, so I always wanted to represent where I came from. The male orangutan that I drew is an artist who loves coffee, which is basically me. So when DAW asked me to create a collab piece, I thought about this collab as a “date” between 2 apes.
Your Twitter bio says you can solve the Rubik’s cube in under 15 seconds. When did you take up this hobby? Do you compete?
Yes, I can solve the Rubiks cube under 15s. I used to be active in the community and competition back when I was much younger but now it’s just a hobby and a good warm-up for my finger before drawing.
Do you have any new projects coming up?
Yes, I have a few exciting collaborations with a couple of my web3 friends. I joined a team that is developing a pfp project with a picture book as the utility and I’m in charge of the book. I also plan to create two new collections, one with a sky theme and the other with a sea theme. They both are still in development and I won’t rush them. So while developing that I will continue to drop new artwork into my current collection.
Learn more about Arief:
Twitter
Artists, Click Here to Apply for the Artist Collaboration Program
