#MeetTheArtist: The_Oluk
Are you a fan of Strangers Things? Than Manolo Saviantoni, a.k.a.The_Oluk will be your favourite pixel artist!
His works are usually inspired by video games, films, tv series and cartoons (especially from the ‘80s), making his portfolio a journey back to the arcade golden age.
The_Oluk in a nutshell
Italian
Style: 16bits
Art Director at HDRA
Software used: Adobe Photoshop for convenience but also everything that allows to put squares in a background!
Father of 3.
Even Fedez is his fan
The beginning
Wanting to become an illustrator since he was a kid, he only approached to the art of pixels in 2014. How? It started just for fun -he says- “…I usually take the train to get to work, so I thought: Why should I waste the time I spend travelling? What can I do during my 15minute trip?”
So he looked for an app he could use to fill that time and, voilà, he bumped into a pixel art app and the white rabbit he used later as his logo, came to life.
From that moment an entire series of animals popped up until the creation of the characters thanks to which he is now an international known artist.
“The funniest thing was getting home at night and asking my daughters to guess who those characters were”
Things start to get serious
He soon became one of the top 150 instagram accounts in 2015 and brought pixels to Enel (Italian state energy company) for their campaign and to the Italian rapper J-Ax videoclip, Caramelle in 2016.
And in late 2017 arrived the big brake-through on Instagram with his Stranger Things tribute that got over 2 million views after being shared by Netflix Italia and Stranger Things accounts. (Don’t miss the t-shirt!!!)
This same year he was one of the selected artists for the renowned Illustri Festival, exhibition where the best Italian talents are showcased for the 30 day event.
He also exhibited at our Pixel Meet Market last June in Barcelona 🙌!
He spoiled us that he’s working on some major pixel art projects with the brand new indie studio he’s funding, so we’ll hear about him again very soon!
About his creative process
“Once I get on the train, I just think of a character I would like to draw and start doing it using my smartphone. After that, I put it on Instagram. I enjoy doing it, it is an immediate creative process: I don’t have to think too much about it , I just follow my intuition.
Pixel art for me is like playing: I enjoy drawing characters, animals and places using a small amount of colored pixels.The most successful series by now is the one about famous characters (but there is also other stuff), depicted in a 24x24 px grid. I tried to create a personal style in such a small area, reflecting upon the dimensions of my characters’ body and head. Actually, some people said the most distinguishing feature of my creations is their eyes, so my friends call my characters OOluk, thus remarking the importance of their eyes and joking about my nickname.”
“All the pixel artists have something in common, which is pixel art’s most fascinating feature in my opinion: the ability to give a pixel-colored, unconventional representation of the world.”
His tip for pixel enthusiasts
“For me the most important thing is the passion: if there’s passion for what you do, nothing is unattainable. If passion will continue to exist over time, you will see that the more you will go ahead, the more your skills will grow with you ... Don’t give up! Ever!”
..and his favourite game?
“ Oh! There are so many videgames I love..I can’t chose one..but the first thought has been Monkey Island :D I love graphic adventures, I love Lucas Arts and I love Pirates!”
A big thank you to Manolo for sharing with us his experience and knowledge! He is not only a brilliant artists but he’s also one of the funniest people we know!
Follow The_Oluk’s work here, or in his Instagram page.
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May the pixel be with you 👾
