Enter the mesmerising and magical world of animation graduate Rebeka Mór’s digital 3D art

It’s Nice That: How did you first get into digital 3D art, and what excited you about it?

Rebeka Mór: During my first year of studying animation at the Willem de Kooning Academy, we were tasked with creating a 3D animation. It was a pretty big challenge for me at the time, since I was super comfortable working in 2D. The funny thing is that I completely failed this project, but the process of working with this new medium was so intriguing to me that I wanted to learn more about it.

The freedom that came with working in the digital 3D world was really inspiring for my experimentation process. My learning experience has been mostly instinctive, resulting in a playful approach to these highly technical softwares. I’m often not in full control, which has been extremely beneficial to my work.

INT: I love how your work deals with surrealism, magic, and dreamscapes. What is it about the digital art medium that lends itself to these themes?

RM: It's such an exciting tool for exploring surrealism and magic realism. 3D animation really allows you to create magical pieces because it has a natural ability to portray and materialise magic. It is perfect for creating immersive worlds, and it allows me to build a semi-realistic replica of our reality while being entirely free to incorporate otherworldly elements, apply supernatural physics, or modify shapes, textures, and materials.

INT: How was it to venture back into the mind of your child-self for that project? Did anything surprise you or inspire you?

RM: Looking back on the past few months and working on this project, the topic has really piqued my imagination, and I remember being in an inspired mind-space most of the time.

I began exploring the theme by filling a notebook with recollections of moments from my childhood and gathering memories that had the vividness and intensity which defined this period. Magical thinking and child logic are what inspired me specifically. When recalling my fondest memories, I also found that they were often very simple, such as waking up to a snow-covered garden, gazing at insects, or just being immersed in the present moment and relating to the environment around me in a direct way. I realised that the essence of ‘seeing through a child’s eye’ is looking more closely at things and feeling a sense of wonder about ordinary objects and scenarios.

INT: Another thing I love is that across your works, we often see pink and purple palettes. What is it about these colours that entice you?

RM: Lighting and colour in my work are usually chosen very carefully to capture a specific mood or emotion. My approach to this is intuitive, and I primarily base my decisions on my gut feelings. Pink and purple are colours I’m naturally drawn to but also the ones I associate with magic and reminiscing, which are often the core themes of my work.

INT: Your work also features a lot of mundane objects animated by a magical touch. What is the main difference in creating/animating static objects, as opposed to humanoid characters in 3D art?

RM: I think the workflow can become much more technical when working with a humanoid character rather than an object. For me, creating and animating a character is just not something I really enjoy. The stories I want to tell are usually not character-driven, and I'm more interested in conveying meaning through the atmosphere and feeling of an environment.

INT: Overall, Shimmers feels like a refined evolution of all your prior work. In what ways do you feel your craft has evolved whilst working on this at Willem de Kooning?

RM: I’ve become more comfortable working with the medium, which resulted in a much cleaner aesthetic world in the case of Shimmers, in comparison to my earlier work Delirium, where I embraced a more playful, experimental look. I made Delirium early on in my adventure with 3D, and the process included a lot of trial and error, which I decided not to hide in the final product. By now, I have fewer technical limitations and by practising 3D I can be more specific about my vision.