3DT: You're perhaps best known for your texture work. How has it evolved over the years & what did it stem from?

EO: I believe textures play a fundamental role in establishing the "personality" of a 3D scene: it's almost as if the geometry were a blank canvas, on which the artist has the freedom to paint anything on it. My ornamental texture work appeared as a result of my passion for ornamental objects, such as jewelry, lace, embroidery, paintings and decorative architecture.

3DT: You also create in other media, including traditional methods like painting but you also create jewelry. Do you think there is much crossover of styles between say, your 3d work and jewelry making? Can one influence the design choices in another?

EO: In my opinion, an artist is an artist no matter what the medium. Once an artist has a more or less defined style, it's almost impossible to avoid it when working with different media. Recently, I have tried a number of different media such as silver wire jewelry, paper sculptures, clay sculpture and traditional painting and found that my style maintained itself really well. There were only small differences determined by the technical and physical limitations of each medium. I believe an artist's style does change over time, but it is not specifically influenced by the medium, instead, it changes inside of the artist.

An example of Eni's jewellery.

3DT: You've done work for various clients, including working on video games, promotional material, concept work and various others. What attracts you to a project primarily & what do you try to bring to a project?

EO: At this time, I am not currently working on any commercial projects, I am only teaching and working on private works. In the past recent years, a project had to be particularly whimsical or fantasy to be attractive to me. I have no interest in working in projects simulating contemporary reality. When working on any project, my main concern is with the design and the artistic components, especially fantastical and whimsical design. I love color -- saturated color -- and feel most artists are not particularly concerned with this area of art. I'm very aware of working with color in a controlled manner, which improves the quality of any design.

3DT: You're quite heavily involved with the 3d community - you regularly contribute to 3d world magazine, you send out a newsletter that lists tips & tutorials, (on which I was proud to feature,) you have a tips & tricks section on your website - what motivates you to share all this knowledge?

EO: A good artist has to produce art but also needs to become an active participant of his or her community. Sharing knowledge, contrary to all common practice, is a good thing because it elevates the overall quality of the art produced in any given field. My motivations to share with the 3D community are based on what I feel is a lack of artistry in the 3D area. Most beginners are too concerned with technical issues and not really developing good artistic work. It seems like only recently beginners are starting to realize there is more to 3D than just software.

Abstract painting showing amazing use of colour.

3DT: Speaking of which, you're also running online classes in everything from designing fantasy worlds to texturing for games. How are those going & what sort of feedback have you had from students?

EO: I've had the most amazing results with my online classes, therefore I am developing new classes this year (2003). My focus, as mentioned before, is in teaching classes on design and artistic issues, not really technical skills. Learning online is not for everybody, you have to have a certain amount of discipline and complete the assignments on time, however, the students that have completed their assignments have produced portfolio quality results. Even the students that did not complete their assignments due to lack of time usually give me excellent feedback and report having learned a lot.

The fantasy worlds Eni envisages are unlike any other.

3DT: Your overall style has a sense of the whimsical about it. Is this a reflection of you as a person?

EO: I'm not sure… if I can call myself "whimsical". Maybe… I do love color and ornament, and that combination usually results in what people call whimsical.

3DT: You also approach things from a different perspective, design wise. When talking about your piece 'resident alien', you say "The challenge was also to depict a sci-fi theme so popular these days, without falling into the cliche of a metallic silver, harsh environment." What is your predominant design ethos? Do you change it much for different projects?

EO: Most of my personal projects have a concept, or a motivation. Even commercial projects have a solid concept behind them. Having a good reason behind the work usually gives me a path to work on, without shooting into a million different direction and loosing focus. The motivation behind a project might range from a technical point of view such as "let's explore how much ornament I can create in clay without it falling apart", passing through stylistic investigations such as "reproducing a Byzantine style using science fiction materials" or even a more personal and intimate motivation such as finding a visual representation of an important personal event. I try to stay away from the concepts covering spiritual themes, which are very common in traditional abstract painters, because I feel the audience has a hard time grasping the message.

Resident Alien - not your average sci-fi scene!

3DT: On the subject of cliches etc, what are the most common mistakes you see beginning 3d artists make? What about more seasoned 3d'ers?

EO: Beginners in any area, but specifically in 3D, tend to make one big mistake: lack of time and dedication (wanting good results immediately). Good art takes a long time to create and a lot of experience. Just because it's made on the computer it doesn't mean that it will be done fast and will look good right away. Beginning artists need to spend a lot of time copying more seasoned artists to learn technical skills and then another big chunk of time learning how to develop their own individual style. It takes years to become a confident in any artistic field. More seasoned artists run into completely different problems: being stuck, with artist's block or being typecast into one specific style. Or even becoming so pretentious and thinking they can tackle any kind of project, without considering the difficulties. (I've run into all three problems… but fortunately even though typecast, I am still not tired of the whimsical/ornamental/fantasy style. )

Excellent use of colour in conjunction with the lighting makes 'A little village far, far away' stand out.

3DT: During your career, you've assumed many roles from artist, to speaker, columnist and instructor. Which role have you preferred?

EO: I like being a teacher, it gives me a really good feeling when I see a student developing well. And I *need* to be an artist, it's not something I could give up. Right now, my artistic side is needing more personal attention, so I am currently not developing any commercial projects, just doing my own artistic investigations in other media. Meanwhile, the teacher side takes over the commercial aspect of the work. I enjoy writing on occasion, but it's tiring to write, so I do it now only when I crave for it. Lecturing right now is not in my plans, I have canceled my lectures for the next year, and I only teach "live" at Gnomon School of Visual Arts, once a week.

3DT: What do you think has been your biggest achievement or proudest moment in relation to 3d work so far?

EO: Ironically enough, my proudest moment had nothing to do with 3D at all: it was when I realized that 3D was only a medium and I could keep my artistic style with me even when not working in 3D… It was the realization that I have reached a stylistic point in my career that is not dependent on anything, I can take it wherever I go.

Besides the detailed cloth & clothing in this scene, Eni shows us her mastery of particles.

3DT: You mentioned to me that you might be moving away from digital art. What sort of things will you be concentrating on & do you think you will come back to 3d?

EO: I am definitively going to continue working with whimsical and fantasy art, and I plan to keep offering my online courses until there are no more students interested. However, my courses might shift towards more fundamental artistic concepts such as fantasy design, color and composition. I don't know if I will go back to working in commercial digital projects, it's uncertain right now, especially due to other personal commitments.

3DT: Thanks.

Alongside 3d, painting and jewellery, Eni also sculpts, proving she is "an artist no matter what the medium"