Fate has a funny and wonderful way of connecting you to people. I met Karelys Luna at my second or third outing with the Puerto Rico Comic Con and she was a neighbor. As we set up and shook off our pre-convention jitters, we were a bit quiet, then we started talking. And talked more. And more. And yes, more. I had the treat to also meet who was to become her future husband and honestly, some of the best convention neighbors I’ve ever had. The thing is that I saw her talent and knew I was going to work with her at some point…I just needed the right project. And the right project came, Penumbra, my collection of Spanish horror short stories. When I got the idea for the cover, I knew EXACTLY who needed to work on it, because I needed someone with skill designing art that’s dark, but beautiful and elegant. Someone who is good at working with illumination and with an eye for detail that continually nails those extras to bring an idea to life even better than you thought it. So I have the absolute pleasure of presenting my fellow Puerto Rican creative, the multi-talented Karelys Luna.
1. Greetings salutations and a hello to you, Karelys. It’s wonderful to have you on the blog so let’s get the party started. Why don’t you tell people who you are and where you’re from?
Thank YOU for this space! :) Hello everyone. I am Karelys Luna and I’m a digital artist and graphic designer from Puerto Rico.
2. When it comes to graphic art, how long have you been an artist and how long have you worked in the field?
I’ve been a digital artist for 12 years and a graphic designer for 8. I’ve been working as a freelancer for a decade and have been working as a professional graphic designer in office since 2018.
3. How would you describe your art style?
When it comes to art, it is a mixture of photomanipulation, digital painting and a whole lot of imagination. I lean a lot toward dark aesthetics and anything that’s fantasy and dream-like. My art is also heavily inspired by sci-fi, which has a lot to do with the fact that my mom was a science teacher, and I grew up reading books about astronomy. The beauty of the universe amazes me, and you can see that represented in my work.
4. Now when it comes to you, you are a woman of many talents! Can you tell people some of your other gigs and interests you’ve had?
Thank you! :) Well, I’m also a professional vocalist. I have been singing since I was a kid, and I even have a college degree in Popular Music Vocal Performance and worked as a vocal coach for five years. Right now, I sing in a party band and we mostly do weddings and private events. It’s a cool gig and it has helped grow and challenge myself a lot as a vocalist.
5. I love asking about processes because each artist works differently. How does an ideal project flow for you, from concept, to ideas, and initial layouts?
To be honest, it depends on the project. If I’m going to do a CD Cover for example, I listen to the song first to know the story that we are telling in the image, I ask the client what they’re envisioning for the cover, then I look for references, do some sketches, and then I start to look for resources and as soon as I feel I have enough to start, the creation process begins. For book covers it’s the same process (minus the song listening part). To me, it is extremely important that whatever I’m going to create is visually connected to the story the client wants to tell the audience.
6. From the minute I got the idea for Penumbra, I knew I wanted you to be the one who worked on the cover and you exceeded expectations. What can you tell us about the design and our process working together?
And I’m very happy you chose me for it. :) When you told me about the concept of the book and the elements that you wanted on it, I immediately envisioned in my head a scenery of the streets of Old San Juan at night, as if I was walking there. If we’re going to say it how it is, there are parts of Old San Juan at night that are very dark and kind of spooky, so I wanted to recreate that feeling through the artwork. But our process felt very natural to me and not forced at all. It felt like I was taking a piece from memory and putting it on a canvas. And we clicked on every aspect of the project, it was a great experience.
7. What are some other projects that really call to you or that you’d love to work on?
I love working for creators. Whether it’s album or single covers, book covers, packaging, artwork for posters, logos, or anything, one of my biggest goals as an artist is to work for the creators that inspire daily.
8. You’ve been very vocal about your opinion about AI and its implications. It’s a hot button topic everyone wants to discuss. Working at a large company, I see the implications of how they want to use AI. From your perspective, what are some things we need to consider when it comes to the use of this technology?
This is a controversial topic indeed, but I’m happy you asked this question because it needs to be talked about more. I always say that the two perspectives that need to be analyzed are the use of AI from the client’s perspective and the creators perspective. Two of the things I learned when I started to make art is to learn the rules, and that it's important that when new technology or new trends show up, you do your research and evaluate pros and cons. From a creator's perspective, to me its really important that every tool I use works in an ethical manner. Unfortunately, most of AI generators do not work in an ethical manner because their algorithms were programmed using copyrighted material from the internet, with no compensation or credit for the original creators of said material. That’s theft, and it’s copyright infringement, and there are laws in place that penalize that. So, using tools like Midjourney for example, can open a door to bring legal complications in the future. The only AI tools I use that I recommend for creators that work in an ethical way are the ones implemented in Adobe’s programs, because they’re powered with Adobe Firefly, and its algorithm was trained with their own stock resources.
Now for the client, the problem of using AI image generators for commercial use, is that AI art can’t be copyrighted (the image needs to be made by a person and not a machine or a generator to be accepted for copyright protection) and that has been confirmed by the US Copyright Office. The problem with this is that you have no rights nor protection for your image, and that means that any person can steal it and use it how they want, and the law cannot do anything to protect your rights, because there aren’t any. You cannot send a cease and desist, nor take them to court. It’s not worth using something you will have no ownership of just to save a few dollars.
9. Ok, switching gears, I love coming up with random questions to see how your brain thinks, so here are a couple: First off, if you could bring any of your designs to life in a story or movie, which would it be and why?
Oh that’s a good one. I never really thought about it because I always looked at all my personal artworks as part of the same universe, but if I had to choose one, it would be “Oracle”. When I made that piece, I was envisioning a vibe that was a mixture of “The Neverending Story” and something that had to do with astronauts and sci-fi. I always felt like there was a big story there to tell and I wanted the audience to feel that when they looked at that piece.
10. Awesome! But don't give me ideas or I'll write Oracle or draft a script for a graphic novel. Anyways, next random question: You win the Power Ball but the only requisite is that you have to head a videogame project designed in Puerto Rico. What’s the project called and what’s the game like?
Oh wow. That’s a very interesting question. I think I would call it LUNARIS and make it an open world space game mixed with fantasy elements. I love aliens what can I say?
11. Hey, we love what we love. Actually, quick question, what projects do you feel particularly proud of?
Apart from Penumbra, every single CD cover artwork I’ve done. I’ve always felt that because of my musician side, creating visuals through the connection with music feels supernatural to me. It’s art inspiring art. Every single CD cover I’ve done has been an amazing experience, and I hope I get to do it more in the near future. Most of my personal artworks are inspired by songs as well.
12. If you could design a spell for the world, what would be the name of the spell, what would it do, and how would it look when it did its magic stuff?
Oh god, this is a hard one. I’m trying to come up with a name that I have not heard in Harry Potter or Hogwarts Legacy at some point. Um... I’ll call it Lux Artrus (couldn’t come up with anything better he-he) and it would make people appreciate all forms of art more. Every day we hear news of schools shutting down theater, music, or art programs of any kind, and it always saddens me. Art is so important, it makes us look at the world differently and feel everything differently. It brings so much beauty to the world and it’s so needed, especially during these difficult times we are living.
13. I love that answer. Thank you so, so, so much for coming on the blog. Now how about you tell people where they can connect with you and your work, or if they’d like to contact you to work on some future art projects?
Of course! You can find my portfolio at my website: www.karelysluna.com.
You can also find me on social media:
IG: @karelys.luna
Tik Tok: @karelysluna
YouTube: www.youtube.com/karelyslunaofficial
And to contact me, I’m always available via email:
karelyslunadesign@gmail.com or by DM on Instagram.
Thank you so much for this space JD and for the opportunity to work the art for Penumbra. :)
* * * *
And there you have it folks, another wonderful in depth look into the amazing artists I've been able to connect with on my projects. Feel free to connect with Karelys and here's to AI free art, MORE human art, and searching our soul wells for dreams and inspiration.
No comments:
Post a Comment