Artist Profile: Jonathan Puc
This is part of a series of interviews with Sugar Glider Digital’s artists, where we explore their practice and perspectives on digital art.
ARTWORK CREDIT: JONATHAN PUC, 'REAP', 2022
IMAGE CREDIT: CLAIRE ARMSTRONG
“It would be epic to live in a world where digital art isn't something that you have to go and seek via events or shows, but instead it finds you in unexpected moments or places that are usually seen as ordinary or even mundane.”
1. When, and why did you start making digital art?
I'm a web developer by trade and constantly operating with a binary mindset in the craft made me yearn to learn something new that was more open and creative. Code is either broken or not, I wanted to find a hobby that encouraged play and exploration.
I had heard about Blender and followed a few tutorials but it never really stuck. Then Melbourne entered lockdown during the pandemic and my new housemate just happened to be running his own 3D studio. He showed me what he was working on as well as the works of others and I was in awe. It was my first time seeing 3D used artistically, which opened my eyes to the potential. I revisited Blender and pretty much made something everyday out of pure enjoyment from learning and finding my voice.
2. How has your digital art practice evolved since you started?
Since starting out there are two things that have really shaped my workflow and ultimately visual identity: VR sculpting and Geometry Nodes in Blender. A massive limitation starting out was that I could not model well in 3D, and so VR sculpting allowed me to intuitively create my own organic forms. Coupling these sculpts with Geometry Nodes allowed me to also procedurally generate additional forms like atoms making up a molecule. This has helped shape my visual identity but also given me a workflow that is super flexible and experimental.
3. Tell us about your favourite digital art project.
I really enjoyed exhibiting my work at Powerhouse Museum for the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in 2022. Being able to occupy a space with 5 projections of my work was unreal. My work is centred around immersion and being transported to a different space, and so seeing my work engulf people as they observed was surreal.
4. What would you like to see more of in the digital art world?
It would be epic to live in a world where digital art isn't something that you have to go and seek via events or shows, but instead it finds you in unexpected moments or places that are usually seen as ordinary or even mundane. Laneways lit up by projections for city explorers or passersby, even screens at train stations for tired or stressed job commuters who might appreciate something extraordinary to look at. I think as digital art can be accessible and flexible, it's very much worthwhile to push the boundaries and make art more common for both art lovers and the general public in their day-to-day.
5. What is your relationship to the tools that you use to create digital art with, and how does that compare to other artforms?
What I love about digital art is the many different methods or avenues of achieving the same output: an ability to be tool agnostic. So barriers or limitations such as costs, time, technical literacy or even just an appetite for complexity can often be accommodated accordingly. Another favourite thing is the ability to collaborate so easily; awhile ago I collaborated with a digital artist from Berlin, we were able to just throw our VR headsets on and start sculpting in the same space in real time and that is so powerful to me as I often find collaboration a big driver in my artistic development.
6. Who are your 3 favourite digital artists at the moment?
ARTWORK CREDIT: JONATHAN PUC, 'REAP', 2022
IMAGE CREDIT: CLAIRE ARMSTRONG
7. What advice would you give to someone who wants to try making digital art?
I can only speak to 3D but just dive into it without expectations, 3D is so vast and so the most important thing when starting out is to keep the flame of curiosity burning so you stay on track, retain information and avoid feeling deflated or overwhelmed which will inevitably happen (and will continue to keep happening regardless of knowledge and experience).
Follow basic tutorials on YouTube to get familiar with the program (such as Blender) and 3D terms, then perhaps start making your own artworks by looking for references/inspiration, finding a tutorial that can help you replicate a bulk of it, then just play and tweak things based off what you've learned so far.
I'd say what really helped me was trying to make something everyday even if I wasn't stoked with it. Getting the high repetitions while being in more of an experimental mode allowed me to quickly figure out what I enjoyed doing in 3D and also build a body of work that enabled me to identify patterns and further develop my visual identity. Once you start to identify a visual language - that's the gold stuff, and you'll only grow leaps and bounds from there!
8. Where can we see more of your work?
The best place would be in my Instagram, everything I make is always posted on there and it's also where I keep folks updated on any upcoming shows and exhibits!
PHOTO CREDIT: 21 STUDIO.
SUGAR GLIDER DIGITAL PRESENTS A SELECTION OF ARTISTS AT WEST BUND ART FAIR 2023, FEATURING ORIGINAL PRINT BY JONATHAN PUC, 'AKI', ON THE FAR LEFT HAND SIDE.