Hello! My name is Dylan Valev and I am a senior hailing from New York studying IMGD with a Tech Art concentration. Art has always been something of interest of mine to pursue, but it wasn\u2019t until my sophomore year of college that I really began learning the skills needed and actively engaged with the craft of creating. I\u2019ve always enjoyed documenting and sharing neat things I\u2019ve found & learned, and figured the best way to do so is to share through art! Expanding this interpretation to a medium, especially experimental, has allowed me to view it in new ways that is very fulfilling. Now, I\u2019ve made it my main life goal to experience as much as possible, and share those life experiences through my own lens and style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly all of my art-making experience has been digital with the use of 3D Animation, Modeling, and most of all VFX with experimental shaders and particle effects (akin to one of my greatest inspirations, Taylor Swietanski!). On the other hand, I\u2019ve had a significant amount of experience with programming in Unity with C# for both games and tech art purposes. Currently I\u2019m trying to integrate my skills with programming more into my experimental shaders with audio visualizers, and maybe have that be expanded upon with skills picked up in this class!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from class-related hobbies I enjoy writing poetry and other short forms of prose, and hope to also integrate that into a more cohesive interactive experience. Because of this, a lot of my creative inspirations are actually not a shared medium as my own, and are often my interpretations of them onto my medium of choice. These inspirations include many musicians from a variety of genres ranging from underground hiphop to IDM to bebop. Additionally, many other traditional artists inspire my work, such as CROM, Anthony Jordan, Satoshi Kon, John Stanmeyer, and Joshua Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My most recent creative project that I\u2019m especially proud of is an animated short film made in Unity of my favorite Bulgarian poem called Nevermore. It was my most ambitious attempt at combining all of my knowledge of Unity, shaders, 3D animation, and storyboarding. Additionally, it served as my only way to express to my extended family overseas, reaffirming my love for art\u2019s power to communicate and express oneself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m hoping this class can expand the possibilities of how I can experiment with my shaderwork. Exploring art through interactivity is a passion of mine, so I\u2019m really excited to see what everyone will make throughout the term!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some of my favorite works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n