What's the motivation behind your artwork? Are you a Pokémon fan?
I’m a huge fan of Pokémon and love it so much. I’ve wanted to make my own icon characters and wanted to bring illustration and generative art together. That’s how I came to create KUMALEON.
Where does the influence of your color palettes come from?
I mostly find my color schemes on a website called “Coolors(https://coolors.co/)”, and one of my biggest influences is Vassily Kandinsky.
What will you call your biggest artistic influence? Do you have a favorite time of day to create? Finally, are you hyped for this project and what you are about to show to the NFT space?
I would say that my biggest artistic influence is Takashi Murakami. And my favorite time for creating is the time just right before I go to bed. I like that quiet moment and time to work on something creative. I’m beyond hyped for this project ever since it started.
What feelings or reactions do you hope to arouse in people who view your artworks?
I would be happy if there is something to inspire viewers whether it is positive or negative feelings.
What do you like in Japanese manga?
Here are my recent favorite mangas.
『Yofukashi no Uta』
『Tora Tsugumi -TSUGUMI PROJECT- 』
『Chi: ”About the Movement of the Earth”』
Very cute and charming. Does KUMALEON have genders? Also, please tell us the origin of the name.
KUMALEON has no gender, actually. You can take it as you like! The name came from bear + chameleon because it looks like a bear and changes its body like a chameleon.
How do you view AI art these days?
I'm honestly not sure what I think of it yet, but I've heard a lot of different perspectives from different people around me. I think that I have a rather positive impression since it looks very interesting.
What is the platform you used to learn your creative coding skills? Maybe like YouTube or something? Did you took any courses during your learning process? What is your advice to people who want to learn new skills by self-taught?
The things that I used for learning were mainly books and articles written by very talented artists. For YouTube, I’ve watched Daniel Shiffman’s series. (The Coding Train). And I actually didn’t take any online courses. My advice to people who are self taught and learning new skills would be “enjoy the process”, “make a small goal as you go”, and “do it every day”.
If there is one artist who’s willing to work/collaborate with you, who would it be?
I’m not sure, but I think it would be interesting to get involved with someone from a completely different field.
Have you done any physical artworks before? Do you think that digital and physical artworks should go side by side?
Actually, I've printed some of my creative coding digital images that I created on canvas before. And I’d love to try more physical art and I really believe that they should come together, not separate each other.
Where do you see generative art going? Do you have any suggestions for future generative artists?
Now that NFT has come out, generative art got a lot of attentions once again. I don't know if it will end up being just a trend, but I am looking forward to seeing what will happen in the future of gen art. I hope that those of you who want to become artists will keep having fun creating gen arts.
クマレオンのメッセージとても共感しています。その上で、どのような方にホルダーになってほしいとお考えでしょうか。どのようなコミュニティを作って行きたいとお考えでしょうか。
I do hope that people who haven’t had NFTs before get a chance to own a KUMALEON, and I really want the community to become a place where we all can share our joys together.
Do you have a favorite out of the 900+ pieces you have made? And why?
My favorites are the ones pinned on the OpenProcessing page (https://openprocessing.org/user/128718). The latest one that I like most is “220811a”, which is a three-dimensional block with three tones on each block. I think it’s particularly a good one.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
For me, loneliness is an essential time because it allows me to be with myself and give me a chance to find who I really am.
Where do you see this project in 5 years time?
I have no idea what the future will look like, but I definitely hope that there will be people having fun playing Kumaleon beyond our imagination.
What makes your art unique from other artists?
The combination of generative expression and pop taste is what I find unique about my arts.
What anime has influenced you the most?
The one that made me realize that anime expression was so interesting was "Bakemonogatari".
Where do you see the future of anime in web3 and what impact do you think it would have on the culture?
I have not found any relevance between Web3 and anime in my mind.
How do you find inspiration for your pieces and consistently create creative new works?
I always try to get lots of input by seeing many kinds of art, designs, graphics, and animations. And when I think of something and come up with some ideas, I immediately go put it in code or if I don't have time, I write it down in a note or sketch.
Do you have favorite color combinations to use in your artworks?
My fav color combination is 4 flashy colors + white + black.
