AR Talk | Damon Cho
From an Alien to a Disney Villian to a Pin-Up Girl. Damon Cho, our today’s AR Talk star, can recreate them all in real life – and do even more in AR. He puts his stunning artistic skills into making aesthetic AR Effects, 3D Art and Illustrations, and also running a YouTube channel with makeup tutorials. 🚀✨ Read our interview, and discover many inspiring quotes that have encouraged Damon on his artistic journey – and don’t forget to subscribe to his YouTube channel! 🔥🤩💄
Hi, Damon! First things first – we would like to know more about you and your artistic background. What got you interested in creating 3D art and AR filters? Tell us what was your vision at the very beginning!
I have always been interested in the arts since I was young. I pursued my foundation at the London College of Communication and I got an offer letter from Central Saint Martins for Architecture but I have decided to let it go due to the uncertainty of the path that I wanted to go. While discovering what I wanted to do in life, my brother introduced me to SparkAR during the pandemic. There is when I dip my toes into the 3D world. Since then I have self-taught everything online. This gave me the ability to create a digital space from scratch that I have envisioned for others to experience, which gives me the most joy! I have always seen this as a hobby but with the digital world rising so rapidly.
We have watched your Pin-Up Glam Makeup Tutorial on YouTube and we love it! To what extent would you say makeup influences your art and your ideas – do you try to recreate makeup from AR in real life or vice versa? What is your favorite makeup look from all those you created?
There is this quote by Frida Kahlo which explains it all ”I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone because I am the person I know best.” Make-up is a way for me to express my art and to live out a fantasy that I wouldn’t normally do in my daily life.
Bringing the love of make-up and photography gave me a sense of self-expression in a more extravagant way. It gave me the ability to become anything I desire. I am constantly discovering the possibilities with make-up. One of the examples was a make-up look I did that was inspired by none other than my muse – (@johwska) Johanna Jaskowska’s ”Beauty 3000” filter look, but the favorite makeup looks that I have done thus far was a recreation of my mom’s old portrait photo even though my make-up skill was not up to par at that time. It shows how much I look like my mom, which reminds me of my roots and where I come from.
What is on your mind while creating an AR filter or art in general? Tell us more about the whole process and lead us through step by step.
Normally, I like to conceptualize the overall idea in my head first. I don’t know why but usually, all these ideas come to me during the night when I am either exhausted or in my dreams. Then I would break it down into smaller components in my sketchbook. Let’s say if I am creating an AR filter. I would ask myself; What is the art style? What kind of components does it need, 3D assets, graphics, music, animations, etc? What mechanics or features does it have? Is it capable with the program? , etc. Lastly, I will create/ collect all the components and mash them up together.
What did you have to develop, try or learn to create your art? Did you find it difficult? Was there someone or something that gave you extra courage on the way?
When creating AR filters, I like to experiment and try new techniques and features that I have not done before. So every time, there will be some challenges and curveballs thrown at me, but I guess that is how I learn and grow. (Quote Marie Kondo) It’s all about trial and error, I enjoyed the process a lot. One of the filters that I learned a lot from while making was the ”Let’s play, Dummy!” filter. It taught me a lot about what to and not to do. How to maximize the assets because I always go overboard with the details. In the end, I always had to remove a lot of them.
Do you have a special routine that helps you work or do you prefer keeping things spontaneous?
I like to keep things spontaneous when I work. Whenever I start a new project, I will usually try to finish it as quickly as possible so I wouldn’t get burned out, as sometimes a project might take from weeks to months to complete. Hence, I like to finish it with a fresh and motivated mind.
If you had to choose three artists that you would like to work with in the future – who would they be?
Tough question! There are too many talented artists and creators out there that I would love to work with. Not in any particular order, but if I have to pick three it would be studio MDHR. The studio that created the game ”Cuphead”. I love how committed they are to their craftsmanship. @johandrox Jack Cox, a super talented sculptor with a very distinctive style which I adore.
What about the future and your dream projects? Are there any specific themes or areas of art that you would like to experiment with someday?
In the future, I would like to create a series of NFTs. Not sure what it is yet. I promise it is going to be good! My dream project would be a long shot, but it would be to create a universe of my own in the digital space a.k.a. Metaverse.