Etiene Crauss in Conversation with Fakewhale

Fakewhale: Can you walk us through your process of creating a piece from conception to completion, particularly focusing on how you leverage digital tools to convey complex emotions?

Etiene: It usually begins with random thoughts or dreams. I like creating art that reflects how I’m feeling or things I’ve been through. Once I have an idea, I set up a scene and take pictures for reference. My girlfriend often helps by being a model, so it’s like directing a little photo shoot with the set, clothes, and poses.

After taking all the pics, I use Photoshop to blend everything together and make the final reference. Then, I switch to Procreate and draw it by looking at the reference on a screen. The fun part is painting in Photoshop, adding colors and depth. Finally, I like to print it in a big size to see how it’d look hanging on a wall.

Fakewhale: Your pieces often tell a story or convey deep-seated feelings. How do you decide on the symbols and narratives that become the focus of your work?

Etiene: Storytelling is a crucial part of what I do. I see my art as a snapshot of something much larger—an instant frozen in time. To kickstart my creative process, I create a mood board filled with artworks from artists I admire. It’s like a visual brainstorming session that keeps my creativity flowing. I often find inspiration by looking at other pieces; it’s a way to refresh my mind and constantly generate new ideas while I work.

I don’t overthink what to include in my art; I go with a gut feeling of “that might work.” If something feels off, my eyes guide me—I either remove it or find a better spot for it. That’s how I approach composition.

Fakewhale: Amidst an art world where market values can be volatile, how do you balance staying true to your artistic vision with the economic realities of selling art, especially in the NFT market?

Etiene: Making art for the joy of it and creating art to make a living are two quite different things. It’s genuinely tough to stay true to your artistic vision in a space where there’s constant pressure to sell your art for more money. I went through a challenging time, feeling pretty down and anxious about it, but thankfully, I managed to push through.

In my experience, the crucial thing is curating your collectors. If you have a collector’s base who genuinely love your art and support you no matter what financially, that’s when you can create and live off art driven by passion, not just as a product someone else is selling.