Do you only work in digital?
I go back and forth between digital and manual a lot, I understood that I had to switch often from one to the other the day someone spilled a beer on my computer, to this At that moment I was only working with that, while waiting to find one, I started seriously to create images by hand, then I realized that my way of drawing had changed, I had kept digital reflexes. Now, I love changing tools, I find that learning a new technique always leaves a mark on the next one. Now when I crash on my computer, I go back to leaf and so on.
I love digital, but I am still very attached to the physical object that can be a drawing or its reproduction.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
What is the approach of your work?
I want to create a structure made up of lots of ideas that keep in balance, so that in the end all these ideas have a common meaning. These ideas are drawings, stories, comics and I hope it will be in other forms as well.
Although I want this set to be serious, I try to develop a comic dimension in this work as a priority.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you work by theme or is your work always on the same continuity?
The themes often vary, I often find myself new obsessions but for me it's a kind of continuity.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you consider yourself more as an illustrator or a draftsman?
I consider myself an illustrator if I am asked to be one for money, for example, but otherwise I prefer to be a designer.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you only practice drawing or do you use other media ? (eg: tattoo, photo ...)
I really want to make films with my colleague Nicolas Guine with whom I draw a lot, I like to look for music and think of Djset, I play online video games.
Known under the pseudo Elf 400, Acacio Ortas, is a young illustrator combining digital and manual drawing. Originally from the Parisian suburbs, more precisely from Massy in the 91st district, he studied decorative arts in the city of Strasbourg before coming to settle again in Paris in the 13th district, a district he has always loved.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Can you tell us about your background? Did you study in an art school or other special training, or are you just self-taught?
After a somewhat complicated course in college, I did a CAP and a professional Bac in "execution designer in graphic communication" at Corvisart in the 13th. It was there that I learned to seriously use a computer to draw, then I went to the decorative arts in Strasbourg, where I stayed 6 years, I was in illustration. I just finished.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Can you tell us more about the universe of your drawings?
So, I try to create a universe within universe boundaries, to create a whole with inconsistent things. The drawn universe that forged my tastes is surely that of my child's room, of the absurd mixture of toys and images that have nothing to do with each other, obsessions on various and varied video games which themselves are already mixtures of universes rehashed and spat out endlessly which ultimately create a uniform imaginary.
My goal is to make things out of it, trying to stay on a balance that works for me.
There is emptiness on both sides, I hope I don't fall.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
What are your sources of inspiration (artists, music, cinema ...)?
Things coming from quite varied fields, first of all popular images that marked my childhood, I could quote Phil Foglio, Mark Poole and Pete Venters, all three designers for the Magics cards: The Gathering, Trey Parker and Matt Stone , the creators of South Park, many anonymous cartoonists who donated their work to video game licenses. Besides that, I am lucky to have drawing parents who made me grow up in the culture of Underground comics, the popular imagery of the late 90s allowed me to meet Robert Crumb , Chris Ware, Basil Wolverton. Today, many niches in the depths of becoming art interest me a lot, such as the “TF” images (drawings made by a fetishist community of metamorphosis, ”I find the approach of these artists fascinating and this process m In the deviantart branch, I would like to quote Timothy Davis "Tijodaslim" who sadly passed away last year but left behind 2,825 drawings on his Deviantart page.
Older images also inspire me enormously like the work of Léopold Chauveau, Samivel. There are of course many other artists who inspire me that I inevitably forget to mention.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you often participate in fanzines? Do you also edit?
I do sometimes participate in fanzines, I worked in particular on several opus of the review Lagon, it is a comic review made by artists that I appreciate a lot, it brings together the work of international designers and it is an honor to be at their side in such a beautiful book. Its initiators are very precise in their choice of graphics and printing technique.
Otherwise, with my colleague Nicolas Guine, we founded Humor Zone, it's a kind of label that allows us to combine our strengths together, with which we publish our respective comics, we always work together and it's not ready to stop, we have a lot of projects in progress.
Are you preparing new things, which are related or not to your drawings?
I am currently in the midst of a change of life, the end of school, the return to Paris. I have a lot of small projects emerging, orders, we have a Humor Zone book done by four hands with Nicolas Guine in preparation. I have to finish my series of “Humans” (the portraits done on computers), I always have to do a little book for Superstructure (Belgian publishing house).
Also with Léopold Bensaid and Nicolas we have the ambitious project to embark on a cartoon and a card game.
What memory have marked you the most in your career as an artist? (good or bad experience, meetings)
Meet people with whom to share an artistic vision. It's not a precise memory because it happens from time to time and it is very strong.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
How do you see yourself in the future? (As an artist)
I plan to continue like this and see where it will lead, but growing old doesn't bother me at all, I tell myself that it's been a long time to improve and look for new things. Too bad there is the end of the world planned ...
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you manage to make a living from your work or do you work on the side so that you can make a living from it?
Ok for the moment, when I was a student I was lucky enough to be a grant holder to support myself, I sometimes do odd jobs on the right or left, but hey… We'll see…
What is the approach of your work?
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
I want to create a structure made up of ideas that balance, so that in the end all these ideas have a common sense. These ideas are drawings, stories, comics and I hope it will be in other forms as well.
Although I want this set to be serious, I try to develop a comic dimension to this work.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you work by theme or your work is always on the same continuity?
Themes often vary, I often find new obsessions but for me it's a kind of continuity.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you consider yourself more like an illustrator or a drawer?
I consider myself an illustrator if I am asked to be for money for example, but otherwise I prefer to be a drawer.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you only practice drawing or use other media? (exp: tattoo, photo ...)
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
I really want to make films with my colleague Nicolas Guine with whom I draw a lot, I like to look for music and to think to do Djset, I play video games online.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
What are your sources of inspiration (artists, music, cinema ...)?
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Things from a variety of backgrounds, first of all popular images that marked my childhood, I could name Phil Foglio, Mark Poole and Pete Venters, all three designers for Magics cards: The Gathering, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park , a lot of anonymous cartoonists who gave their work to video game licenses. Beside that, I'm lucky to have parents illustrator who made me grow in the comic strip Underground, the popular imagery of the late 90s allowed me to rub shoulders with Robert Crumb, Chris Ware, Basil Wolverton. Today, many niches of the depths of art become very interesting to me, like the images "TF" (drawings made by a community about "metamorphosis fetishistic"), I find the approach of these artists fascinating and this step m In the deviantart branch , I would like to quote Timothy Davis "Tijodaslim" who unfortunately passed away last year but left behind 2,825 drawings on his Deviantart page.
Older images also inspire me a lot like the work of Léopold Chauveau, Samivel. There are of course many other artists who inspire me that I forget to mention.
Known as Elf 400, Acacio Ortas, is a young illustrator combining digital and manual drawing. Originally from the Parisian suburbs, more specifically Massy in the 91, he studied the arts deco in the city of Strasbourg before he comes again to Paris, in the 13th district, place that he has always loved.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Can you tell us about your career? Did you study in art school or other specific training, or are you simply self-taught?
After a course in college a little complicated, I did a CAP and a baccalaureate pro "draftsman in graphic communication" at the Corvisart school in the 13th. This is where I learned to use a computer seriously to draw, then I went to the decorative arts of Strasbourg, where I stayed 6 years, I was in illustration. I just finished.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Can you tell us more about the universe of your drawings?
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
So, I try to create a universe in universe boundaries, to create a set with incoherent things. The world of design that has forged my tastes is surely that of my nursery, the absurd mixture of toys and images that have nothing to do with each other, obsessions on various video games and varied that themselves are already mixtures of universe chew again and spat out to infinity which finally create a uniform imagination.
My goal is to make things with that, trying to stay on a balance that suits me.
There is emptiness on both sides, I hope not to fall.
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
Do you only work in digital?
In addition to this, you need to know more about it.
I do a round trip between the digital and the manual, I understood that I had to go from one to the other the day when someone spilled a beer on my computer, I was only working with that, waiting to find one, I seriously began to create images by hand, then I realized that my way of drawing had changed, I kept digital reflexes. Now, I love changing tools, I find that learning a new technique always leaves a trace on the next. Now when I hang on my computer, I go back to the sheet and so on.
I love digital, but I'm still very attached to the physical object that can be a drawing or its reproduction.
You often participate in fanzines edition? You publish it too?
It happens to me to participate in fanzines, I worked on several opus of the magazine Lagoon, it is a comic book review made by artists that I appreciate very much, it brings together the work of international designers and it is an honor to be at their side in such a beautiful book. Its initiators are very precise in their graphic choice and printing technique.
Otherwise, with my colleague Nicolas Guine, we founded Humor Zone, it's a kind of label that allows us to gather our forces to two, with which we publish our respective comics, we always work together and this isn't ready to stop, we have lots projects underway.
Are you preparing new things, which are related to your drawings or not?
I am currently experiencing a change in my life, the end of school, the return to Paris. I have a lot of small projects that are emerging, orders, we have a book Humor Zone done with four hands with Nicolas Guine in preparation. I must finish my series of "Humans" (the portraits made on computers), I must always make a little book for Superstructure (Belgian publishing house).
Also with Leopold Bensaid and Nicolas we have the ambitious project to embark on a cartoon and a card game.
What memory did you remember the most in your career as an artist? (good or bad experience, meetings)
Meet people with whom to share an artistic vision. It's not a precise memory because it happens from time to time and it's very strong.
How do you plan for the future? (As an artist)
I plan to continue like this and see where it's going to lead, but getting older does not bother me at all, I think it's a long time to improve and look for new things. Too bad there is the end of the world of planned ...
Do you manage to live from your work or do you work alongside to be able to live?
For the moment, when I was a student I had the chance to be a grant holder to meet my needs, I happen to do odd jobs right to left, but hey ... We'll see ...
