{"id":634250,"date":"2026-10-18T10:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T10:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/634250\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T10:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T10:38:16","slug":"i-think-of-brushstrokes-as-having-a-rhythm-isabella-nalin-fais-on-her-career-in-concept-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/634250\/","title":{"rendered":"“I think of brushstrokes as having a rhythm” \u2013 Isabella Nalin Fais on her career in concept art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isabella Nalin Fais is a vis dev and concept artist currently living in Paris. Growing up in Brazil has influenced her art to be colourful and expressive. She always tries to include storytelling in pieces to create a connection, sometimes mixing 3D with 2D techniques.<\/p>\n

We caught up with her to learn more about her career and cartoon characters. If you need to upgrade your own setup for digital art, see our guides to the best drawing tablets<\/a> and the best laptops for drawing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Digital\n<\/p>\n

Keyframe of an intimate moment for Pepo, the peppy duck, as he embarks on a new journey. Fully painted in Photoshop (Image credit: Isabella Nalin Fais)Where did you grow up and how did it influence your art?<\/p>\n

I grew up in the south of Brazil, where the weather is pretty hot. I remember being surrounded by nature and vibrant colours, and that translated to the way I pick colours when I paint.<\/p>\n

What else has most influenced your artwork?<\/p>\n

Animated films and cartoons always had a major influence in my art. Especially the old ones, like Winnie the Pooh, and stop-motion movies like Coraline. I always try to paint in a way that you could relate to the character as if you\u2019re watching a movie. <\/p>\n

Besides that, having an interest in musical instruments influences me to think of brushstrokes as if they have a rhythm so the read of a piece feels like a flow. <\/p>\n

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\"Digital\n<\/p>\n

A poker match between a mafia chief and a disguised bounty hunter. The 3D base was done in Blender (Image credit: Isabella Nalin Fais)What was your first paid commission?<\/p>\n

My first paid commission was an illustration for a stream pack, for Twitch. It was a lo-fi bedroom at night, pretty cosy. It was not the most technically impressive work, but people liked it because of the purple mood and colours I used. It was years ago, so today the quality would hopefully be better, but everything has its own time. <\/p>\n

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\"Digital\n<\/p>\n

A character design project called Yona, where humans are transformed into birds in a mysterious cult (Image credit: Isabella Nalin Fais)What advice would you give to your younger self? <\/p>\n

If I could talk to my younger self, I would advise her to be confident while making mistakes. When you\u2019re starting, sometimes it\u2019s easy to be frustrated with results, but it\u2019s the failure that makes you a better artist. Enjoying the process and then moving on to the next piece is the best thing to do to improve. <\/p>\n

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\"Digital\n<\/p>\n

Colour key of Pepo and his friends as they discover exciting new places. Created using a textured brush with colour jitter (Image credit: Isabella Nalin Fais)What work do you most identify with?<\/p>\n

I really identify with my latest project, Pepo. It\u2019s a world-building project about a little duck who leaves home to seek his dreams. It reminds me of the innocence of being young and ambitious without knowing where it will lead you, even when you\u2019re scared. I left home at a young age to study animation and it feels somewhat similar to that. <\/p>\n

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\"Digital\n<\/p>\n

Illustration for Project Sabotage, where the main character is sneaking to escape the regime (Image credit: Isabella Nalin Fais)What’s your next step? <\/p>\n

My next step is to keep growing and improving, especially making more room for plain air painting. I want to work on the readability and simplification of my pieces as well as keep working to make my moods and storytelling sharper than ever. <\/p>\n

The goal is to be able to communicate feelings through my art, hopefully to a point I can help animated movies or game productions to bond with the audience with meaningful stories. <\/p>\n

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\"Digital\n<\/p>\n

Waiting on a bridge for a ride\u2026 will it ever come? Fully painted in 2D (Image credit: Isabella Nalin Fais)<\/p>\n

You can see more of Isabella\u2019s work on her ArtStation profile<\/a>. .<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX<\/a> to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.<\/p>\n

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