Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Imo.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started doing art when I was really young, about ten I think, I always had friends who were drawing around me and I initially picked up doodling from them. I spent more time in middle and high school drawing in my notebooks than paying attention in my classes. I didn’t start taking art seriously till my junior year in high school. I was originally interested in illustration and charcoal drawings until my senior year when I found out about Art Center and the Entertainment Design Program. I took Art Center classes for an entire year after high school preparing my portfolio with the help of many teachers. As soon as I got into Art Center, I was faced with a whole new set of challenges one being specifically trying to figure out what I wanted to work on more, vehicles, characters, props, animation or games? I have dabbled in all these things and now I’m at the point where I really want to work in the animation industry because I really love how experimental the new age of animation art is.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road so far has been quite a lot, it’s been pretty challenging finding out what I really wanted to work on as an artist and finding my own personal voice and style in my work. When I started learning about concept art, I had a huge interest in games and live action work, but when I started actually doing it quickly lost interest in live action paintings but it’s what I’ve spent the most time learning. In 2018 and Into the Spider verse came out, I immediately fell in love with the new styles of animation that have come out since then. The new obstacle I faced was trying to fit my style into animation, which is still a challenge I face every day.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in blue sky visual development for props, characters, vehicles and story moments. I love telling stories using color to convey mood, emotion and create 2D visuals through my work. I love working with teams and trying new styles in world-building, keyframes, characters and prop designs. I’m very inspired by music, dancing, movies, pop culture and my culture. I love painting and I feel most proud of my work when it looks better than the last thing I painted while I still struggle to understand painting everyday I have grown to realize you can only get a little better with every painting.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Personally, the things that make me happy are specifically dancing and music. I have danced since I was a kid and I love so many styles of dance. My family comes from Nigeria and I have such a strong connection with Afropop music and dancing. And I have gone through so many phases of music (rap, pop, K-pop, indie, metal, emo, Bollywood musicals (hahaha). And another personal interest I have is horror movies and horror culture. I never really draw much horror in fact, I actually enjoy drawing very whimsical feel good story moments but I consume so much horror and slasher media.
Contact Info:
- Email: victoriaimo16@gmail.com
- Website: https://viimoart.myportfolio.com/work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viimoart/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/viimoart
Image Credits:
James Street – Personal Profile Photo
