Each month we invite an artist to curate the Behance social feed for one week. March Guest Curator Lisa Odette Butean speaks to us about her transition from 2D to 3D design, and the inspiration behind her moodboard.

“I’m quite an introvert and I always enjoyed spending time by myself drawing for hours,” reveals freelance illustrator and 3D artist Lisa Odette Butean. Some of her earliest memories are of herself drawing.

In college she explored various avenues of design, from branding to editorial to UI/UX, but it was motion design that really captivated Lisa Odette: “I enjoyed motion graphics because it gave me the same joy as when I draw, so I focused on that and tried to incorporate animation as well as illustration to all my portfolio work.”

From illustration and animation, 3D was a natural extension: “What draws me to 3D and motion is the possibility of making visible what’s on my mind. It fills my need of creating something and seeing it finished, and animation can make any work feel more complete.”

Red Shoe series by Lisa Odette

When she decided to evolve her art into 3D, Lisa Odette went through a period of learning, starting with courses and tutorials online. “The knowledge is so accessible nowadays and you can learn everything for free.” From there, she invested in crafting personal projects as a way of bringing those lessons to life.

To this day, she is continuously learning and expanding her skillset. “My goal for 2021 is to consolidate myself as a freelance 3D artist and illustrator. I’m always working on my portfolio so it can give me the kind of work I want to do.”

Still life from Pieces by Lisa Odette

“My creative process for my personal work usually starts with exploring what new things I can learn. It may be a new way of creating 3D clothes, or making more complex backgrounds or environments for my scenes, or even new software.” As she starts creating, she also looks for a general theme or concept to unify her design. Oftentimes, these arise naturally.

“In my project Blue Girls, I wanted to learn 3D sculpting. So I started sculpting a head, then a torso, and finally a full body for the first time. The topic came to my mind while I was making the first face and the girl’s expression seemed sad. I took that feeling and applied it to the rest of the sculpture and added a blue background to emphasize ‘‘feeling blue’ and with that, the whole thing felt complete.”

Blue Girls by Lisa Odette

One of her proudest projects thus far is Dahlia, which started out as an avenue for experimenting with interiors and pattern design. “I created a fashion photoshoot and made the figure post like a model. While creating the final image I was so used to seeing her that it felt right to give her a name, and that merged with the intimate tone of the images.”

“Spending time on the details really makes a difference when creating any kind of art. That love you give is perceived by the viewer, who then engages with you through this visual conversation.”

Dahlia by Lisa Odette

For inspiration, Lisa Odette looks to both the past and the present: “I like to look at art from the past, especially at Avant Garde, with its innumerable ways of representing humans and landscapes. Looking at other artists, reading about their work and their different approaches can give you new ideas and help you to not get stuck or blocked.”

“I also use Behance as one important tool for inspiration and for seeing the latest trends, for getting to know new studios, artists and designers to expand my network. The way that big studios, professional artists, and designers present their finished projects there also inspire me to level up and to get better with each new project.”

See the full moodboard

For her moodboard this week, Lisa Odette honed in on composition and color. “This photoshoot has so many inspiring elements, like how the fashionable and colorful clothes are mixed well with the background and the playful interaction between the twins.” she says of the photoshoot by LM Chabot, produced by L’Éloi Productions.

Twins by CLM Chabot and L’Éloi Productions

Another project that Lisa Odette selected to include in her moodboard are these complex illustrations by Ori Toor: “It invites you to stare into them for a long time. Also the way geometric and organic forms come together makes them very stable and dynamic at the same time.”

Gibberish Exploration 3 by Ori Toor

She was also drawn to the collection of colorful rugs designed by Macarena Luzi. “Texture is one of the concepts I want to explore in more depth. The unique shapes of these rugs stand out even more with the different levels of thread that each color has.”

Rugs by Macarena Luzi

Throughout the week we’ll share more projects from Lisa Odette’s moodboard on our Instagram and Twitter. You can see more of Lisa Odette’s work on Behance.