Digital Girl in a Physical World: Animegvrl
Animegvrl is a digital makeup artist who has established herself between the virtual and real world. By using augmented reality to create makeup looks, she is redefining the boundaries of beauty perception while expressing herself. Now, Animegvrl is inviting you to her digital world.
Who is your beauty icon?
Animegvrl: To be honest I don’t think I have one. I do get inspiration from people close to me, films, objects, music, or very obscure things that surround me but I personally don’t have one specific person that I look up to. I think it’s really good to step back sometimes and create without the influence of the outside world so you get a better sense of who you are as an artist and therefore shaping your own identity.
How did you get into makeup?
Animegvrl: I’m a fine arts graduate. I studied subjects like traditional painting, sculpting, 3d modelling, installations and performance art etc. But the truth is, during my time in art school I slowly transitioned most of my projects towards make-up. After that I pursued the craft full time, attending make-up schools in London, Barcelona and Paris. I also worked as a freelance make-up artist for a long time, but I always felt like I was missing something. That’s when I came up with Animegvrl. I loved having a space where I had the freedom to create whatever I wanted to.
How do you think digital makeup can be utilized in the beauty industry?
Animegvrl: I think there’s no limit really. From using products that exist in the real world but enhancing them or changing the point of view with digital touches, to creating filters that allows you to try on new releases… I would personally love to see digital make-up creations walking on a runway done through projections on the face. Maybe even printing digital make-up as a sheet that then you could apply easily to your own face… I believe digital makeup has the potential to revolutionize the beauty and fashion industry. It could make it easier for beauty brands to showcase their products while reducing waste and making the whole experience way more sustainable while leaving behind all the physical restrictions that come with traditional make-up application.
What does your beauty routine look like?
Animegvrl: I do look very different in real life compared to what you see on my profile. Most times I actually have eyebrows on and I shave them only for shootings or interviews. My beauty routine is very simple. I do pay a lot of attention to skincare and prepping the base before applying any product. I don’t use foundation only a the smallest amount of colour correcting concealers where needed. Lots of blush. Really, lots. Then eyebrows and lashes, dark red lipstick and I’m good to go.
How do you think digital makeup challenges today’s beauty standards?
Animegvrl: Digital make-up has the potential to challenge today’s beauty ideals in so many different ways.
It could make makeup products and techniques more accessible to a wider range of people regardless their location or ability level. It encourages creativity and self expression by allowing us to experiment with different looks that would be basically impossible to recreate in real life. Also, it could make the industry more inclusive by featuring a wider range of skin tones, facial features and body types, challenging narrow beauty standards and promoting a healthier representation of beauty. Lastly, I believe it could help us to remove physical barriers to traditional make-up application, like age, physical abilities or cultural taboos, allowing more people to experiment and have fun with it.
What is one thing you wish people knew about your work?
Animegvrl: That there’s always more to it than what it seems. I always create guided by my emotions so I am very attached to every piece I make. I love mixing mediums like traditional make-up techniques with new technologies because it gives me the freedom of expressing whatever is going through my mind at that specific moment in time. There’s always so much work involved for only one look and I feel like people misunderstand where I’m coming from most of the times. I am never guided just by aesthetics but a feeling or a statement I want to make instead.
How long does one digital makeup take? What does your process look like?
Animegvrl: It depends on how intricate the design is. Usually I work with the same image as a base for at least a couple of looks. Then I design the digital make-up look on top of the image. Sometimes I use softwares such as Procreate and I paint directly on the skin as if I was doing it in real life. Some other times I use Blender or Cinema4D to create 3D objects modelled to match my face features that then I apply to the image in post. It could take one day, one week or one month. I am never fully satisfied with my pieces so I can work on them forever and I always feel like they’re unfinished.
Where do you find inspiration?
Animegvrl: I find inspiration everywhere. From films, music, video-games, to more specific stuff like insects and microorganisms, textures, fluids, sounds, the human body… Also many other artists inspire my work, like classic painters, performance or contemporary artists, tattoo artists and so on. People close to me have a huge impact on my work and perception of reality as well. I like to take pictures of everything that calls my attention. Even if it is the most random thing, I always come back to it and sometimes those arbitrary moments are the best source of inspiration.
” I believe digital makeup has the potential to revolutionize the beauty and fashion industry. It could make it easier for beauty brands to showcase their products while reducing waste and making the whole experience way more sustainable while leaving behind all the physical restrictions that come with traditional make-up application.“
– Animegvrl
How does anime fit in your makeup world?
Animegvrl: Both anime and manga have played such an important role in my life when it comes to defining who I am as an individual. I have been reading manga and watching anime since I was very little and I always used it as a way of escaping from reality.
Most of my work now is inspired by anime, not just aesthetically but also psychologically I find myself finding references and concepts that I subconsciously take from all the fantasy / sci-fi universes I absorbed during the years. If you pay attention to my creations, you can find some obvious references of anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Parasyte, Berserk, Steins, Gate, Akira, Death Note and many more…
Your proudest achievement?
Animegvrl: Being aware that my art resonates with the world around me. Knowing that so many great artists and people I had admired for so long have an opinion about my work. Even getting criticised is an accomplishment for me. I guess making an impact in the beauty industry has been my biggest achievement so far but I am constantly evolving. I have such big expectations for myself.