NFT Discovery #13: William Willoughby aka. William The Third
The surreal and far-ranging imagery that appears throughout the work of 3D artist William Willoughby III strikes the viewer with its balance of sophisticated conceptualizations of the future and imaginative, playful themes.
WilliamTheThird’s pull toward the visual arts began at age 4, starting with his love of sketching and fascination with the ability to create something from nothing. Even in high school, his personal commitment to art and the fulfillment creating brings him was evident, as he turned down his teacher’s offer to purchase a work of his for $500—a work he still owns today.
WilliamTheThird’s passion for visual arts and practice of sketching eventually developed into a mastery of digital art software like Photoshop, where he learned his characteristic photo manipulation techniques.
Today he’s pivoted to the world of 3D art, using Cinema 4D and Substance Designer to create the unmistakable blend of surrealism, futurism, crypto art, and digital landscapes he’s known for. It’s his passion for digital art that pushed him to develop hundreds of free PBR materials and textures he released for free on the cinema 4D asset library website he founded—C4DCenter.com—to enrich the digital art community.
After founding his own design company, William Willoughby Design Co., WilliamTheThird expanded his work even further, finding the perfect fit for his characteristic blend of futurism and surrealism in the world of crypto art. He currently sells work as NFTs on Makersplace, with sales ranging as high as several thousand dollars.
WilliamTheThird was featured in the Substance designer gallery on Behance twice in the same month during 2020 and won a Render Competition hosted by The Pixel Lab in the same year.
William Willoughby continues his art practice today from his home in South Florida.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I was inspired to become an artist at a very young age. Around 4 years old is when I started to draw. I was given natural artistic talent and discovered it rather quickly. Being able to create the imagery I saw in my head is what got me hooked. My first drawing ever was of a Car with a jet engine in the back.
Please tell us about the artwork which, you are most proud of.
I’m drawn toward my Immortal Pieces which are characters I created in CC3 and textured in Cinema 4D. They help me refine my techniques of Lighting and composition while learning how to stay in certain boundaries of a series.
What main statement did you want to make with that artwork?
It first started off as me wanting to say that we’re not alone in the universe. I wasn’t trying to make a statement with my Immortals which is an on-going series. It’s more about me learning new techniques while staying within certain parameters to get a better understanding of developing a consistent feel of a series. Then that grew into me creating back stories for them and that’s when I started to pay attention to the details I add into my work to make sure it fits the story.
What else you wanna tell us about your art?
I blend my own philosophy of life and personal interests into the surrealist, future-facing world that appears in my art. Creating 3D illustrations that encompass both the colorful and far-ranging parts of our world—from neon-colored future landscapes to astronauts and hover cars to natural subtle scenes—is the manner in which I use my art to explore and express the way human life can embody an infinite number of experiences.
Merging futuristic style and traditional imagery like ancient statues and skulls creates a new language that can speak to the way our world evolves with a memory of the past and an eye to the future. Exploring both light and dark tones while using my own mood to guide the direction in which I take each piece results in the sometimes bright and energetic, other times dark and ominous settings in my work.
Just as I did when I first began creating art as a child, letting intuition and my own response to my experiences and the colors in front of me help me create art that is both in tune with the world and its changes around me and still deeply personal and unique.
What do you recommend a new NFT artist to look out for?
Don’t accept low offers just to make a quick sale, understand your value and don’t be afraid to wait for a collector to see that value.
Staying on trends helps with sales but don’t allow it to take over your entire portfolio.
You never know what collector will like any given piece, don’t be afraid to mint work you think won’t sell… it just might be your first sale, that’s what happened to me.
How do you see the future of NFTs?
NFTs will be the common way for delivery of digital assets and proof of ownership. Ranging from items likes school books to artwork and in-game purchases to music and online courses, the possibilities are really endless as the tech continues to grow. As the space continues to grow, we’ll start to see more mainstream industries working in NFTs into their platform. Being able to track royalties and to give unlockables to the holders is the New Rewards System that Corps will take advantage of.
„Thank you William for give me this deeper view in the source of your unique art.“ Pirates_of_art
webpage: https://williamthethird.com/
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_by_williamthethird/
artstation: https://www.artstation.com/williamwilloughby
twitter: https://twitter.com/artwork_william
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artworkwilliam