NFT-Discovery #17: Thanos Kagkalos aka MotionPunk
Thanos Kagkalos aka MotionPunk is a motion designer/ director based in Athens, Greece.
His whimsical style has gained attention from brands and clients all over the world. He has collaborated in projects for Netflix, Google, EA Sports, Paramount, Amazon, National Geographic among many others.
Besides typical commercial work, he loves getting involved in title sequences with more cinematic orientation and does a lot of personal explorations. His love for photorealism, traditional photography and attention to detail are apparent in his projects either its a fruit commercial or a surreal title design.
1. What inspired you to become an artist?
I do not consider myself an "artist". I spent most of my time doing design for commercial purposes. "Artist" is something that others name you and I don't believe one can self claim as such, neither that I earned this title so far. Appreciation of colleagues and community is what we are all after in that regard. It's a heavy word that I dont use to describe myself. I am a motion designer/director. So what inspired me to be a designer... It was random. I started doing graphic design/3d animation many years back with the purpose to work in advertisement. Throughout the years what we call today "motion design" was born. And I've been trying to ride this train ever since.
2. Please tell us about the artwork which you are most proud?
So far in my path, I am proud of creating the main titles for a series called "Coyote" (https://www.behance.net/search/images?similarStyleImagesId=639187615) Working under directors like Michelle Maclaren (Breaking Bad, Game of thrones etc) and studios like Elastic is a great honour for any motion designer. It's a commercial work that I managed to do last year under very difficult conditions as the first Covid wave was very new to us all. Remote work, long hours but eventually paid off. Hopefully to get an Emmy nomination this year!
3. What main statement did you want to make with that artwork?
I don't believe art has to make statements. It's more about emotion for me. Telling a story is great, but doesnt always relate with everyone. Making images that move people in any way is what I am after. Provoking any type of emotion is art to me. A totally subjective situation that speaks to certain individuals.
4. What else you wanna tell us about your art?
Mm, I think I lean more towards the dark side. It's mostly things I have to get out of my chest. In general I dont wanna talk about what I do, I want others to do so and initiate discussions. It's very interesting when I create something with a certain purpose and people perceive it in a totally different way.
5. What do you recommend a new NFT artist to look out for?
Price of gas haha. Jokes aside, I think no one should focus all their energy in NFTs. It's a very volatile market that rewards -for the moment- those who came in first. It's not really art related if you ask me. It's more about investment and portfolio diversification. For those that already work successfully in other industries, this is something to do on the side and not rely on it. I know a lot of great artists that haven't achieved anything in NFTs so far and a lot of mediocre ones that got rich and "famous". I think any new artist should focus on being an artist without any other goals in mind. Personally I do not take NFTs very seriously just yet, until hopefully NFTs actually become an art thing and not a trading market.
6. How do you see the future of NFTs? Feels like a trend that will disappear?
Not sure, but the market went from hero to almost zero as we speak in a matter of 2 months. Everything has dramatically slowed down. I also think celebrities getting involved is not a good thing. Devalues the real art and introduces trends that have no actual value. I believe after this slowdown, the majority of artists might lose interest. And that is actually good, cause a lot of people that did this as cash grab will leave the space and the few ones that believe in art, will have a chance to actually shine. I sincerely hope NFTs are here to stay. But it definitely needs re adjustment, needs more collectors, needs less artists, more actual curation -not based on IG followers- and needs galleries to operate with fairer conditions. Eg. they were not accepting noone when the market had a blooming month, and right after they accepted anyone.
„Thank you Thanos - your designs of motion let us really feel and flow with it!“ Pirates_of_art
MotionPunk: https://motion-punk.com/Projects
instagram: https://twitter.com/motionpunk1
twitter: https://twitter.com/motionpunk1
behance: https://www.behance.net/thanoskagkalos
facebook: https://facebook.com/thanoskagkalos