MakersPlace recently sat down with South African artist Daniella Attfield (aka Daniella Doodles) to discuss her upcoming drop, “Celestial Living.”
Daniella uses delicate line art to illustrate the earth’s natural beauty while emphasizing its fragility. For her first official MakersPlace drop, Daniella reimagines the cosmos as a dwelling place for earth’s wildlife to inspire the otherworldly awe humans already should feel for the natural wonder around us.
MP: Can you tell me about your background as an artist?
I’ve loved drawing ever since I could hold a pencil. I drew all over my parents’ wedding album and on the walls. It has been my main hobby for my whole life, and while other people had after-school activities in high school or parties, I stayed home drawing. Being an artist has always been my dream and something I never really thought I’d be able to do the way I have been. I fully expected to be the starving artist some people were concerned I would be. I’m lucky to have very supportive parents who told me to follow my heart, and I’m so grateful I got involved in cryptoart when it was suggested to me in 2018.
MP: How did you land on the web3 moniker of Daniella Doodles?
As a teenager, I used to post my drawings on Instagram and was trying to think of something catchy with alliteration. I felt that Daniella Doodles fulfilled that and somehow caught my optimistic nature. I’ve stuck with it since then.
MP: Can you tell me how the pieces for this drop came together?
I love the night sky and draw it all the time. I also love animals. I suppose the idea developed to combine the two in a dreamy, fantasy-type way and then expand on the idea of an alternate world where these things were possible, with inspiration from “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” “Treasure Planet,” and “The Golden Compass.”
MP: Why did you choose the animals that you chose?
One of my favorite places is a beach with our local African Penguins. I love watching them waddle about and how they’re quite ungainly on land, but they have this beautiful elegance underwater. I started with the penguins and then expanded on other animals I’m interested in and have read about.
Whale sharks are meant to be incredibly gentle and have a beautiful starry pattern on their backs which I’ve always loved.
Dolphins and whales are incredibly intelligent animals and often engage with people and rescue people who have been stranded in the ocean. There is so much we don’t understand about the beautiful creatures we share our earth with.
MP: Did the artworks inspire the poems or did the poems inspire the artworks?
The artwork inspired the poems. I like the idea of bringing a little bit of background into the artwork and doing a ‘reverse illustrated book’ type thing.
MP: What do you hope to convey through wildlife and landscape pieces? What would you like the viewer to come away with?
I want to remind everyone how lucky we are to live on our wonderful little blue planet. There is so much to see, and I’m constantly in awe of nature. I’d like to share this feeling through my work.
MP: How did you come upon your glowy, neon style? When did you realize that it worked well for you?
I‘ve always loved line art and neon lighting. I did a commission for a client in a similar style (which I never got paid for) and then realized how much I enjoy this style and that I wanted to expand on it. Since then, I’ve been growing it slowly and experimenting. I feel like it suits me as a person very well.
MP: What does the future hold for you and your art?
I don’t know how the future will go, but I can say with certainty that I’ll keep making art about the things that I love, and I’ll keep sharing it. I’ll be excited to see how this journey develops and how crypto art changes and integrates into everyday culture.
