My name is Yiannis and I come from Greece. My whole life I have been dreaming of becoming an artist. This love for art never fades, and after finishing my Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering, I finally decided to pursue my dreams. Initially I wanted to be a 2D Animator, but after being exposed to numerous disciplines through University, I found a deep love for CGI, Film & VFX, which is what I am currently pursuing. I believe that an artist's education must not be limited to just one course, but an artist must have a well of ideas that they can draw from, be that drawing, painting, writing,theater etc. You never know where the next inspiration may come from. Traditional media have a special place in my heart. Traditional animation, drawing and painting I consider to be part of my everyday life, and could not imagine my life being otherwise. A piece of philosophy that resonated with me on oh so many levels, was the phrase that "Art is an idea, and the artist is someone who has an idea about the world", by the master drafstman Steve Huston. Art speaks to the heart. It is here to inform us, to make our lives better, to help us connect with ourselves and with each other. This philosophy shifted the way I see my craft. Art works on a binary system, the parts and the connection between the parts. This is what brings everything together. A musician knows how to play the notes, but also knows how to conduct them on a music piece, so we don't just listen to separate notes, we listen to music. This is what I have been chasing ever since I was exposed to these ideas....Sometimes it feels like chasing smoke, other days it feels like everything clicks together all of a sudden, and out of the blue it makes sense. I firmly believe this world needs more artists, and it is important that we become artists. Because art has the magic that ,especially in hard times, feels absent from this world. And this is the reason I would never consider being anything else than an artist. Because art is giving me a beautiful life, every day and every moment, no matter what the circumstances. My biggest concern is that I will not have the time in one lifetime, to do all the things I want to do, say everything I have to say, study everything I want to study.... My favorite animated films of all time: Toy Story The Lion King Aladdin The Prince Of Egypt Finding Nemo The Incredibles Atlantis Artistic influences in no particular order : Norman Rockwell Glen Orbik Michelangelo Raphael P.S Kroyer Monet Steve Huston Bernie Wrightson Richard Corben Bruce Timm (Batman : The Animated Series) Joaquin Sorolla Carl Barks James Baxter (Animator) Don Bluth (Animator) Thank you for reading, Yiannis Artelaris