MITZYRIE

SURREAL, MELANCHOLIC & COLOURFUL - READ ABOUT MITZYRIE AND THEIR USE OF COLOURS TO PORTRAIT EMOTION.

Mitzyrie is an artist from Vietnam. Inspired by Tsukumizu's work; Mitzyrie has established their own unique, dreamy, melancholic style to their illustrations; using colours to create emotions of loneliness.

I found Mitzyrie on Instagram and was instantly drawn in from the colours and scenery that is used in their work. I had so many questions about their style and how it came to be! Luckily, I got the opportunity to speak with Mitzyrie all about themselves as artists and the inspirations behind their unique art style.

Where and how did it all start? Take us back to the very first moment you started drawing

"I was a really huge Pokemon fan back when I was younger, so my art initially started as just tracing over and colouring in Pokemon with coloured pencils haha. I designed a lot of my own Pokemon and original characters, as well as making some fanart for games like Undertale and Deltarune. It really didn't start off as anything serious and was just a way to express my interests.”

What does art mean to you and why do you do it?

“I've found it as an outlet to express my emotions. It helps me feel more in touch with myself, so my art has definitely helped me become more in tune with who I am.”

Being from Vietnam; Is there anything about Vietnam that inspired you at all?

“Vietnam inspires me a lot for sure! I live in a busy city, so it's definitely a strange feeling I remember when it feels quiet. I'm also inspired by the grittiness and rustiness of the buildings here.”

I have noticed as your art has progressed; you have started using more of a green tint in your art. It reminds me of The Matrix or Fallen Angels, especially with the fish-eye lense in your piece “Peekaboo”. Have these films or any films for that matter inspired your new style?

"A lot of liminal space images you see online have a green tint, so I think I've been insired by that. As for inspiration from films, I've never seen the The Matrix, but I've definitely seen images of Fallen Angels circulating around the internet. Maybe I've been inspired by that too."

How do you use colours to show emotion? Does a colour represent a feeling? I notice green is used often with melancholic settings.

“Green and blue are predominant in my art as I feel they represent loneliness and alienation really well. They also contrast with red, which is often the colour of the underpainting in my art, as well as the colour of my character's eyes. Red is my favourite colour, so I just like sprinkling bits of it in my stuff. It makes my art feel just more strange and foreign.”

I also notice you use Chibi-like features in your models and have expressed anime styled art on your page. Is anime an inspiration for you?

"Both anime and manga inspire me! My style and subject matter is heavily inspired by Tsukumizu's work, specifically Girls Last Tour. I've also been inspired by Serial Experiments Lain and Goodnight PunPun."

Is the character you draw a fictional character you have created or is it a portrait of yourself in these pieces?

“It's my persona, or a representation of myself! But it can also be a representation of you, or of all of us.”

What challenges have you faced through your creative journey?

“How long to spend on each piece? What should my style look like? Should I stick to fanart? How do I motivate myself? All questions and challenges I've gone through, and there will probably be more in the future waiting for me”

At such a young age you have already established your own style; is there anything else you want to try with your style or are you quite free and open minded with its direction?

“I feel like I haven't incorporated enough Vietnamese culture in my artwork currently, so I'm planning to do that more often. Other than that, it'll just be wherever the wind takes me.”

Talk to me about Collective Unconcious; what is it exactly and how did that come about?:

“It's a collaborative Yume Nikki fangame that will be hosted online on YNOproject for anyone to play for free! The project originally started being discussed on the YNOproject Discord, before being moved to a seperate one where development took place. I wasn't actually around for the birth of the project per se: I joined in later during development during 2022, planning to make a few worlds for the game, but I ended up taking a bigger role and helping with managing and bugfixing.”

It seems you like fantasy/fiction - has this inspired your art in any way or is that a separate interest?:

“A lot of media in general has inspired me: games like LSD Dream Emulator and Yume Nikki, films like Cat Soup, and novels like No Longer Human. One thing the stuff I like all seems to have in common is this sense of loneliness, or wandering through the unknown.”

You seem to have multiple ways of expressing yourself such as art and game developing; do you use these as a way to escape real life and make your own interesting world?:

“Escaping real life sounds a little sad, but perhaps I do that sometimes. I prefer to think of it as capturing moments or emotions and warping them into something more surreal.”

COLLECTIVE UNCONCIOUS

Do you have any advice to anyone out there who wants to get into art?:

“Experiment with everything. Draw stuff you like. Don't be afraid to be inspired. Eventually you'll create something you really feel is you.”

Is there anything coming up you would like to promote?

“Collective Unconscious is being released this year! Be sure to check it out!”

FOLLOW MITZYRIE ON INSTAGRAM HERE