MIKE PARISELLA FEATURE

If you're interested in wild coloration, unique digital pieces and incredible innovation, Mike Parisella (@slimesunday) should quickly become your next obsession. To say that his work stands out would be an understatement. His work reaches through your digital device and commands your attention. The more you admire his creativity the more you will admire the color palette and artwork that he creates. Mike was kind enough to speak with us about what led him to this form of art and how he has used Mextures to develop his style. Check it out!

My real name is Mike, but online I go by slimesunday. I'm 24 years old, I live in Massachusetts (roughly 20 minutes outside of Boston) and I’m an insomniac. The majority of my free time is spent on this laptop. I’m kind of isolating myself from the world right now and really putting all of my energy into slimesunday. Before I began creating digital art, I was heavily involved in music. I've noticed that my art kind of jumps from one domain to the next, but personally, I’ve become much more attached to creating visuals.

What was it that first attracted you to creating visuals as an artistic outlet?

So, a couple years back, my friend brought up Instagram. I think he kinda understood me a little better than everyone else. He was just like, “Dude, this is right up your alley. You should get an Instagram account and start posting stuff.” So I listened to his advice and almost immediately became obsessed with getting a post out every day. Now it's at the point where I won't fall asleep unless I have an image prepared for the next day. I soon realized that there was a whole community of Instagram editors and I got sucked right into it. I get a lot of inspiration from the genius of other people and I'd say that is really what drives me to get better and continue creating visuals. If I see something really cool, I want to figure out how it was created. I'm blown away by the whole culture and community of editing and I love being involved in it.

Were you already in to creating digital art before you got in to Instagram?

I started making digital art the day I made an Instagram account but I’ve been involved in some form of art for most of my life. I used to play a lot of music and for a while playing music was my primary focus. I think that if you are an artist you’ll always find a way to create something, but the ways in which you create may change. In all honesty, I think digital art is something I will pursue for the remainder of my life. But again, who knows.

How did your particular style of art come about for you?

Honestly, it's the result of observing other people. Lately I've been super inspired by Beeple, so in studying his work I've learned a lot of new techniques. Right now I'm just trying to learn as much as I can so that in the future I can be far more inventive. I guess right now my art is going through phases. One week I'm building tons of landscapes and the next I'm chopping girls faces up and extruding crystals. To be honest, my style is still in development (if that makes any sense). I really like neons , and I want those specific colors to be more present in my work. Pretty soon I'm gonna go on some crazy weird neon spree, I just haven't figured out how I'm gonna do it yet. In the end I just want people to say "What the eff" when they look at my stuff.

Your creative process clearly differs from piece to piece. But in general, what does your editing process look like?

Before I start anything, I usually just sort through some images to help me generate some loose ideas. Today, I looked at a lot of concept art on Google and just studied the ones I liked. I would say I spend at least a half hour doing that and then kind of move into whatever program or software I feel like using. Lately, i’ve been obsessed with Cinema 4D. I'm still a straight up noob but I’m getting better at making my ideas work. After I finish my design in C4D I email the rough copy to myself, save it to my phone, and then open it up in Mextures. I have hundreds of formulas but I’ve created one formula that I use on almost every picture. Mextures is so important to the end product that I’ve used it on every photo I’ve ever created. After that, I post the image to Instagram. I don’t usually add an Instagram filter but every once in a while I will add some 1977 at like 20%.

PS - Here is that formula I was talking about: HHPGPKZ

Can you talk a little bit about how you use Mextures to enhance your work?

Mextures is always the very last thing I do in my editing process. I always start by picking a Film preset. The two that I find myself using most frequently are Diana and PX-680. I use a lot of pinks in my work and the two I mentioned really help to enhance the colors I work with. While I’m building a formula I always find myself alternating between PX-680 and Diana and going back and forth each time I add a specific overlay. Pack wise, I am a huge fan of Anomaly, Vintage Gradients, and Grit and Grain; Space Dust, Effigy, 1990, and Passive are probably my favorites. I use 1990 out of the Vintage Gradient pack in a ton of formulas. Honestly, I shouldn't pick because all of the textures are so damn good.

My main goal when using Mextures is to keep it simple. I've realized that the best formulas I have created are the formulas I’ve kept the most simple. In my opinion, you can really take away from your image if you add 15 different textures. I usually just pick three or four overlays and really focus on blending them into my image. Mextures is a super powerful tool which is why it's so important to my editing process. You can literally take a picture of a fire hydrant, throw it into Mextures, and it looks like a work of art.

Would you mind sharing some of your formulas for the Mextures crowd?

Here are some of my favorite formulas.

YNIRCZQ - YEAH SO WHAT - The best one I have for a Mars vibe. It's good to use if you have a lot of pinks.

PZSEMZS - EOSIN - Also good for pinks but has a higher contrast level than the previous one.

YNIRCZQ - CRACKED SCREEN - Good for blues and has a lot of Grit and Grain.

WHGANFZ - COTTON CANDY - It looks somewhat how it sounds (pink-blue gradient).

What is it for you that keeps you coming back to Mextures?

I have used Mextures since the very beginning - which is every day for the past two years. I try to put out an edit every day and it is the best tool I have for finalizing images. Sometimes I think my image is terrible but then I just throw a Mextures formula on it and my opinion completely changes. It has been a key part of my editing process since I downloaded it so I don't really know what I would do without it. Mextures is perfect for getting your colors on point.

Who are the people that have most inspired your work and your creativity?

I'm a massive Skrillex fan. He’s probably inspired me the most over the past few years. He really opened my eyes to computers and how they can be used as an interface for art.

I've also been heavily inspired by Beeple lately. I'm studying his work and just trying to learn from it.

I also find Nick and Chris from Greyscalegorilla super inspiring. They dedicate a large portion of their time to teaching and educating people about 3D art which I think is super cool.

Im also inspired by the whole community of Instagram artists such as: @oskadesign, @casualtyofcool, @matthewcustar, @rikoostenbroek, @rawandrendered, @jackvanzet. These are just the few people that are coming to mind as I write this but honestly there are hundreds of people that have inspired me.

Have a gander at more of Mike’s creations here!