About

Matthew Seremet is a multidisciplinary artist with a strong focus on digital animation. Under that umbrella is an appreciation for cel-based animation, free and open-source tools like Blender, utilizing programming for efficiency and rare technique, and the aesthetics of maximalism and pop art.

Since elementary school Seremet has been using code to create. Starting from interactive catalogs of his favorite animations to building a website with popular, original photoshop tutorials. He continues coding for the web and interactive media, finding unique ways to make interactive arts.

Animating pixel art in middle school, Seremet was able to sell hundreds of Buddy Icons and mouse cursors to a media company in India, “coolbuddy,” while AOL Instant Messenger was popular. Since then he studied photoshop animation for a few years, focusing on abstract elements blending and changing, as can be seen in the Identities Erased project.

Seremet began using Blender in 2015 to augment VR photographs for promotional material for Hartford Fashion Week. Seeing the power it provided him got him hooked. Soon he stumbled upon the work of Jeron Braxton being shared by Felt Zine. It was so lively! And, that it was done in Blender was exciting for him to see. FeltZine hosted an event with the opportunity to see the work projected large and Seremet took it. Having studied Jeron’s videos it was a rewarding experience to meet and talk technique with Jeron, asking about tricks he noticed in some of the work. Seremet learned about the passion and consistency one could have in “blending.”

Growing up watching a lot of cartoons gave Seremet a lot of insight into cel-based animation. From the repeating backgrounds in Flintstones-era cartoons to the trope of one lighter-colored element in the scene that you know the character is about to interact with, these clues about the process stuck with him. Seremet employs a lot of the same techniques of utilizing cutouts, sometimes even just flat 2D planes, but with the freedom of placement in 3D space. More than a simple technique, it’s one of his favorites and most employed. This allows him to work with a lot of traditional 2D artists from abstract painters to fine-detailed illustrators.

Bringing the work of a traditional artist to life is a thrilling relief. Where the painter has something in their mind that they need to get out and onto the page, Seremet sees wonderful commotion in the work and needs to make that vision come alive!