Interview with Caskall

My name is Ezequiel Grand and I’m a designer and animator from Argentina. I initially graduated as a graphic designer and switched careers to start working on branding, then switched to web design, animation, 3D, simulations and VFX. My work consists of creating impactful, abstract and procedural animations. I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects with clients such as Ariana Grande, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, Billboards, Childish Gambino, Lady Gaga, League of Legends, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, MTV Video Music Awards, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney and Shakira. I also worked for brands like Adidas, ASUS, Delta Airlines, FOX, FIFA, Google, Huawei, Honda, Nike, OPPO, PlayStation 5, Playboy, Redbull, SWATCH, TEDx, VIVO and Xiaomi.

I used to draw a lot when I was a kid, I remember my mom saved all my drawings in a big box. When I was about 12 years old, my brother asked me if I wanted to buy a computer with him with our savings. I was hesitant at first because I didn't really find use in a computer at that age, but I agreed thankfully. 

After that, I remember that I downloaded Microsoft Frontpage and did the most basic web design stuff. Back then, I would upload some things I made online and I still remember the sensation of seeing my things on the web; I instantly loved it! Then, I started making some personal videos of parties with my friends, and doing some basic edits with Vegas, a video editing software. Afterwards, I learned Photoshop, After Effects and basic motion graphics skills, which led me to study graphic design.

I worked for 2 years doing brand identities and web design, until I took a whole year to fully learn and immerse myself in 3D.

Around 3 years ago, a friend told me about SuperRare and the NFT world. At the time, he insisted that I should register, but it sounded too good to be true, and I think many artists had similar thoughts back then. I started seeing that everybody was trying to join SuperRare, and when I gave it a chance and registered, it was saturated. I remember it took me around 3 months to finally join.

I uploaded my first piece but I didn't have any bids for the first 2 months, which was a bit disappointing. Once the first one was sold, I started having bids on all the other pieces, which felt nice. Doing what you love and without client feedback? Take my money!

Not sure if I have a favorite NFT, but I love the work of my friend Oxeegeno (Dario Vilanova), he's the one that also introduced me to the NFT world.

Thankfully, there's a lot of work in this industry. So if you love creating digital art, go for it! Study as much as you can with tutorials or forums, and be active on social media platforms. 

In my case, Vimeo was the platform that gave me a lot of clients, because I uploaded some "making ofs" and tutorials a few years ago without expecting anything in return. But that was seen by many studios that would then send me an email with great projects.

The piece I made for 0x Society’s humA.I.ns exhibition was a collaboration with a world known sculptor, Rafa Zabala. I animated the piece and the audio was from Noizlab Part. We wanted to work on the subject of how Social Media platforms affect us on a daily basis. We end up sacrificing our true identities by trying to show people behind the screen a different person than who we are and what they want to see in order to get approval, followers and dopamine. Sadly, it is common to see less real human interaction in things like family reunions or dinners where we spend more time on our phones than the actual conversation.

Is important to mention that this NFT comes with a physical resin quality 3D Print of the sculpture made by Rafa Zabala and if you’re interested in seeing the making of this piece, the videos are up on my Instagram and Vimeo pages.