Are Livia De Magistris’ 3D creations people, machines, or animals? It’s up to you to decide

In Livia De Magistris’ 3D world, you’ll come across a whole host of strange beings. Some have heads, some have horns and some have bodies made up of blocks and wacky contraptions. Livia sees her creations as “a cross between people, machines and animals”, for whom she creates a magical habitat to exist within. Such work is inspired by the strange creatures that pepper medieval art and imagery; her father studied the history of ancient art and her family home has “always been full of grotesque images, especially from illuminated manuscripts”. Outside of her immediate surroundings, Livia also cites the sculptor Marisol Escobar as a key influence, famous for her folk-infused humanoid figures.

To create her creatures Livia hops between a multitude of methods, usually the result of “various transitions between analogue and digital”, often starting with plasticine and pencil drawing, which she then alters digitally with Nomad, Blender, Illustrator or Procreate. Not stopping there, when she’s completed her figures she’ll print them in Risograph and then scan them, all in the pursuit of a film-like effect. Outside of her personal 3D practice, Livia freelances as an illustrator and regularly collaborates with the publisher Stolen Books.