Today we’d like to introduce you to Conor Grebel.
Conor, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started out convinced I was not capable, or skilled enough to become a professional artist…so I did a lot to avoid it. I travelled a bit after high school, ended up learning some Japanese, which I decided might as well be my major once I went to college. After I graduated with degree in Japanese, I worked temporarily as a toy designer in Japan…which was a surprisingly unpleasant experience.
After moving back to the USA, I kind of dropped all my preconceptions limitations on myself and dedicated myself to growing as an artist in my own way. I learned how to animate, how to code, and a bit of the industry. My career has moved a lot….I started as a motion graphics artist, then a practical effects artist, then an interactive installation artist, then 3D design, then concept art for games…eventually I became very disillusioned with the commercial art world. My desire for story and visceral experience wasn’t sated by the industry of motion art. At the time, a lot of my more impactful experiences interacting with narrative art was through games. Yes there are lots of cheap thrills and shallow commercial ventures, but there was a also lot of truly emotional and driving stories being told in the indie games scene.
Again I shut off from the world, and taught myself how to be a game designer, to further push myself towards a truer version of the artist I want to be.
And here I am! I couldn’t be happier about the decision. Within a few months of becoming a game designer, I felt the confidence, freedom, and love for the craft that I didn’t feel after years within the commercial design / motion graphics arena.
Loving every day of it.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well after my time in Japan, or i should say as a result of…I now have a pretty hard to shake case of OCD. I’m in and out of therapy for it constantly, a lot of strange phobias and broken logic about the world creates a lot of fear driven situations for me. Although it has inhibited a lot of life experiences, it has definitely become a unique tool as an artist. Almost overnight I became acutely tuned into sights, sounds, and tactile surfaces that either make me fear for my life, or remind me of life’s beauty. Being given a powerful microscope into the things around you that you love and hate so clearly is a blessing as much as a curse. While the things that make me uncomfortable might make me feel like I’m dying sometimes…the things that comfort me give me so much joy as well. They save me from the former.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
If you look on my website you will see a lot of brooding, moody, and oppressive imagery. While I am drawn to these things…as I grow as a game designer, my focus on hyper detailed gritty art has lessened…and I’m drawn to more simplistic, stylistic approaches to expression. I found that a simple color and form way of execution your vision sometimes lets the viewer connect with the art more directly, because it invites their imagination to fill in the gaps. Sometimes something too explicit and detailed is more like looking at a photo of somebody else’s vision…where as allowing people to fill in the gaps themselves puts them in the art.
As I’ve grown as a game designer, I’ve noticed how much I’m drawn towards curating a satisfying interaction experience more than a purely high art marvel. Its a thread that’s lead back all the way through my varied artistic career, at every stage my interest in creating experiences that people could touch, interact with, and effect has been a driving force. I guess I view it like…a photo of a tree is nice, a moving photo of a tree is more, but a tree you can blow wind through by waving your hands is an experience you get to have with the tree…and connect with it…
Thus my obsession has been on curating the way people interact with art, creating satisfying and visceral interactions with interactive art and games.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Probably that I’m sober! I make very trippy stuff sometimes, and my work can look edgy sometimes…but I’ve been sober for almost half my life.
Albeit because of OCD, not by choice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bedtimes.co/interactive
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_bedtimes/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Bedtimes
- Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/052mrlxLPCjoDKJ7Y9nE2Z
