There was little doubt that Lera Nyukalova would be an artist. Her first foray into art was sketching Sailor Moon but her passion and drive to learn and challenge herself led her first to university to study architecture and eventually to make the move from Kazakhstan to Vancouver to further her practice.

Lera found solace and inspiration in the dynamic urban landscape of the city, keeping a visual diary that would eventually become "Visual Diaries," a collection of paintings that span a decade of personal memories, emotions, and the ever-evolving beauty of Vancouver.

In our conversation with Lera, she shares her tale of growth, harnessing both familial encouragement and the sprawling resources of internet forums to refine her craft amidst the biting critiques that shaped her resilient spirit. She also shares insights into the blending of job-honed techniques with bold forays into 3D modelling, all while maintaining the integrity of her vision against the relentless tick of the clock.

Episode Links

Host: Marina Antunes
Opening & Closing Credits by: Michael Edlund
Produced & Edited by: Joshua Peterman
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TERABYTE: Creative BC.

MEGABYTE: Animal Logic.

KILOBYTE: Bardel Entertainment · Industrial Light & Magic · The Little Dev Shop · Sony Pictures Imageworks · WildBrain Studios.

BYTE:Cinesite · DigiBC · Vancouver Film School.

PARTNERS: ACM SIGGRAPH · SIGGRAPH Asia.

ORGANIZERS: Spark CG Society · Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH.

S06E021: Lera Nyukalova: Driven to Create