Paul Medioli

       I’ve been a bit of a nerd my whole life, as some have been keen to point out. I like classical literature, ecology, history, mythology, and physiology, and people really seem to get a kick out of my moustache. This has lead me to art. I create rich characters and creatures that can suggest or supply worlds to support them. My body of work encompasses character design, comics, and animation for written and visual stories and games.

        Now that we’re acquainted, for much of my life I’ve observed how separate individual realities can be, and how eager most are to bridge this yawning gulf of subjectivity, usually with spoken or written language. While articulate, these methods take years to learn and implement. This is why I love visual narrative - as articulate as words can be, visuals are universally and immediately potent. Much can be revealed by a character’s dress, the framing of a sequence, a nervous twitch or a graceful maneuver. I really love the challenge of showing without telling, and how a character's identity evolves throughout development, sometimes surprising even me. My goal is to share this feeling of discovery with the audience, providing space for viewers to trust their own insights and play a more active, perceptual role in the story. 

         I particularly enjoy considering a characters' anatomy, movement, and personal history. Once a character is defined, I turn to constructing the world supporting them and how it operates. Then, the pacing, framing and blocking of the narrative becomes evident. I work with a variety of media from charcoal to after effects to 3D printer substrate, but will just as often settle on a pencil and paper.

          My aim is to provide audience members, whether viewers or readers, with an absorbing window through which a compelling view beckons, drawing them closer and closer to a view still more grand until they realize they've left the window long behind them.