Isha Hening and Izzy were appointed as mentors for an exclusive mentorship programme aimed at helping aspiring creators gain more experience and exposure despite the ongoing pandemic. 

Isha is a visual artist whose main medium is motion graphics. Isha mostly does stage visuals, art installations, video mapping projections, live visual performance and a bit of stage designs. She is also known as a VJ and has been involved in the creative industry for around 14 years.

Yudhistira Israel or Izzy, who is widely known as VNGNC, is an independent digital artist who creates artworks using various digital media. Izzy's works include album and single covers, music videos, as well as personal NFTs. He has been doing digital art since 2013. 

Although both Isha and Izzy work in a similar field, they use rather different approaches. In terms of artistic niche, Isha’s approach is more abstract and avant-garde. Her artworks often feature striking colors and unique, incandescent patterns as she focuses more on designing the emotional interpretations of intangible materials.

Meanwhile, Izzy focuses more on establishing a futuristic nuance and objectively expressing things we often see in our daily lives. This is apparent in the work he did for Psycho Boys Club’s ‘COULD BE SOMETHING’, a music video that features a complex and immersive 3D animation - an homage to cyberpunk culture. 

With their own experience and distinctive styles, the two artists worked together as mentors, sharing their knowledge to their mentees via a virtual collaboration.

Izzy stated that it is a story that ties collaborative projects together beyond technical means. For this mentorship programme, the output is a digital art installation in the form of projection mapping. The story is inspired by the folklore Roro Jonggrang.

“I assessed the skills and abilities of each mentee, as well as considering what they would like to learn during the mentorship. I think it is nice that the mentees get to choose what they would like to know more from Isha and I, providing them the freedom to upskill themselves beyond the project that we’re doing,” Izzy explained. 

He also mentioned that collaborative work plays an important role in getting started in the industry. Therefore, he encourages aspiring creators to participate in these types of projects. “If you have the privilege to shape a collaborative work into fitting your own style, go for it. However, I understand that not all creators have this privilege, to begin with,” he added. 

However, given the COVID-19 situation, Isha said that the project was quite challenging. “It was a bit difficult, since we had to do most of our sessions online. But somehow, we found a way to get around it and everything worked out well throughout the process until the end. Technology is surely helping us collaborate and align expectations more easily even in remote environments,” she said.

On a side note, Isha and Izzy shared several tips for creators-in-the-making. Isha said, “Practice, practice, practice. The technical skills are obviously good to have – but it is something you can hone and learn over time on the job, so please take some time to learn and appreciate the fundamentals.”

For Izzy, other than to collaborate, it is important to break your massive goal into smaller chunks. “One chunk at a week, one shot at a day and one layer at a time,” he said.