Eric Varela

I am Eric Varela. Welcome to my corner of the web. I am an artist, a designer, a hacker, a baker, and many more things. I graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a BFA in Video and Film Art, but have pursued many avenues of creative expression.

I have a difficult time talking about my work as a singular body, I suppose because I find it hard to differentiate any of the different acts of creation as separate entities. Everything I do informs every other thing I can or will do. Amassing new skills and knowledge is one of my greatest joys in life.

Across all disciplines I find what attracts me the most in an endeavor is breaking things down into their base elements and using those as building blocks for more complex creations. This fundamental level of matter can manifest itself as the flour chosen for a bread, as the individual pixels (and individual color bytes that compose that pixel) in an image or video stream, the flatness of a sheet of metal or cotton, the pure pigments in a particular color of paint or dye. I like to dip my hands into my art and get them dirty putting things back together again.

My current work is primarily digital, but I have a great deal of respect and love for the more tactile arts as well. It is important to be able to run your fingers along the edge of what your are creating from time to time and feel its jagged edge, and to wipe the sweat off of your forehead as you will a material into an entirely new form or function. Even more so when the material is your own body. The physical and performative arts have always been an important part of my life as well, ranging from musical theater, to parkour, to aerial theater.

I am currently freelancing in the DC/Baltimore area, but am also accustomed to long distance work flows for digital and collaborative work. I am currently available for commissions and collaborations in many fields including, but not limited to: 3D Modeling, Texturing, Rendering, or Animation. Video Editing, Motion Graphics, and Special Effects. Programming, App Development, Video Game Development, and Website Design.