We had the good fortune of connecting with Dee Divakaran and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dee, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Growing up I was always curious about the process of creating art. I would try to research and experiment with every technique I came across and remember being excited about the endless possibilities of what I could try next. As I grew older, my excitement transformed into passion, which led me to pursue a creative career. I had fallen in love with animation very early in my life and the ability to draw and bring inanimate characters and things to life felt like magic to me. I was also big on storytelling and loved listening to them and making up my own. So, I decided to pursue storytelling and 2D animation after high school. Somewhere along the way I found the technical challenges in visual effects fascinating and decided to strengthen my own technical skills. And currently I’m pursing my Master of Fine Arts degree in Motion Media Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. Pursuing a creative path has helped me satisfy my curiosity but it’s also helped me see our world and everything about it from a fun and unique perspective.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My creative career journey has been a difficult yet rewarding one so far. And coming from a multidisciplinary background of 2D animation, illustration, visual effects, and motion design, I have faced several difficult and interesting challenges along the way. But this didn’t stop me from having a little fun with the process of tackling these challenges head on.

At the beginning of my journey, I had to ask a lot of difficult questions and make even harder decisions along the way. Out of all these questions there were three I really wanted to find answers to. I realized early on in my journey that I had a hard time trying to understand the direction I wanted to take and what I wanted to do with my art. One important question I needed an answer to was, who am I as an artist? To find an answer to this question, I felt it was important to understand and define who I am as a person by exploring my personality, core values, passion, and skills. I find that curiosity is what drives me as a person and an artist. I use curiosity to learn more about the world I live in and the people in it. I also want to leave a positive impact on anyone I interact with and translate the same through my work.

Next question I asked myself was what medium do I choose to create art? To understand what kind of art I wanted to create I needed to know what options I had. And while figuring that out, I didn’t want to limit myself to just my interests so I set out to explore as many options as I could. And this mindset helped me learn not to be afraid of trying out new things. I think it also gave me an identity as an artist who loves to challenge and push her own limits with a goal to continue learning and growing, in a world that is forever changing and evolving.

After years of exploring all the different options available to me, I realized that I wanted to create art that was not limited to one specific medium. I enjoy the freedom to pick and combine different aspects about mediums from completely opposite sides of spectrums such as 2D and 3D. While this process was fun, I also found it hard because it felt like I was constantly fighting against time that I didn’t have. Learning a new medium takes a lot of effort and time, I started questioning whether all this effort was even worth it. But I had to trust my process and remind myself that the time and effort I spend on this now is more like an investment in myself and my future.

The last question I wanted to answer was why or who am I creating for? Initially my answer to this question was that I’m creating for myself because it’s something that brings me a lot of joy and I enjoyed sharing my creations with others. And when the pandemic hit and the world came to a standstill, I asked myself another question, can I help the world with my art? And this is the journey I’m on currently where I’m trying to understand what I really want to do with my art. I’m still in the process of finding an answer to this question but I’m proud of everything I have been able to accomplish so far and look forward to doing more.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If this weeklong trip was in Atlanta, I would take my friend to Ponce City Market to checkout some local merchants and we could take a walk or bike along the belt line. We could get something to eat and drink at Krog Street Market. One of my favorite restaurants there is Gu’s Dumplings. If we were to do a short-day trip, we could go the Red Oak Lavender Farm. We could visit and enjoy the beautiful architecture of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on the way back.

And if this weeklong trip was in Savannah, I would take my friend to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist where we could spend some peaceful time looking at the beautiful architecture and stained-glass windows. Then we could walk around Broughton Street and get something to eat and drink there. One of my favorite restaurants there is the Flying Monk Noodle Bar. Another must see place is the River Street where we could walk along the river and if you go there in the evening during the weekends you can watch performances by live bands and trapeze artists! They also have one of the best pizza places (in my opinion) called Graffito Pizza.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Firstly, I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my family because their continuous support and unconditional love is the reason for where I am today in life. Pursuing a creative career is not very common where I’m from but my parents knew this is where my passion lies, and they would constantly encourage me to dream bigger and to never give up. I’m also very grateful to my teachers and professors for always guiding me to the right direction whenever I feel lost and for helping me understand more about myself as a person and an artist. And last but definitely not the least, I’m so thankful for having wonderful friends who have always been by my side through thick and thin.

Website: https://deedivakaran.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightsun.art/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deedivakaran/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.