Meet Dima Onysko | Illustrator & Visual Development Artist

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

Hi Dima, what matters most to you?
I find it crucial to strive for acceptance in my work. Often times, I have a little perfectionism bug nagging at me to keep polishing a piece after I would consider it complete. While there’s definitely room for that, I feel as though it can be very detrimental for any work to be “overdone”. In my case, this urge comes from a sense of insecurity about the product on a foundational level, which makes me want to cover up my paintings in more intricate detail; however, I think it important to let some things breathe and manage your efforts more on the important parts of a piece. I’ve been working on being better about ascertaining when I have to stop polishing a drawing, accepting the outcome, and moving on to the next thing. This is also a larger discussion within the Illustrator space and it’s always interesting for me to hear how others deal with this conundrum!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I would consider my use and understanding of color as my my specialty. It’s been very fascinating for me to explore how even the slightest tweaks can affect different harmonies and clashes, and I’m very excited to keep exploring them! It took a while for me to arrive at this interest. My fondness of color was very surface-level for the majority of my time as an artist, honestly all they way up until about early 2024. Since then, however, I’ve studied the subject in a more academical sense, which helped me find a deeper appreciation for color, and I’ve been entwined ever since! The more analytical framework is also very helpful for informing my creative decision. The biggest challenges I’ve faced, in this regard, are self-management and acceptance. I find myself desperately wanting the results without leaving a lot of room to play around and experiment, which is where true learning happens. It’s still something I’m working through, in most aspects of my art, but I’m able to trust myself more and give myself space to experiment.

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 I’m honest, I don’t go out too much. Whenever I do, it’s usually on walk around area’s I’ve never been to. Little gathering hubs like Ponce City market or Colony Square are usually my go to, if I wanted to hang out with someone. If I don’t particularly have a plan though, I just walk without a particular direction in mind. The Little Five Points area is also fantastic to experience a lot of clashing cultures and stimuli, and the people are nice. There is this one karaoke place on East Point, called Sing Sing Suites, that had a wonderful atmosphere, and the lady that ran it was awesome,

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The works of Devi Singh (gutmechs) and Theron Brown (t.e.b.2), both of whom are good friends of mine, have always been super inspirational and educational! But even beyond that, they have always pushed me to explore newer, more interesting ideas and are invaluable in terms of friendly competition and discussion! There are very few people I know that have such an infectious passion and drive for their respective crafts. I admire them greatly.

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Other: https://www.artstation.com/hiv3mind