Today we’d like to introduce you to David Medina & Andrés Medina.
Hi David & Andrés, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all started during the 2020 pandemic. I was going through an existential crisis and I felt like I needed a creative outlet to keep myself going. It was perfect timing to just sit down and think about what there was for me to do. Graphic design and creative direction were always a huge part of my life since I was a little kid, it was always around me, I remember I would always create small designs or collages on my phone when I was bored and I would post them on Instagram, but I never really touched on it to the point of myself pursuing this career. That was until Andrés told me, “You should try graphic design,” and my mind just clicked immediately. So, we installed a pirated version of Photoshop on my laptop and started creating stuff, we would create concept artworks for artists in hopes of them noticing us. Next thing we knew, we were being acknowledged by musicians such as Alina Baraz, who was a huge inspiration for us at the time, and I wouldn’t say we blew up, but we kind of did.
From that point on, it was mostly turning this hobby into a business, which was something we never thought about in the first place, but we are very grateful for it. The fact that we have been able to invest on Aute X and grow as creatives over time has been such a blessing. We honestly wouldn’t change it for anything.
Later that year, we started getting gigs from different artists and businesses as well, that way we started building relationships while also getting to know new people and designers from our community, and creating art, which is the most important part of it all. I’m not sure if we’ve found a place of our own in the industry yet, but we’re very glad to be where we are right now.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
David: I would say it has been a pretty smooth road, it has been getting a bit tougher these days, but I feel like we’ve been doing quite well. One of the struggles along the way has been the social media algorithms and comparing myself and my work to others as well, I feel like it’s pretty hard to keep yourself grounded and truthful in such a big community where everybody knows what they’re doing and who they’re working with, especially when you’re still growing as a person and as an artist all at once. One of the blessings and curses of being a creative is you will never stop judging your work, you will never stop improving your work either. I’ve tried to make my peace with it though, trying to keep myself away from social media and just enjoy creating and putting my work out there whenever I feel like it, no matter how many likes it gets or how “good” it is. It feels more liberating.
Andrés: I really feel like the break-through phase on social media wasn’t really something I ever worried or even thought about too much, mostly because it was luckily a very natural journey for us.
Now, most of the struggles have to do with time managing for me mostly. Since I started working, David has been carrying a huge part of Aute X as a business which I’m beyond thankful for. I really do think this is part of a personal growth phase in life as it is putting to test my own skills.
I’m really proud of reaching this point considering all of the obstacles, personally and also as a team. It’s not just managing my time, it’s David’s time, Diego’s schedule, my mood, their daily tasks, and so on. There has to be teamwork in order for us to make it happen, which is something that until this day we still try to improve and that’s the point of being a group.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I feel like we wear many hats – creative directors, visual artists, graphic designers, art directors, and so on. Andrés is also a musician and producer himself; you can look up his Spotify and give him a listen. Of course, in Aute X, we specialize on all of the above, all at once, for the music industry most of the time, and a few businesses here and there. I would say we are mostly known for Andrés’ complete genius CGI and 3D art direction, they always blow up, and everybody asks for a tasty blender-based cover art. Our texturing treatments are pretty big as well, it was the first thing that came to my mind – I remember someone once told us we were “amazing” at textures, and it had me thinking for a bit… I never thought about it that way, but I guess some people do.
We are definitely most proud of all the different experiences we’ve gotten and the amazing persons and creatives we’ve met these past two years. Also, we’re beyond thankful to be able to invest on Aute X as a business and, honestly, just create art.
I’m not sure what would set us apart from the rest, I don’t think we’re in that place where we can differ from the others yet. Or maybe we are, we’re still building and evolving as artists. I guess it depends on how you view the art as well.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the most important lessons we’ve learned is to have patience, it definitely is the key to this whole journey. Art does not come as fast as it might seem nowadays. Also, to work on yourself and put in effort constantly in order to achieve whatever goal you put your mind to. There are a lot of standards in this industry and everyone kind of works with the same people, but if you’re patient and constantly push yourself to improve and evolve, you’ll get yourself out there and flourish.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.autexstudio.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/autexstudio
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/autexstudio
Image Credits
Andrés Medina’s
