Giusy Amoroso creates mythological beings for our digital age

Landing on Giusy Amoroso's Instagram is like entering an alien world. Full of familiar yet unfamiliar forms – delicate chrome vertebrae sprouting tendrils and flowers, pierced exo-skeletons – Amoroso blends nature, iconography, and tech to sculpt digital pieces that blur beings from planet Earth with futuristic imaginings.

For her latest otherworldly release, available exclusively on SYKY, the Berlin-based artist and 3D designer has turned to mythology for inspiration, bringing two new tentacled characters to life through her signature futuristic fashion lens. Nereid, whose name references the sea nymphs of Greek legend, and Naiad, representing the freshwater nymphs who appear in stories through the ages, draw on deep-sea creatures in their design.

Blending structural silhouettes with fluid patterns found in the ocean, they showcase Amoroso's painstaking attention to detail and extensive skillset, from 3D sculpting and cloth simulation to character design and animation.  “I wanted to bridge the gap between timeless legends and contemporary design, bringing these mythological figures into a new era,” the designer, who has worked with brands like Nike, Harpers Bazaar, Afterlife, Sony Music, Boiler Room, and more, explains over email.

We caught up with Amoroso to learn more about her process, blending nature and tech, and how she goes about creating mythological characters for our digital age.

Your work focuses on creating a digital multiverse with detailed environments and characters. How do your creations reflect your feelings and who you are?

Giusy Amoroso: I'm inspired by nature and the world around me. I like to absorb different inputs and reinterpret them in my own way to show a different side of things. I want to present a different perspective, exploring how the same world can be seen in infinite ways. Using nature, mythology, and technological elements in my work is my way of reshaping familiar ideas into something new. In a way, my art reflects me. Just like my work is constantly evolving, so am I. It’s a process of development and self-discovery, where each piece I create is a step forward in exploring both my creativity and myself.

Many of your designs, including the new release on SYKY, take inspiration from nature, especially skeletons and tentacle-like forms. What's your POV on blending nature and technology, and how they can co-exist?

Giusy Amoroso: Nature has so many structures that feel designed already: skeletons, shells, how things grow and move. I’m really drawn to those forms and how they can be reimagined in a futuristic way. To me, nature and technology aren’t opposites; they influence each other and evolve together.

Walk us through the process of creating these new designs.

It took a couple of months to finalize them using different 3D software and techniques. I worked with everything from 3D sculpting and cloth simulation to character design and animation, making sure every detail contributed to their unique, otherworldly feel.

I started by customizing the 3D character, working on skin texturing, facial features, rigging, and animation. Then I designed both outfits in Houdini, modeling the skirt and corset procedurally. For Naiad, I created custom brushes to generate repeating patterns on the body, giving it that exoskeleton-like look. I used the same approach for Nereid to design the wings. The tentacles were made using Houdini’s Vellum solver, adding movement and fluidity. Everything was rendered in Houdini with Redshift.

What's the most challenging 3D technique or software in your repertoire? And was it worth it?

Houdini and procedural modeling were difficult to master, but now I couldn't imagine my creative process without it. Learning Houdini has been a journey. It’s a very technical software that requires a completely different way of thinking. Unlike ZBrush, which feels more direct and intuitive, like sculpting in real life, Houdini is all about logic and structure.

For me, combining procedural modeling in Houdini with organic modeling in ZBrush is really powerful. It allows me to create complex, detailed forms while still keeping that natural, sculptural feel. I couldn’t see my art developing any other way now.

⁠⁠You often talk about how technology and 3D design can help us look beyond the surface to see what's on the inside. How does your work reflect your innermost self?

My work definitely reflects my emotions. I’m a very impulsive, emotional person, so many of my choices – from choosing a certain form, color, or lighting – are influenced by how I feel in that moment. It’s also about how I relate to the things I’m looking at or thinking about while creating.

Most of my pieces are alternative versions of reality, showing how things can appear completely different depending on our emotions, simply because we all perceive the world in our own way. That’s what I find so interesting. There’s no single way to see reality, and that idea is always present in my art.

You work with various 3D software, including VR 3D sculpting, and game engines. Is there anything new that you're thinking of exploring?

Giusy Amoroso: My next step is exploring 3D printing and launching my new brand. I want to bring my designs into the physical world, blending the digital and 'real' so people can experience my work in a whole new way.

Head to Giusy Amoroso's SYKY Profile to explore and collect both new pieces, only available on SYKY.