Nicolas Monterrat is a cinematographer and director with dual expertise in moving images, which he channels into his personal work as a GIF creator, carried out under the pseudonym UGDTG (“Un GIF dans ta gueule”) since 2010. Over time, his practice has become considerably more refined: at the intersection of humor, rhythm, aesthetics, and poetry, his creations aim to achieve the perfect loop. He draws inspiration from scientific or popular images from a bygone era, appreciating their formal, rigid, and sometimes overly serious nature, which he takes pleasure in subverting from their original purpose to infuse them with whimsy, fun, or a touch of unreality. He cites the influence of Terry Gilliam and Monty Python, Nick Park (creator of Wallace and Gromit), animator Hombre_McSteez, as well as the works of Georges Rousse, Felice Varini, and Philippe Halsman.

Nicolas Monterrat has created animations for music groups such as Moonbabies and Gojira, as well as for VEEDEEO. His work has been featured in specialized publications and platforms, including the Journal du Design, Beware Magazine, Behance, and Giphy. This recognition, which has been built largely outside traditional institutional channels, illustrates how Nicolas Monterrat has managed to transform a format as modest as the GIF into a full-fledged artistic language, recognized by both the digital design and contemporary art scenes.


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The Wave Machine

The_Wave_Machine_Nicolas_Monterrat_Collage.mp4
Nicolas Monterrat is a creator of GIFs at the crossroads of humour, rhythm, aesthetics and poetry. Passionate about animation since always, this image format allows her to tinker at home with quirky little stories, to explore surreal and iconoclastic worlds. According to him, the interest of the GIF lies in the fact that it allows to approach the perfect loop, to tell a story in a few seconds. It’s all about the rhythm and quality of the sequences.
technique

collage

format

landscape

duration

02:09

year

n/a

Transport

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More on digital art

Generative art
Generative art refers to a way of creating artworks using an autonomous system. In digital art, these are usually generated from code and algorithms created by the artist, often with certain predefined parameters or systems. Although these parameters guide the final outcome of the work, generative art is generally a surprising way to create artworks, as the results are often unexpected and the number of possible outcomes can be infinite.
AI
AI art is a branch of generative art that uses artificial intelligence. Unlike other generative artworks, AI artworks use specific complex algorithms and models derived from machine learning. The most common methods for creating AI art today are GANs (generative adversarial networks) or proprietary prompting platforms such as ChatGPT, Sora, Midjourney, or Dall-e.
3D
3D art uses 3D software such as Blender, Cinema4D, Houdini, or video game software such as Unity to create works of art. In 3D works, artists can either arrange assets (the 'objects' in a 3D artwork or world) that they have created themselves or purchased from other creators to create elaborate environments and scenes (an approach to 3D art called 'set dressing'), or specialize in sculpting, which involves creating their own objects and assets.
Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a specialized 3D technique that allows 3D objects to be created from numerous photographs taken of an object or scene from multiple angles. These photos are then compiled to determine the specific positioning, shape, and dimensions of the object in space, and then converted into a 3D model. Initially developed for engineering and urban planning, photogrammetry has become a way for artists to produce extremely accurate 3D models from real-life images.
Collage
An extension of the traditional, plastic approach to collage, digital collage involves searching for and cutting out multiple images, extracting them from their original context, and recomposing them in a new arrangement to create a work of art. Artists can use their own photographs or find images on the internet.
Illustration
Digital illustrations are created using software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Procreate. As with drawing on paper, the artist uses a stylus to sketch a figure or object, usually on a tablet, to construct a scene or artistic universe. Unlike traditional drawing methods, digital illustration is much more forgiving, as mistakes can be easily corrected and drawn elements and objects can be easily moved around within a scene.
Video
Video artworks primarily use a recording camera, but may sometimes include additional post-processing or editing to distort, modify or add additional elements to the image. Some artists use state-of-the-art recording equipment to create macro zoom-ins or time lapses, privileging fidelity to the subject matter. Others use additional softwares to significantly modify or warp the video, creating an alternative perspective on the world that surrounds us.

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