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

Hi Piero, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
My education. I’ve been fortunate enough to study art in a way that wasn’t specifically focused on computer graphics. This allowed me to have a broader view of the means of communication. The studying of music at a Conservatory trained me to be disciplined. The methods taught were quite strict and you had to follow the rules, something that was hard to do for a kid like myself at that point in time of my life, but now I’m really grateful that my parents gave me that opportunity. That life experience set the foundation for my method, discipline, and consistency that carried over into my professional career.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
What excites me is the chance of working with cinematic elements on visuals, whether it is a series of frames for a pitch or look-dev images for production. I love mixing 3d and photographic assets to give life to images otherwise too digital. The biggest challenge was definitely leaving my country and moving to Los Angeles. You’re basically closing a door. Even though nowadays we have different ways of communicating, through video calls, messages and so on, the relationship with your family and friends as you knew it, is gone. This also means you have to deal with your own, personal change as you’ll have to adjust to a different lifestyle and a new, different culture. Then there are the professional challenges, and for me, the best way to deal with them it’s trying to not stress too much about all the new things I have to learn and accept that ups and downs are a part of the process.There’s been a moment when I was obsessed with the quality of my work. As a consequence, I was losing focus on why I like doing what I do. So, now I remind myself that what really matters is to enjoy the act of creating for what it is: a moment of freedom. Yes, there are clients, and yes they all have unique needs. But if we think only in terms of what the client may expect and not how we can contribute with our own voice to their brand, then there’s no reason in doing a creative job, and what’s worse the client wouldn’t benefit from what could be a different approach to elevate the job we’ve been assigned.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
It would definitely be the Griffith Observatory, the Grand Central Market where we could eat some delicious vegan ramen @ Ramen Hood. Then the Getty Center & Getty Villa. And a nice evening at the Perch restaurant. Maybe to the Temescal Canyon for some hiking, and lastly, of course, a ride on the PCH, and since we’re there we would stop by at the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga.

Alright, so let’s jump right in! The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?
I definitely want to thank my parents for supporting my wish to pursue a career in a creative field. And my wife, who always encouraged me to keep up, to never let a moment of difficulty demotivate me, and to always look at the future with optimism. She likes to remind me that there’s always something we can learn from any experience.

Website: http://phoenixart.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierodesopo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DesopoPiero
Other: https://www.pierodesopo.com/