While much of the 3D art we’re exposed to now has a vaguely familiar sheen to it, Mickaël Mehala – aka Black Childish – has always been drawn to less ‘perfect’ aesthetics. His 3D illustrations are blended with grainy imperfections and painterly textures that he adds with brush tools in 2D programs, blurring the line between the two mediums and creating a deliberately ambiguous aesthetic.

Originally from the French-Caribbean Island of Martinique, his upbringing still looms large in his visual influences today. “Growing up in Martinique is just witnessing how everything around you is so bold and lively: the nature, the culture, the music, the food, the laughs,” he tells CR. “It was my ‘normal’, and it wasn’t until I left for Paris to study that I truly understood its depth.”