In the ever-evolving landscape of digital art, few voices strike a chord as deeply as Olivier, better known by his artistic moniker, Daaroan.

This self-taught French visual artist and photographer has carved out a unique space for himself in the world of creative exploration.

His work is a fascinating fusion of classical inspiration and cutting-edge technology. From fashion portraits to fine-art abstraction, Daaroan’s journey spans decades of multidisciplinary practice.

In this exclusive interview, we dive into Daaroan’s inspirations, his favorite AI tools, and his advice for artists curious about taking the plunge into this thrilling new frontier. Whether you’re an art enthusiast, a tech-lover, or someone simply curious about how imagination and innovation collide, you’re in for a treat.

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

Hi, I’m Olivier aka Daaroan. I’m a French artist living near Paris, France. I’m a self-taught photographer and visual artist, with a long multidisciplinary experience: street photography, commissions for painters, sculptors and fashion bloggers; fashion portraits, fine-art, graphic research and abstract photography. 

How long have you been using generative AI?

I started working with A.I. image generation softwares about a year and a half ago. I started with Vizcom.ai and quickly became passionate about it. For over a year now, I’ve been creating my images using Leonardo.ai, which has really become my personal creative studio. At the moment, I don’t use this software professionally, even if that’s one of my future goals.

What is your biggest source of inspiration currently?

I’m passionate about all the Arts, especially painting and photography. From Dürer to Warhol, from Schiele to Rothko. I admire the work of photographers like Cartier-Bresson, Paolo Roversi, Sarah Moon or Mapplethorpe, and fashion designers like Alexander McQueen. Numerous illustrators, comic book authors and thousands of others have inspired me since childhood. But I think that over time I’ve digested all these influences and that these artists are part of my creative family and my DNA.

Which AI tools do you use the most ?

On a daily basis, I create with Leonardo, where I can upscale my creations as well. I also use Kling.ai to create video animations from my illustrations. I’m currently testing Pixverse.ai to create morphs between images from the same series. My only secret is to have good artistic references in many different visual arts, being a photographer and a visual artist myself since a long time. But above all, I need to be able to manage my tens of thousands of images with a good photo browser (for me it’s iView MediaPro for Mac) and, even more importantly, to be able to work up to 8 hours (or more) on Photoshop on a single image until I achieve the illustration I had in mind at the outset.

Any advice for those who want to get started with AI art?

My only advice would be to go for it, and not to hesitate for a moment to try out free versions of A.I. softwares to begin with, so that you can form your own opinion. Whether you are an illustrator, photographer, musician, architect or a scientist, A.I. softwares are fantastic and indispensable tools, if you know beforehand what you want to achieve, and are conscious of their capabilities and limits. We must never forget that nothing can replace hard work and personal creative research. Nor will A.I. creation ever replace the pleasure of drawing with a pencil, taking a photograph or touching a beautiful fabric, for example.