There is a kind of AI art that refuses to be decorative. O EYE makes that kind.

The Italian artist behind @oeye.project has built something harder to define than a portfolio: a self-contained visual world. Figures fused with stone, metal, and rust. Faces caught between collapse and transcendence. Characters with names and backstories, recurring across series conceived as mythology, not gallery content.

The darkness here is never arbitrary. It follows a consistent visual logic, cinematic framing, theatrical atmosphere, a color palette that signals intention. This is controlled work, even when it looks like it’s on the edge of unraveling.

What sets O EYE apart in AI surrealism right now is the insistence on narrative at the micro level: each image carries its own poetic weight, and the body is treated as a site of transformation rather than decoration. The engagement on oeye.project is disproportionate to its follower count. The audience is paying close attention.

In the interview below, O EYE talks about where the project came from, what drives it, the tools and methods behind it, and what he would tell someone just starting out in AI art today.

INTRODUCTION

1. Could you introduce yourself and tell us about your profession, nationality, and artistic background?

My name is Marco Relli. I am an Italian visual artist based in Rome and the founder of the O EYE project.

Art and creativity have been part of my life since childhood. I grew up in a family where my father was always an important role model and a constant source of artistic inspiration for me.

My professional journey developed primarily within the fashion and clothing industry. I worked across several stages of the creative and production process, from drawing and pattern making to garment production and distribution. This work allowed me to transform ideas into concrete projects and eventually led me to create two independent clothing brands, one dedicated to womenswear and the other to menswear.

Alongside this, I have always pursued painting, drawing, and digital art, also working with Photoshop and Procreate. All these experiences have contributed to shaping my visual language and the way I conceive images, characters, and worlds.

2. How long have you been using generative artificial intelligence?

I have been using generative artificial intelligence for about a year. It felt like a very natural encounter with a medium that allowed me to bring together my previous experiences in fashion, drawing, digital art, and creative direction.

From the beginning, I did not perceive it simply as a technical tool, but as a new expressive language through which I could give form to my imagination, experiment, and build visual universes.

3. Do you use artificial intelligence professionally?

Since I began working with generative artificial intelligence relatively recently, I have not yet fully entered a structured professional environment.

However, I use it very consistently and devote a great deal of time to research, experimentation, and creation. It has now become an important part of my artistic life and a space in which I am able to express myself with great freedom.

Considering how passionate I am about this process, my goal is to gradually transform this activity into something that goes beyond the personal dimension. I hope that, over time, it can also become a genuine profession.

TOOLS AND METHOD

4. Which artificial intelligence tools do you use most frequently?

The tool I use most frequently is ChatGPT, mainly to develop ideas and to create and rework images. I often use Grok for animation, while for the final video editing I mainly work with CapCut or Edits.

I enjoy combining different platforms because each one offers specific possibilities, visual languages, and results. The final outcome rarely comes from a single step or from using just one tool.

5. Do you have a particular working method?

My working method almost always begins with whatever inspires me in that particular moment. Many ideas emerge from the environment around me, from the people I meet, or from something I happen to see by chance.

It could be a photograph that catches my attention, a sentence overheard in a café, a face, an unusual object seen in the street, or a seemingly insignificant detail.

From that small initial element, I begin to imagine a character, a world, or a situation. I then develop the idea using different tools and through numerous attempts, modifying and refining it until it begins to resemble the vision I had in mind.

6. Are there any settings, workflows, or habits you use that might surprise other people?

One of the main characteristics of my working method is that I write extremely detailed prompts, often very long and sometimes incredibly long.

It is a part of the process that I find both enjoyable and fascinating. I like describing every element exactly as I see it in my mind, from the framing and lighting to the materials, expressions, and smallest details.

I reread and modify my prompts many times, adding, removing, or correcting details until I can get as close as possible to the image that already exists in my mind before it has even been generated.

Another habit of mine is photographing objects, people, details, or situations that attract my attention, even when I do not yet know how I might use them. I keep them on my phone and often return to them weeks or months later. A seemingly insignificant element can reignite an idea and become the starting point for an entire project.

INSPIRATION

7. Where do you draw your inspiration from: artists, art movements, images, emotions, or something else?

My inspiration can come from almost anything: art, cinema, photography, fashion, the people I meet, and everyday situations.

Instagram is also an important source of discovery for me because it allows me to connect with outstanding artists from all over the world and encounter a wide range of visual languages.

At the same time, I try not to focus exclusively on what other people are doing. Many ideas emerge from emotions, memories, dreams, or images that suddenly pass through my mind.

8. What fuels your visual universe?

My visual universe is fuelled by a very vivid imagination that I have always felt the need to express. In the past, I did this through drawing, fashion, and digital art. Today, I have found in artificial intelligence a medium that allows me to give form to what I imagine with an even greater degree of freedom.

I feel the need to create unusual worlds, characters, and situations, beginning with whatever passes through my mind, the emotions I experience, or the things I dream about at night.

The most fascinating part is being able to bring these visions to life, give them an identity and a meaning, and eventually share them with others.

9. How do you organise your visual research?

My visual research is not organised in an overly rigid way. I save images, photographs, screenshots, and posts that attract my attention, mainly on my phone and in my Instagram collections. I also photograph many details from everyday life.

Later, I return to this material and look for connections between elements that may initially seem unrelated. An image I originally saved for one particular reason will often end up suggesting a completely different idea.

My archive is not merely a collection of references, but a kind of visual memory that I return to whenever I feel a project beginning to take shape.

10. Do you use any specific websites, portfolios, or tools as reference sources or discovery platforms?

I do not use one specific platform in a systematic way. Instagram is certainly the tool I use most often to discover new artists, visual languages, and interesting projects.

However, my research remains very spontaneous and may continue through a film, a book, an exhibition, a photograph, or simply by observing what is happening around me.

I try not to limit myself to images created with artificial intelligence because I believe the most interesting forms of cross-pollination often emerge from encounters between different disciplines and visual languages.

11. Are there any artists who do not work with artificial intelligence who influence your work?

Absolutely. I am a very eclectic person and move easily from one visual language to another. One day, I may feel inspired by Salvador Dalí, and the next by Fernando Botero or Pablo Picasso.

At other times, the influence comes from great filmmakers, photographers, or fashion designers. I do not try to reproduce their styles directly. What interests me most is understanding how they were able to build a recognisable identity and represent reality through their own personal perspective.

I believe the artists I admire share the ability to create a world that can be recognised even before their name is revealed.

12. Do you have a story about an idea that came from an unexpected source?

Many ideas emerge while I am looking through books with my son or telling him a story. Sometimes an animal, a shape, or an illustration created for children suddenly ignites a completely different image in my mind.

From a simple and innocent element, I might begin imagining a surreal or unsettling character, or a figure belonging to another world.

I find it fascinating that such an ordinary and spontaneous source can become the starting point for a complex visual project. It is also proof that inspiration does not necessarily have to be sought in extraordinary places. Sometimes it is already right in front of us.

ADVICES

13. What advice would you give to someone beginning to work with generative artificial intelligence today?

My first piece of advice would be not to focus too much on follower numbers or on trying to please everyone. You should continue creating what genuinely feels like your own and not allow other people’s opinions or current trends to completely change your direction.

It is advice I would also give in life more generally: the consistency to continue being yourself with honesty is what can ultimately make a difference over time.

From a professional perspective, I would also emphasise the importance of coherence, continuity, and a willingness to learn. The tools change quickly, but curiosity and personal identity remain essential.

14. If you had to start again from the beginning, what would be the first thing you would do differently?

Honestly, I think I would do almost everything in the same way. Even the mistakes, experiments, and less successful images were necessary for me to understand the direction I wanted to take.

Perhaps I would simply try to worry less about immediate results and enjoy the experimental phase even more, without feeling the need to arrive at a definitive style straight away.

In my opinion, style should not be decided in advance. It gradually emerges from what we continue to choose, create, and communicate.

15. Are there any mistakes you have made that you would be willing to share?

One mistake people can make is paying too much attention to what performs well on social media and temporarily losing touch with what they genuinely want to communicate.

References are important, and observing the work of others can be extremely stimulating. The risk arises when those references become limitations or when you begin creating primarily according to what you believe will receive the most approval.

At times, you may begin to question your own direction simply because an image does not receive the response you had hoped for. I have learned, however, that an immediate result does not necessarily determine the value of a piece of work.

We should observe, learn, and engage with others, but without allowing algorithms or trends to make us conform.

16. Do you have any less obvious advice about tools, methods, or your daily practice?

I would recommend combining different tools and methods rather than committing exclusively to a single platform. Artificial intelligence evolves very quickly: one tool may offer extraordinary results today, while another may become more suitable tomorrow.

Just as a good tomato sauce can come from combining several different varieties of tomato, an image or video can also improve through the combination of different platforms, techniques, and forms of creativity.

For me, the final result is almost always the product of several stages: an initial idea, multiple generations, corrections, reworking, animation, editing, and sound.

You should not fall in love only with the tool itself, but learn to recognise what can genuinely serve the project.

17. What advice would you give for building an effective social media presence?

I do not believe there is a real trick. You need to devote time to your presence, publish with a certain degree of consistency, and interact sincerely with others, whether they are artists, creators, or simply people who feel connected to your world.

It is important not to simply publish something and wait for a reaction. You need to participate, observe, exchange ideas, and build genuine relationships.

Visual coherence and the ability to make your universe gradually more recognisable can also help a great deal. People should not remember only a single image; they should begin to recognise the world to which that image belongs.

18. Is there any advice you wish you had received when you first started?

I have to say that I have been fortunate because, throughout my journey, I have met many knowledgeable people who were willing to share their advice. Little by little, they helped me understand more clearly how to move forward.

The most important advice is probably not to be afraid to ask questions, listen, and engage with others.

At the same time, however, you need to learn how to filter what people tell you and retain only the suggestions that respect your identity. Not every piece of advice is right for everyone. The most difficult thing is understanding which suggestions can genuinely help us grow without taking us away from who we are.

All images © O EYE 2026