Stacie Ant animates the dizzying state of vertigo in a dreamy new music video

When we last spoke to Stacie Ant, a Berlin-based new media artist and curator, she hoped that her future would have something to do with fashion. And besides the fact she’s almost finished re-watching all of Star Trek: The Next Generation and her downward facing dog is becoming “straighter by the day”, she’s managed to reach her goals – all the while adhering to her signature style of creating dreamy, porcelain-looking 3D babes.

Like many, Stacie is currently working from home, taking on a multitude of different projects from all corners of the creative industry. Her latest endeavours have seen her create several music videos, including one for DJ Hell, that features a group of clones “performing alien sex acts on each other in an abandoned laboratory,” she says. Then there’s the face filters, multiple online exhibitions, plus two IRL shows in Reykjavik and Seoul. And let’s not forget that she’s travelled around Europe playing in a band, and that she’s designed her own clothing for fashion week in Milan, Brooklyn and Helsinki. “Other than that, not a whole lot!”

Stacie, clearly, is a hard grafter and is someone who enjoys spinning multiple plates at once. Throughout the year – granted that there’s been a few obstacles – she’s finally had the chance to finish up a personal project, called Salad Eating Betches. “It’s about three characters interrupting each other outside of Starbucks,” she says. “If that’s not progress, I don’t know what is.” But it doesn’t stop quite there; she fulfilled one of her longest dreams to work in fashion, and after showcasing a few of her designs, well, it’s safe to say she’s more than happy about it.

Although a very welcomed turn, we’re thankful that Stacie has yet to steer away from her glassy characters and dystopian 3D animation aesthetic that we saw last year. “For me, 3D is only one of many methods of spewing out the message,” she tells It’s Nice That. Using her platform to empower female identity and sexuality, Stacie’s message is powerful just as much as it is humorous. Her most recent message has been formed into a music video for Swedish singer and songwriter, Grant – who’s also known as Caroline.

Briefed to create an avatar of the musician, the video follows a simple and effective narrative to the sounds of Grant’s new pop single, Vertigo. “Caroline approached me some time ago to make her a 30-second video as a little promo,” says Stacie. “After that was released, she asked me to do a longer music video with the same avatar in the same setting – but not in a very different style.”

Red haired, green eyed and set amongst a vibrant backdrop, the video follows typical cinematic techniques with fading transitions, gently choreographed movements to the beat and slow, evocative stares into the camera that are performed by the avatar. Five minutes long, Stacie needed to think about how to draw the audience in for the video’s entirety with just one setting and character. “Caroline mentioned that she would like to capture the state of vertigo by using camera pans,” she adds, “and this is when I had the idea to really focus on all of the small closeups and details of the scene.”

A technique used to replicate the atmosphere used to operate a camera, the result is theatrical and completely mesmerising. While creating the avatar, she built the silhouette using Daz, before bringing into ZBrush to sculpt and emphasise the facial features. The flowing clothes were created in Marvellous Designer – “I animate the clothing to go alongside whatever movements the avatar is supposed to do” – then she brought it all into 3DS Max, before working on texturing, the avatar’s skin, her hair and the set. After which she focussed on the lighting, cameras and render segments, working entirely in unison with Caroline with whom she shared great chemistry.

“The song paints the story,” Stacie continues. “But the video’s job is to capture an essence, an environment that adds a layer of richness to the sound.” Achieved in conjunction with the artful styling and distinctive colour palette, Stacie’s animation is a slow and dreamy escapade through the cloudy feeling of dizziness. “I was very inspired by the song itself,” she concludes. “Vertigo really paints a picture in our mind the more you listen to the lyrics – I think that most of us have experience these haunting emotions.”