Known for her whimsical works created under the brand Maylee, Melanie A. is a multidisciplinary artist based in Angoulême, France. Drawing has been her passion since early childhood, she has always enjoyed creating using lots of mediums and has a huge appetite for discovery, constantly eager to try new techniques.
After about ten years working as a self-taught 3D artist, she decided to change direction to become an illustrator. No matter what medium she creates with, Melanie’s work is characterized by a fun and dreamy universe, filled with bright colors!
However, despite her love for graphic arts, she felt the desire to make tangible objects. This is how her journey involving polymer clay started. Melanie decided to design hand-painted polymer clay objects to sell in her online shop! Thanks to the hundreds of online resources available on arts and crafts, she found all the information needed in order to get started.
The French artist has always loved working on series, so she started with three very simple cat models, which she could customize at will by changing their colors and expressions. These cats were designed and drawn by hand by herself and afterwards, thanks to her experience as a 3D artist, she designed her own cookie cutters which she 3D printed and started using to cut the polymer clay shapes.
Melanie usually makes large series of objects, between 30 and 50, in order to save as much time as possible on production. Even if the shape of the objects is not very detailed, each piece requires a lot of work time. From cutting to sanding, painting every little detail, gluing the attachments to the UV resin varnish, it takes several hours of work for each one.
“It's important for me to create fun and colorful objects that make you smile just by looking at them,” the artist says, “as a little piece of happiness that you can take everywhere with you! I can't wait to start a new series with other animals, as these cats have been a huge success!"
