With Artificial Intelligence on the rise, it seems as though we are racing to reach the singularity. Roko’s Basilisk is upon us. Compared to y2k, our modern tech doomsday is subject to our machines inevitably taking over. y2k was supposed to be then end all be all for humanity, “HOW CAN OUR MACHINES CONTINUE WORKING IF IT CAN’T DECIPHER A 0?!” (that really was the premise behind y2k doomsday). With y2k, came the y2k aesthetic, which coupled the ideas of doomsday and future tech, which fundamentally I believe is the essence of y2k aesthetic. y2k aesthetic was born out of web 1.0, as such the aesthetic really belonged to the internet and what was popular at the time. That's what differentiates retro from y2k. Retro is to computers, as y2k is to the internet. Lately the y2k aesthetic has been making a comeback and it seems more fit now than ever, we truly are living in the future. In this era of hyper loaded content and overstimulation one y2k artist stands out far beyond most.

I’ve been following HVNT.TER’s work for a little over a year now and this guy never fails to deliver. Everytime I think he’s reached a peak he comes out with some new banger furthering and expanding his flow. Given the boom in y2k aesthetic, HVNT.TER is easily leading the curve twisting y2k into his own style implementing metal, goth and organic looks to his pieces. Aside from Photoshop & Illustrator, HVNT.TER also uses Blender for a lot of his works, a software slightly uncommon among graphic designers. HVNT.TER’s foresight to use Blender in his illustrations show how far into the future he truly is. It’s not that Blender is a new software, but his ability to use Blender to his liking goes to show the direction that illustration and logos are going. Although most graphic designers get by with just Photoshop and Illustrator alone, if Illustrators wish to be able to compete with the likes of HVNT.TER and other artists at his skill level it seems as though Blender might soon become an industry standard. Having dabbled with Blender myself, I’ve realized first hand that Blender is not for the faint of heart, it’s a completely different beast outside of any adobe products; creatives who seek to be dominant in the industry and ahead of the game must take it upon themselves to start diving into 3D rendering softwares for illustrations as it seems it’ll be the next step in evolution for illustrations and rendering.