# Anna Zhilyaeva By [SnowX](https://paragraph.com/@snowx) · 2022-03-09 --- “I invite you to my world where black color is a symbol of joy, where are no rules and you can create whenever you want’’ ========================================================================================================================= Art is always the connection bridge between what we think, what we feel, and our external world. It is the language humans have invented over decades through painting, theaters, and in every artistic aspect.  The evolution of our external world affected the way we incarnate our internal selves like our imagination, our communication, and the artistic world. Artists are no longer trapped in the real world limitations, they became freer in presenting their painting in a real form due to virtual reality which allows the artists to give a soul to their artworks through the usage of 3D technology. It gave the artists the chance to sense and live in their world and share it with others if they want. It's like a call to a parallel world as the VR artist,  Anna Zhilyaeva, described. In this article, we will take you to the world of a dreamer, to the first VR arts adopter and an immersive artist, to [Anna Zhilyaeva](https://www.instagram.com/annadreambrush/?hl=fr) and her impressive career.   Who is Anna Zhilyaeva? \*\* \*\* ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1f9afc8491cd3d71b91a4ed868e0e7bf978012a98ffce5747b4d726df4357d95.png) Anna Zhilyaeva is a french Russian VR artist based in La Garde. She is an icon in virtual reality art and digital art. Her strong passion and her intelligent artistic curiosity led her to be the first pioneer in that field.  She became the youngest artist student at 14 years old. She went to art school without her parent's financial support,  graduating after 6 years from the fine art school in  Orenburg under the title of painter. Then she followed her eagerness to know more and insisted on developing her skills and educating herself more, so she moved to Moscow and studied sculpture and painting restoration at the Academy of Arts. Then studied architecture, then she earned a diploma in art and TV at the Herzen University of Saint Petersburg in Russia. The young lady also held the position of Art Director at Lenizdat, the oldest publishing house in Russia to become an art teacher in a non-profit organization. The changing process and the success movements in her career were like a roller coaster ride as she described. She was moving so fast toward success. Anna is a worldwide VR  artist performer, she performed in London, Germany, Turkey, India, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Dubai, Taiwan, and Singapore. She is interested in implementing technological techniques to cross real-world boundaries.  _" You can switch the world, you can go to the real one, it doesn't mean to escape your real life, it means just speak your dreams, your thoughts, your world"_  Anna's artworks are beyond creativity, the moment you see them you forget that they are just painting. She is adopting   ‘Volumism’ to describe her immersive creations of sculptured paintings. She explained it a_s "the way technology offers to create any volume and breaks the laws of gravity"._ In other words, to connect the two worlds. \*\* \*\* Also, she adopted the Mixed Reality video technique to give people who don't own the VR headset a chance to watch the VR paintings so they can be shared on social media platforms on a large scale. _“ I’ve never dreamt of becoming a Leonardo da Vinci, or any other famous artist, it was  just enough to discover and be myself, to be able to focus on objectives and go forward without fear”_ What pushed her to the fame lights \*\* \*\* Anna's career was full of wonderful achievements that graved her name on every artist's memory, not only VR artists but also traditional artists. Her uniqueness drew her a road over oceans. She created a mixture of classical art, as she is a painting graduate from the classical fine art university, with the VR technology to have her own style under the     Volumism style as she called it. That is the usage of VR to utilize volume and space to create 3D paintings such as oil paintings in a 3D form.   ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/dff4a33221d46dd968ed67f18dfca80f26ded73675f5a187d3463cfad2c5f8c6.png) ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/882329db36626ab1516331d2f0a5b081085fe94280745860ceea162498f0f002.png) _“ Years ago when I started to experiment with VR, I noticed that a certain amount of strokes could give you the aspect of oil painting”_ Talking about what inspired her in the TED talk in 2018, she said that the way Picasso used the lights to paint in 1949 inspired her to jump into the VR experience too. And when it comes to the ideas of her paintings, she said in an interview for the [Peacock Magazine](https://www.thepeacockmagazine.com/anna-zhilyaeva), she is being influenced by her environment, surroundings, and travel.  _"From everywhere; travel, books, people, films, emotions, paintings, nature, science, etc. I never wait for inspiration; it comes when I start working. Energy is circulating. The more I do, the more I want to do, the more I can do."_  She is so attached to her arts, they are like oxygen for her.   _"I become a part of my painting. My painting becomes a part of the performance"_ \*\* \*\* Anna Zhilyaeva achievements  The VR artist has an artistic archive full of accomplishments. She worked with many international brands like IBM, Microsoft. She is even exposing her first NFT artwork in February 2021 which is sold for $41ETH which is around  $24,593 at that period. And when she was interviewed in the [Peacock Magazine](https://www.thepeacockmagazine.com/anna-zhilyaeva) about what was her best client so far, she mentioned the experience that pushed her to fame and brought to her more collaborations with international brands, "Her stroke of luck".  "My first performance was for Google in London, back in 2017. After that, I had many collaborations. I don’t know which one was my biggest client. I’ve worked with Prada, Microsoft, Hugo Boss, HTC Vive, amongst others." Also, she painted for high profiles like Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, during a live performance in Dubaï back in 2018, and in 2020 she created a mixed reality video of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1st president and founder of the Turkish Republic. Her Best performances  ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/741e815a325e6e86650f11d9af75af6a1d6d083ede709f782093e3cf3da919fd.png) The solo 3D live interpretation of “Liberty Leading the People” (Eugène Delacroix) at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris (2018) In the opening show of the World Skills competition in Russia in 2019, she performed for around 45.000 audiences.  Her Artworks Vision  _“ Years ago I drew illustrations for a Russian Fairytale, today I bring my underwater princess in a virtual world ’’_ \*\* \*\*Anna Zhilyaeva is an artist with an imaginary vision, her artworks are not just beautiful paintings linked to VR technology to impress her audiences, they are all beyond the strokes of lines and her artistic background. They are storytelling, a screaming message that needs to be heard and needs to be felt. That's why we will take you to her world to listen and to feel it.   Still Life with Condoms ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f574a733f128b3693f963edcd5ba744776dfa9d050d893d54687bf6fd54dfc76.png) This piece of art is for the woman who is being exploited by the manhood society mindset and she is the prisoner to her miserable fate and doesn't have the courage to fight for herself or to complain about her humiliating situation. So she accepted to be treated like a doll to feed the man's desires. In this painting, she tends to be like a mirror that reflects their reality so they can take a moment to look at themselves from the outside. “_I find it very appropriate to give this work an old-fashioned name. Condoms are used just once and then thrown away. They’re used for protection, from diseases and undesirable pregnancy.”_ Cherry ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/0ba6367ef6ba9ea19316f6f468f1a92326b0d023355715891c454e9c294d3cc0.png) This piece of art represents the changeable woman who adapts to any period of time and she gives the spectator the freedom to define her behavior, her character depending on his/her perspective. In other words, it's what you only see. _“You can choose her character, behavior, and appearance. Can be adjusted for everyday needs.“_ _Pricing:_  $3,042.22  _You can find all her artworks on:_ [_makersplace.com_](https://makersplace.com/annadreambrush/)   Anna Zhilyaeva and Her NFT Artworks As an ambitious artist who is always looking for achieving more success and as a curious painter, that led her to experiment with the VR world that drove her to join the NFT world and as success is not a stranger for her anymore, her artworks are gaining wonderful profits in the NFT world to attain total artwork value: $2,171,207.14 (749.377 ETH) since she joined it in 2021 to reach around total artworks sold: 739 according to [cryptoart.io](https://cryptoart.io/artist/annadreambrush) website. Some of her NFT works  Unsuspected stories “ Summer elf” March 2021 ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/a3631d0c41d72d9d287aeda4920cd6cb5e2de287c2e30fd415aded3ea088dd5d.png) $80,459.41 (27.77 ETH)  Impulse ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/85b1eba449cc5bc96902a8c3896478a67a7f05231320f7eb51a7361b62470e76.png) $5,984.50 (2.066 ETH) Discover her magical collections on [cryptoart.io](https://cryptoart.io/artist/annadreambrush) Get to know her  In her interview with the Indian [Peacock Magazine](https://www.thepeacockmagazine.com/anna-zhilyaeva), Anna Zhilyaeva spontaneously spoke about how she developed her artistic skills and what is her best artworks for her and talked about many other points that showed how she is an inspirational woman and here is an extract from her interview. _WHEN DID YOU DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN ARTS?_ _“I have loved to create fantasy ever since I can remember. As a child, I spent many hours alone, making animals, houses, and people out of paper. I loved making things up and listening to stories. I think it’s very important to spend time alone to get to know yourself and what you like to do._ _When I was 10 years old, I took a free art class. My teacher motivated me and other kids during those first four years; we discovered different techniques and painted plain air in incredibly beautiful places. She got me involved in a lot of international art competitions. It was interesting. She pushed me to continue studying art professionally.”_ _HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT TASTING SUCCESS AND MANAGING IT AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE? DID IT SET YOUR OWN AND YOUR CLIENT’S EXPECTATIONS HIGH?_ _“Everything is relative; age and success too. What counts as success? I think waking up and wanting to live, to experience, to explore, to carry on (is a success). Appreciating what you have and the people around you, to love and be loved (is important). I believe that happiness is within. It is very important to be kind and share good cheer. When you are kind to others, others respond to you in the same way. We are social creatures, and you get what you sow._ _Money and popularity will not make you the happiest person. The best things in the world are free: love, friendship, caring. They cannot be bought. But, yes. Success helps me achieve some of my dreams like those of working all over the world, speaking different languages, meeting amazing people.”_ WHICH WORK OF YOURS IS YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE? _“I think when you are satisfied with your work, you stop growing. Of course, I find some of my work more interesting than others. Especially when I manage to combine painting and dance, to emerge in a performance, to create an atmosphere, to tell a story. Like in The Story of Magical Kindness, or as in the Colorful Souvenirs._ _Creating a painting in Tilt Brush is not easy. I worked with many different mediums: oil, acrylic, watercolor, clay, marble, but in my opinion, it’s much harder to be predictable in VR, especially when you want to show your creations in mixed reality. I think I’ve also made more technological progress in one of my last pieces.”_ DO YOU ENJOY PERFORMING SOLO OR WITH DANCERS/ORCHESTRA, ETC? WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE PERFORMANCE TO DATE? _“I love performing live. It’s always exciting. When I put the headset on, I’m always alone, I don’t see anyone. But there is a repetition, to put it all together, where you meet great dancers and musicians, it’s amazing._ _I performed in a stadium in front of 45,000 people. The stadium was so big I couldn’t see anyone. I loved my last performance in India, where I painted Kali with fire. It’s an impressive brush that looks interesting on the screen.”_ WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? _“Enjoy life: Love, travel, dance, read, meet people, watch films, create. The most important thing is to enjoy what you do: It makes you happy; it makes those around you feel good. Everything else will come to you on its own. The whole universe conspires to help the person in love. There is a concept of diffusion, which we apply in physics, chemistry, biology, and sociology. The idea is that a high concentration of matter spreads around. This applies to art as well. It will diffuse, what I create will come back to me.”_ In conclusion, Anna Zhilyaeva is one of the best VR artists who will always be a never-ending inspirational story that when the VR art comes to your mind you will relate it to her. She proved her own originality, her own creativity, and she always surprises you with her amazing art. She is a dreamer who realized hope and spread it to the world.  Follow her on [annadreambrush](https://www.instagram.com/annadreambrush/?hl=fr) for more realized dreams.   by: Awedi Aicha (SnowX content team) References: [https://awesomebyte.com/virtual-reality-art-of-anna-zhilyaeva-is-something-really-unique/](https://awesomebyte.com/virtual-reality-art-of-anna-zhilyaeva-is-something-really-unique/) [https://www.annadreambrush.com/wiki/index.php?title=Anna\_Zhilyaeva](https://www.annadreambrush.com/wiki/index.php?title=Anna_Zhilyaeva) [![]({{DOMAIN}}/editor/youtube/play.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0CQfsb5Wsc) [https://rare.makersplace.com/2021/01/12/beyond-painting-exploring-volumism-with-anna-zhilyaeva/](https://rare.makersplace.com/2021/01/12/beyond-painting-exploring-volumism-with-anna-zhilyaeva/) [https://www.thepeacockmagazine.com/anna-zhilyaeva](https://www.thepeacockmagazine.com/anna-zhilyaeva) [https://nftcalendar.io/creator/anna-zhilyaeva/](https://nftcalendar.io/creator/anna-zhilyaeva/) [https://www.iposgoode.ca/2021/05/nft-a-new-crypto-trend-for-digital-arts/](https://www.iposgoode.ca/2021/05/nft-a-new-crypto-trend-for-digital-arts/) [https://nftcalendar.io/creator/anna-zhilyaeva/](https://nftcalendar.io/creator/anna-zhilyaeva/) [https://www.iposgoode.ca/2021/05/nft-a-new-crypto-trend-for-digital-arts/](https://www.iposgoode.ca/2021/05/nft-a-new-crypto-trend-for-digital-arts/) \*\* \*\* \*\* \*\* --- *Originally published on [SnowX](https://paragraph.com/@snowx/anna-zhilyaeva)*