Inspirational Story of Kasita Wonowidjojo, One of the Creators of Naevis in aespa's 'Savage' MV, Comes from Surabaya and Has Been a Fan of SM Artists Since Long Ago

Kapanlagi.com - For aespa fans, the name Kasita Wonowidjojo has recently been widely discussed. He is mentioned as one of the creators of Naevis, the connecting character between aespa and the KWANGYA world that appears in the MV Savage. This immediately made MY fans (a term for aespa fans) and K-Pop fans in Indonesia proud of Kasita.

When contacted by Kapanlagi.com, Kasita confirmed that he participated in the creation of Naevis. But he explained that Naevis is the work of a team, so it cannot be claimed as an individual work. The team referred to by Kasita is GIANTSTEP, a creative technology company in the United States that provides design, visual effects, animation, programming, visual production, and so on to brands, agencies, and clients in the entertainment world, including SM Entertainment. Kasita himself took part in the look development of Naevis.

"The scope of my work is mostly in look development. So I develop the materials and textures of Naevis, such as skin texture, lighting, and rendering," explained Kasita about his work.

Of course, creating Naevis and other animations in the MV Savage takes a considerable amount of time. According to Kasita, Naevis also needs a 'trainee' period before being introduced to aespa fans.

"It can be said that Naevis also has a training period. Its development time is very long. He is also worked on by our larger team in Korea. So there is also human intervention in the creation of his digital avatar," said the 32-year-old woman.

1. About Kasita

Kasita Wonowidjojo (credit: Personal Document)

Before knowing more about Kasita and her career in the field of creative digital art, let's get to know each other a little because if you don't know, you won't love according to the proverb. Kasita's family is from Surabaya, East Java, so she claims to be familiar with the Javanese language. But since the age of 3, her family moved to Singapore and Kasita grew up there. When she was 7 years old, Kasita moved from Singapore to Los Angeles, United States. Despite living abroad for a long time, she apparently worked in the homeland.

"So you could say I didn't really grow up in Indonesia. I did work in marketing for a company when I was 23 - 29 years old and that was the longest time I lived in Indonesia, precisely in Jakarta."

From the above explanation, Kasita used to work in marketing, which is very different from what she does now. From the beginning, she admitted that she liked art but didn't really want to make it a profession. He was also interested in coding and computer graphics but had difficulty learning all of it, not as easy as it is now.

"I learned self-taught 3D art and created my own virtual identity in the game Second Life and then sold items there. Funny thing is, it's like I had my own AE. I decided to make it my full-time career and studied at Gnomon School of Visual Effects. There, I learned to sharpen my skills to a professional level and after graduating, I was recruited by GIANTSTEP," he said.

2. GIANTSTEP and SMCU

(credit: giantstep.com)

As mentioned before, Kasita works for GIANTSTEP. It turns out that this company is not only involved in the production of the Savage MV. GIANTSTEP has also been involved even before aespa debuted. GIANTSTEP is also explained to be more involved in the production of Naevis, ae-aespa, and its visual effects.

"The team at GIANTSTEP AS has been working for SM Entertainment before aespa debuted. We were involved in their MV and the development of SMCU. I joined (GIANTSTEP) when aespa was about to debut with Black Mamba to help create 3D materials, lighting, costumes, and so on. I initially worked in the 3D department, which involved many aspects of the production process, but since SMCU Episode 1, I have been trusted as the leader of look development because I have participated and focused in that area. Look development itself at GIANTSTEP includes textures, shaders or materials, lighting, and all of this is done based on the client's or art director's requests," explained Kasita.

3. Thank You to aespa Fans in Indonesia

Since her name was mentioned as one of the creators of Naevis and became a news item in the country's media, Kasita's Instagram comments section has suddenly been filled with K-Pop fans who claim to be proud of her. Some also said they really like Naevis. This was completely unexpected by Kasita before, so she was also surprised to receive positive reactions from K-Pop fans in Indonesia.

"I'm actually very overwhelmed with the comments and DMs that are coming in, it has even reached thousands at the moment. I want to be able to say thank you to everyone, because that's how I feel, very grateful. This shows how enthusiastic MY is and I am very grateful. I am just a small part of this concept, so I am very thankful for the support, it feels like all the hard work is worth it. I just want to clarify that VFX (visual effects) is a team effort, it takes many people to make something look good on screen and I am happy to be part of that team," said Kasita.

4. Kasita and K-Pop

Kasita and f(x) (credit: Special)

Kasita herself does not deny that she likes and enjoys listening to K-Pop songs. Before becoming part of the aespa VFX team, Kasita must have often heard about SM Entertainment. She even admitted that she really likes f(x).

"I grew up listening to BoA's songs and being a big fan of f(x) and SM artists, so you could say I understand their 'SM style'. When I joined GIANTSTEP, I didn't know what I would be working on. I only found out on the first day of work and I was immediately excited," said Kasita, who besides BoA and f(x) also enjoys listening to SHINee, BTS, Red Velvet, Stray Kids, StayC, Weeekly, and of course aespa.

Speaking of aespa, Kasita is certainly familiar with Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. When asked about her opinion on aespa and who her bias is, Kasita had no difficulty at all.

"Savage is my favorite aespa song and their first album also has great B-sides. Because I work with the aespa project, I have grown to like their music and will continue to support them. I like all the members because they are fun to work with. But because my first task was to make ae-Giselle's jacket, Giselle and her ae became my bias," said Kasita.

5. Kasita and Next Goal

For now, Kasita seems comfortable with her job that is somewhat related to K-Pop. When asked if she will still work for creative digital development for aespa or other SM Entertainment projects, Kasita cannot explain for sure.

"I can't predict what will happen in the future. Personally, it's enjoyable to work in the K-Pop industry, but my goal is to move into filmmaking and teaching. So, for now, I can't make a decision."

Thank you for sharing with Kapanlagi.com! Hopefully, Kasita will continue to succeed in her career and achieve her dreams, inspiring other K-Pop fans. Fighting!

(kpl/pit)