Claudia Wei claudiamente@hotmail.com CONCEPT artist Nicolas Petrimaux started his artistic voyage during his adolescent years. His fascination with drawing and illustration was ignited by his exposure to anime, notably Akira Toriyama’s legendary series “Dragon Ball,” which holds great significance for many Chinese animation enthusiasts of the late 1970s and 1980s. As he delved deeper into the world of art, Petrimaux went on to explore works by European authors that he found in French bookstores. He singled out Olivier Vatine and Denis Vegera as the two French artists who inspired him the most in science fiction. Vatine, author of the popular “Aquablue” series in France, made his mark among “Star Wars” aficionados as the illustrator of Dark Horse Comics’ adaptation of Timothy Zahn’s “Heir to the Empire” and as the cover artist of “Star Wars Rebels.” Petrimaux emphasized the importance of immersing oneself in the creative universe of other people from different countries and cultures and the role that cultural exchange activities like the Chinese/French Artists Exchange Program play. “I think that these exchanges are very beneficial,” as they allow artists to engage with diverse artistic forms while honoring the uniqueness of each culture, he said. | 