ImagineFx_-_December_2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1

Interview


hungry (their combined weekly
grocery budget was $10). The pair
rented an office together where they
would work from 8am right through to
3am, cycle home, sleep a few hours,
then get up and do it all over again.
“I had a lot of help from my parents
while I figured my life out” the
American artist says, “and, also, lots of
credit card debt. I had many small-
time freelance jobs during this period,
but it was quite hard to pay any bills
with the income. The industry rates
were abysmally low for the jobs I took

on. I did whatever I could to keep my
head above water.”
Santa Monica was a grind. But even
while struggling for money, he and
Dan made sure to stick at personal
projects. And this would be the
blueprint for the rest of Alex’s career,
balancing commercial and personal
work, making sure the skills from one
fed into the other, and vice versa.
Alex got his first “real” job in 2015.
An art director from the cinematic
department at Blizzard Entertainment
spotted his work on Instagram and

A


lex Konstad was broke. The
illustrator had been living in
San Diego where rent was
relatively cheap. To get by,
he had to make around
$1,000 a month – though, at a push,
$800 would do it. But then he moved
to Santa Monica – the beach city west
of downtown Los Angeles – and his
bills almost tripled.
Alex was living with his friend and
fellow artist Dan LuVisi. They were
both at the beginning of their careers.
Literally and metaphorically, they were

ALEX


KONSTAD


The American illustrator and concept


artist reveals to Gary Evans how


hard times got him where he is today...


ARTIST PORTFOLIO


SLEEP PARALYSIS
Alex terrifyingly depicts
the inability to move or
speak while half-asleep.

WIZARD WORKS
A character from the Wizard Works faction of Alex’s
personal project Genesis Wars.

I had a lot of help from my


parents while I figured my


life out, and lots of debt


offered Alex a position in-house: “I was
ecstatic,” the artist says. “I’d always
imagined myself just painting Magic:
The Gathering cards and maybe
working on some video games in the
future. Now it was my chance to get
my foot in the door.”

AN UNLIKELY COMBINATION
Alex grew up in Portland, Oregon. His
childhood was riding bikes through
parks. It was hopping fences, running
through back gardens with other
neighbourhood kids. He was into art


  • graffiti especially. When it was time
    for college, he picked the unlikely
    combination of fine art and
    sustainable engineering.
    Art alone, he reasoned, was never
    going to pay the bills, but engineering
    seemed like a solid career. It didn’t


Alex Konstad
LOCATION: US
FAVOURITE ARTISTS: Wayne Barlow,
Zdzisław Beksinski, Hieronymus Bosch,
Brom and Moebius
SOFTWARE USED: Photoshop
WEB: http://www.alexkonstad.com

Artist


PROFILE


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Free download pdf