ImagineFx_-_December_2019

Interview

My personal projects tend

to be so radically different

from what I do for work

because he needed something for

himself, a project over which he had

more control over and could see

through to the end. It was around

this time when he also started a series

of horror. He was stressed out, pent up

and tense, and all that came out in his

personal art.

“My personal projects tend to be so

radically different from what I do for

work. The only real inf luence the day

job has is on the fundamentals

involved, because I’m always making

sure they’re as tight as possible.”

Alex is into creatures, he’s into

building worlds, and he’s into showing

you something you’ve never seen

before. He’s good at creating mood.

When he started out, he was doing a

lot of observational work, figure

drawing and drawing from life. But he

would always take this a step further:

he would paint something from life

• look at it, really study it, and paint
  under several different lights. Then he
  would try to paint his own version of
  that artwork from memory. It didn’t
  have to be exact. He just had to put
  what he’d learned into practice – the
  way the light fell on that object, or how
  the surface looked. He’s also a keen
  photographer. He studies frames from
  films by his favourite directors,
  focusing on how they’re lit, how they’re
  coloured, the elements that go into
  creating a particular mood.
  Alex always carries a sketchbook.
  That’s where most work starts out. For
  personal projects, he often does a bit of
  writing: back stories, background
  details, stuff that helps bring it to life.
  After writing, he draws thumbnails –
  either in a sketchbook or in his head


• playing around with shapes until it
  starts to look right. Next he moves on
  to the computer. He blocks out the
  painting in Photoshop – he has an

OBLISKURA

From Obliskura, this image

shows the unlikely friendship

between a colossal creature

and the Wandering Assassin.

THE BLACK-EYED MAN

From his personal project Hell

of a Story, Alex shows how

studying frames from films

gives his work a cinematic feel.

was where they had kept the dead
bodies. After that, he quit staying late
by himself.

ANGLING FOR FUTURE WORK
Alex structures his portfolio and social
media posts to ref lect the kind of work
he’s looking to get in the future. More
character pieces if he wants to do more
characters. More keyframe stuff if he
wants to more keyframes. Past clients
include Sony Online Entertainment,
Shield Break Studios and Games
Workshop. After Blizzard, Alex started
getting into visual development,
working on various animated films.
He mainly works in-house now –
currently at Netf lix – which means
he limits freelance commissions so
he can focus on the day job and
personal projects.
Alex was recently working as an art
director on a troubled movie. The
project took two-and-a-half years, and
it was very stop-start. So Alex began a
string of personal projects – Hell of a
Story, Horror Book, Genesis Wars –