DAL: Was there anyone else who especially
encouraged your talent, in those early days?
AS: My teachers encouraged me to study, and
my family supported me. And my motivation
made the difference on the rest.
DAL: Excellent. So you have not always been a
digital artist, and began in traditional media?
AS: Yes, as I said, I was trained and started
working with traditional media. It as traditional
art in those days. Which means that, yes, I am
a self-trained digital artist.
DAL: What was your first software, and what
were the problems you overcame with it?
AS: My first software was 3D Studio Max in
version 3, which I studied from a big paper
manual. Can you believe it?
DAL: Oh, yes, I can believe it. Those big paper
manuals were quite the fashion at one time.
Now it’s all YouTube videos and webinars. But I
remember in the 1990s, going into a
‘remaindered’ bookshop — where they would sell
off the end chunks of the print-runs of books
that were just not selling. And there was a
whole wall, about 50 foot long, floor to ceiling,
with those kind of ‘software bible’ books at a £
each.
AS: Yes, now, with all the schools and online
tutorials and webinars available, it is way easier
to learn to use the software tools. Unfortunately,
this was not the case back then, and thus I had
to face problems ‘one at a time’ and try to find
out the creative solutions all by myself. I really
enjoyed this challenge anyway.
DAL: Yes, it’s certainly the sort of thing that
makes for a deeper understanding of one’s
software tools. Let’s turn to your work now.
You’ve worked on concept illustration for major
movies such as Ben Hur, where you designed
the Palace interior. You also designed the
“Pharaoh’s House” for the TV series Tut (2015),
and worked on interior contents for the Christian
movie Risen. I saw and enjoyed that. And your
latest works are very impressive Dune-like sci-fi
desert concepts and a city-harbour that is
presumably located on the edge of a desert.
What draws you to this type of desert work?
AS: Of course, the main reason is the film script.
But all the works you mentioned were full of
desert scenes, and I have to admit that I take
particular pleasure in designing desert
landscapes. They always suggest that exotic
aura of mystery.
DAL: Yes, the ‘mystery of the desert’, that’s a
big factor in the attraction of science-fiction and
fantasy to the setting. Also the implied
mysticism, but not a louche and dallying sort of
mysticism, but something harder and more
rigourous — potentially. Do you often have a
chance to visit real desert environments?
AS: Not that often, but I have had some chance
to visit real deserts, both during film shooting for
movies and on holiday. The most memorable
deserts I have seen are Ayers Rock (Australia)
and the Libyan Sahara.
DAL: Oh, superb. A lot of our readers will envy
you for being able to visit such places.
ASL: Walking for real in a desert fills you with
strong sensations, sensations that you can never
forget and reflect upon your work, I think.
DAL: Wow. Is there a way to ‘bring that back’
and put it in a picture? What would you say are
the three things that people need to add to a
desert environment picture, to make it more
believable?
AS: I would say... colours and... a rarefied
atmosphere, these play a major role. But I find
that adding an element which contrasts with the
emptiness of the desert helps to convey the right
mood.
DAL: Thanks. And now you’re also working on a
big science-fiction movie, Umaskala. What are
you able to tell us about that movie?
AS: Yes, this is a big project by Chinese director
Ye Ting Hu, who contacted me to collaborate
with him for the film pre-production. He asked
me to develop architectures and atmospheres ‘of
another world’. But it had not to be a science-
fiction nor a fantasy movie. I provided him with
lots of concepts, some of them for the same
scene, that helped him to create the imagery of
the movie. I hope to see them come true in the
finished film.