Hello everyone. My name is Peter Maciaszek and I live in Konstantynow Lodzki. It is a small town in the center of Poland with population about 19 000 people.

What attracted you to the world of art and design?

Hmm, I don’t know what to start from. I think that my adventure with designing began 7 years ago when I got my first computer and  my first graphic program called Ulead Photoimact 7.It has feature called Path Drawing Tool familiar to the Pen Tool in Photoshop. Thanks to it I could do vector.   I started designing screen prints on t-shirts. It was simple designs based on famous logos. I was changing them and making them look and sound funny. Then I was printing them on t-shirts and  selling on the net XD . I sold about 200 pieces J.

About two years ago I started to use Photoshop 7.0. In the beginning I was confused because in Photo impact there were no layers. “WTF is going on with those layers ?” I asked myself and putted up with it for a couple of months. Then  during surfing the net I have found by the accident some interesting Photoshop tutorials and followed them improving my skills. In one of those tutorial web pages there were link to the deviantArt site and it started for real. I didn’t suppose that there could be so much art in one place. So many different artist, photographers, designers, painters, sculpture-makers and sometimes freaks . This site is mind blowing and it really attracted me to the world of art.

Have you ever had moments when you wanted to stop designing?

No never. It is my passion. So when I have some free time I usually turn on my  computer and start  to design.

With which styles have you been making your creations?

I prefer vectors, vexels and photo manipulation.

And what’s your current style you’re working with?

As you can see in my DA gallery I don’t really have my own unique style yet. I’m trying different methods and styles. I’m still looking but I think photo manipulation is my current style.

Why do you like it so much?

Photo manipulate and retouching photos is fun because You can visualize things that doesn’t exist. Bring up to live your dreams, fantasy’s, desires or even fears using photos and some tricks in PS.  Unfortunately I don’t have good digital camera so I have to seek good stock photos on the web.

Can you name some artist who inspires/inspired you alot?

There are a lot of them. I name only some artists that I admire the most.

Andriy Dykun – Ukraine photographer & photomanipulator

Michael Oswald – USA digital painter, illustrator & photomanipulator

Sauco Max – Russia  photomanipulator

Nik Ainley – England illustrator & photomanipulator

Peter Jaworowski – Poland  photomanipulator

I also love works of Julian Beever  sidewalk 3D chalk artist.

Any plans for the future?

First of all to be the best father ever (in two weeks)

Second I would like to change my job and get hire as a graphic designer or maybe I will do some freelancing.

Check out Peter at his DeviantArt!

Pretty good actually. Been working a lot lately on storyboard work for TV commercials here in South Africa. Yup, thats something I do quite regularly strangely enough… Otherwise, Ive just been doing my own art and trying to fit in time to do everything that doesn’t include a computer screen.

2) What actually got you into this kind of Art Form?

Well I guess it all really started when I got into Final Fantasy back in 1999, and was really inspired by the style of the character designer, Tetsuya Nomura with FF VIII. Back then all I could ever do was just copy pretty much everything I came across. I couldn’t draw people out of my head for the life of me. I then reached my last year of high school in 2003 and realized I wasn’t going to and didnt want to make a living from just copying, so with my love of FF, I decided I wanted to be a character designer just like Nomura. So after much more copying and studying of Nomuras work and other comic artists I started to slowly draw my own “original” characters. As the years went on after discovering more artists, studying realism and opening up and expanding to different styles I realized that I wanted to do much more than just be a character designer. So now here I am just freelancing and creating whatever art clients would like from me in whatever style they choose. All my experience together in art has helped me build the styles that I work with today.

3) Why not any other Art Form?

Well I do have a few different styles and techniques I use to create art, but I guess it boils down to personal preference at the end of the day really. All I want to do is create art that 1st of all makes me feel like Ive achieved something, shows me that Im moving forward and hopefully makes a connection with people all around the world. So the warm, soft style I work with, tries to achieve that and thats why I keep to it.

4) What inspired you at the start?, And what inspires you now?

As I said before, Tetsuya Nomura was the one that really got me motivated into trying to draw more from my imagination, and from there I came across other very talented artists like J. Scott Campbell, Takuji Kawano, Range Murata, Gil Elvgren, Adam Hughes and Shunya Yamashita. All these artists helped refine my understanding of certain areas of my own work, whether it was colour application, anatomy, facial construction, and various styles and techniques. Right now Im still inspired by them, but Ive been more driven by real life and the beauty within it lately… Pretty girls in particular. I do feel from a design point of view that the female form is way more versatile to work with compared to males in creating beauty with a clean, sleek, harmonious flow of lines, shapes and curves that are attractive to the eye, whether your a male or female viewer. At least thats how i see it anyway.

5) Do you consider anyone to be your role model in the Art you do today?

Hmm… Well Id say in terms of sheer quality and achievements, Adam Hughes is definitely an artist I look up to in a lot of ways. I would definitely love to reach those kind of levels one day in my own abilities.

6) What sparks the love for this Artist?

Firstly hes self taught just like I am, uses a mouse to colour his artwork just like I did, and has an exceptional eye for getting his details right and making sure he gets his woman looking gorgeous. Its just his technique, understanding and approach to artwork thats very inspirational, almost as though he’s been trained by an old master.

7) What did you start out with?, Did you jump straight into Paintings/Airbrushing, or did you start out with something else?

Well I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember, but from around the age of 8-9 till I reached 17-18, I focused on realism primarily, since I had and still have a love for detail and all the intriquicies realism holds, but also loved copying detailed comic art. I focused a lot on just working with pencils on paper. I used to hate using colour, because I didn’t know exactly how to go about it, and tonal pencils were just easier. I experimented with colour pencils here and there and then got introduced to oil paints which seemed to work out better than I thought in my early/mid teens. Still, all I could mostly do was just copy, then at the age of 18, getting ready for the world beyond high school (realizing I didnt want to just copy for the rest of my life), after studying enough realism including my favourite artists over the years from my last year of high school, I began to finally be able to draw out of my own head, but that was only after much hell and frustration. So I’ve come from using only natural mediums, to shifting to computer colouring (with a mouse) with scanned penciling, and now the majority of my work is fully digital (now with a wacom tablet).

Well, that is pretty much it for today, Do you have any secret’s to your Art?, Anyone you wish to mention also?, Any last advice, and last comments?

Id say everyone needs to be more aware of the benefits that copying can achieve in the early stages of developing a foundation to ones artistic abilities. I never copy anything directly anymore since its already served its purpose. Don’t let pride get in the way of the idea of copying. Its a great way to study and reverse-engineer any image to understand it better. A great artist should be able to copy anything if he/she has to. The same goes for using reference. I use reference for certain things, but only as guidelines, so if you need it to get the job done successfully, find some and use it!

Id also like to say that Im not the artist I am because Im artistically talented. Im that way because I have a crazy perfectionist side to me when it comes to many things (I think they like to call it OCD), a long with plenty patience, determination, and the drive to go that extra 10 miles, even when you dont need to. I can be pretty stubborn about how things should and shouldnt be, but I try isolate that to my artwork mostly. This is what drives my eye to find balance in composition, lighting and colour usage. From there everything will start falling into place and youll be able to begin to realize that theres a pattern hidden within everything, that nothing is random and everything is there for a reason… but you’ll be able to understand why.

Be sure to check out Warren Louw’s DeviantArt here.

http://warrenlouw.deviantart.com/

“What actually got you into this kind of Art Form”
Well I was always amazed by our universe and all that hides. Its amazing how we ignore day by day such an enormous place. Exploring space is like opening your mind to new ideas and concepts, to see uncomprehended marvels you will never have the opportunity to appreciate in your life, and to realise how small we are. Its like dreaming…

“Why not any other Art Form?”
I practice several art forms, including landscapes and scenery’s, aircraft modeling, and character illustration, but of course my strongest art discipline is Sci-fi. My first answer can explain this as well..

“What inspired you at the start?, And what inspires you now?”
At the beggining I was practising traditional art, wich is still a plesant hobbie, but at some point I finde attractive the idea of creating my own spacescapes, with all the powerfull forces and such. Its like building your own journey through space, and its for free!

“Do you consider anyone to be your role model in the Art you do today?”
I have many art role models at this moment, but I think the most important is Phoenix-06. His style is clean and powerfull, you can even feel the heat of the explotions when you see them. When I was at my first steps I found his work a grat source of inspiration to create my own artworks and eventually my own style.

“What sparks the appreciation for this Artist?”
His works are a synonim of power and realism.

“What did you start of with?, Tags? or did you go straight into large art?,”
I always learn all by myself. I love to experiment new tecniquews, new art disciplines, and get better results every day. Eventually I consult some tutorials around DeviantART, but 85% of the time is only me learning.

“Well, that is pretty much it for today, Do you have any secret’s to your Art?, Anyone you wish to mention also?, Any last advice, and last comments?”

Secrets? probably not, but one usefull advice I would recomend to everyone who adventures into the art world, is to practice all the time you need and learn everything you can from everyone you know.

Thank you for letting us interview you, If you guy’s wish to know more of this awesome dude’s work, Visit  http://keepwalking07.deviantart.com/

“How Have you been lately?”
Busy and a bit exhausted. I was at the book-fair in Leipzig and am stuck in illustrations for my new book so job+ book+ appointments+ normal life keep me busy 24h/day.

“What actually got you into this kind of Art Form”
um… that´s pretty easy to answer. A little sketch I made 2004 in the agency I was working for in Vienna. It was the first draft of my little character “Kulla”. When I came back to Germany some month later I started doodling more and more and somehow everything turned out to be “the right thing” for me.

“Why not any other Art Form?”
I think 2005 it was “special” to have somebody from the “Manga/Comic Scene” not only to be passionately stuck to canvas. I got contracted by a small publisher for a book with my character and after 4 years I think most people see it and can say: “Oh, that´s her.”
Jo, my editor, explained it like that: “People need things they can remember. If you switch styles and topics all day long, nobody will be able to see you as an artist standing for a certain style.”
More than that I am really into drawing cute things, animals and characters standing for everything we wished for as a small child. I want to touch people´s memories and a “I wish I had it when I was young” is maybe the biggest compliment. Children grow up with your work which makes you a part of their childhood. That´s more than I can ask for.

“What inspired you at the start?, And what inspires you now?
My cat… she´s 17 and still my biggest muse. I grew up with her and still she´s there purring and snorring and craving attention. Nmext to that my mum showered me and my sister with tales. We grew up with an old beamer shwoing illustration of Grimm´s Tales and my mum telling the stories. I read swedisch tales, german, protugese, danish… everything. Even now.

“Do you consider anyone to be your role model in the Art you do today?”
not really. I like Rebecca Dautremer and her datailed works but that´s more like awe. I would never say I wanna work like her. Moreover she doesn´t like acrylics which are my favourite so that´s a little contradtiction so it´s really awe but no “I wanna be like her” since that´s never good. I think everybody has to find his/her own way of creating art.

“What sparks the love for this Artist?”
The vibrant colors and the combination of texture and composition.

“What did you start of with?, Tags? or did you go straight into large art?,”
Normally I do a sketch. If I work on illustration for a new book I normally split the text together with my editor and try to find out what would be the essence of the text-part.
I sketch the whole illustration roughly and stick to the composition very close. If I work on illustration without context I sketch as well. Even digitally. It´s easier to find out if the illustration works like that or not. I work with very thin layers of acrylics, you can´t paint over and over again which means the sketch has to be correct before you start painting the whole thing on canvas.

“Well, that is pretty much it for today, Do you have any secret’s to your Art?
I think the only secret is that I´m a pretty happy person all day long. Call it good karma or luck.

Anyone you wish to mention also?
Ty, the only person being patient enough to handle my “I wanna paint, go away” days.

Any last advice, and last comments?
People easily stick to things they like and normally the result of a young artist being fascinated by his role model is copying. If you start painting and drawing always remember to find your own way. It´s important to create something unique which is personally attached to you.

If you wish to see more of Anne (Trenchmaker) Pätzke, Visit her DeviantArt!

“That’s awesome, I hope its a dream house!, Overlooking the city!”

“Tell us abit about, How you got into Designing?, How many years has it been now?”
Well, it actually doesn’t overlooks the city, it overlooks a backyard with pine trees.
Delicious pine trees…
Also, I never got into “designing”. Next person to call me designer shall be smacked with a poorly designed foldable chair.
“I was judging wether to call it Painting or Designer or Art, so many variations! hehe, Please dont hit me however, foldable chair sounds a bit.. hard.”
I’m an artiste and I got into painting years ago, when I was just a little boy living in soviet russia.
…amist Siberian taiga, in a city of Imperial architecture, build for steel workers of the Soviet union

“What inspired you to do the paintings you make today?”
Life in Siberia and my memories of it, intertwined with life amidst skyscrapers of Toronto

“How long does it take to create such pieces?, Do you not get angry or frustrated at it sometimes?”
From several days to months, depends on each piece.
I don’t get frustrated, I get lazy and distracted. Although, now that I think about, some clients can get frustrating, but that’s because they want constant updates and minor fixes.

“Now, we all know that you are pretty big on DeviantArt, With so many pageviews, it is quite surprising that maybe nearly everyone has atleast some piece’s of your work, Do you have any other means of networking/sending out your portfolio/work?”
not really, nothing else can compare to DA’s power, nowhere else I can get 30′000 views on an artwork in the first 2 days after posting it

“Yes quite true, however being a deviant for over 4 Years, must take some part in that, We do see alot of new Networks opening up over the past 2 year’s or so however, It’s just, What else can they offer that DeviantArt does not already offer!”
according to alexa deviantart is 77th most popular site on the internet, and it is the most popular “art” site on the internet.

“So going back to when your first started with Art, was painting always your true first art-form, Or did you go into Signatures, or Large Art?, Many do not have wise-words to say on Signatures, thinking it is pretty small, however it does provide testing grounds until the big plunge into Large Art?”
signatures providing grounds into big plunge? never heard this one before, I started drawing at 4 years old in traditional mediums- markers, pencil crayons, at 11- watercolors, guache,  at 18- photoshop paintings.

” For instance, many people actually make signatures when first doing Art, rather then going straight into Large Art, they test out photoshop and other programs, and then knowing enough, they make large art, and gradually fade out of doing Signatures, Painter at heart then, it seems?.”
never did signatures, I passionately dislike drawing small things, the bigger the canvas, the more fun I have,
in fact, one of the reasons I went with digital paintings, is that 1×1 meter traditional canvasses take way too much space and pile up cost wise, On the computer, I can actually paint on 1×1 meter canvases, without my studio space shrinking from canvas piles.

“Yes indeed, more and more of today’s Art is from Computers, however we do read more about, Is what you create on a Computer, Really art?, or is it what the program has purely done, by you pushing a few buttons, But, With Painting via Computer that must be done purely by you?, With graphics tablet and such?”
art has long stopped having any kind of specifics attatched to it ever since Duchamp’s readymades.

“Do you have any sort of Role Models when making your Art?, anyone you’ve ultimately looked up to?”
Ivan Aivazovsky, His romantic seascapes always inspired my work, which is a reinvention of romanticism, Aivazovsky painted the struggle of men against nature (The ocean), I paint the struggle of men against themselves. with a pitch of the apocalyptic and fantasy, which I call “Dreaminism”.

“Why Dreaminism?”
It’s a name I invented to define my style, real, yet imaginary- images realised in the split second before the waking, when the mind cannot define what’s real and what isn’t.

“That pretty much wraps up the interview today, We will be sure to check up on you in the coming months though?, Ultimately, Can you tell us abit about yourself?, And any wise word’s to the Artist’s/Designers/Painters out there?, any mentionables you wish to name also?”
I’ll say the same thing I usually say to young artists:
It takes the following to become a famous and well-paid artist:

1)Talent
2)Dedication
3)Imagination

If you have some drawing talent, and wish to become a true artist, then dedicate all your free time to drawing, sketching, learning about art, and advertising your work by showing it in online and offline galleries. Never forget about the power of imagination, practice imagining things, write intricate stories with your art, create unique worlds. Often a piece of art with a better idea/concept is the winner.
Also, send me butter, for I need it to build me a butter fort.

——-

So that is it lady’s and gents, We have managed to interview the iconic Vitaly S Alexius,
Wish to thank him for accepting to be apart of this new project, And we will be sure to check up on him in future times.

If you wish to check out some of his work, please visit alexiuss.deviantart.com

So let’s begin!

“Okay so, hello Sander, how have you been lately?”
I’m doing fine… Just a bit tired because some cats are almost fucking 24 hours under my window and it makes a terrible sound
“Haha, that sounds lovely o.O, Get in the spirit man!”
“Now, We see that you have become a DeviantArt Moderator, What has your first few week’s been like?”
Veryyyy busy replying notes (suggestions, questions) , making articles, supporting art, giving DDs

“Sounds busy indeed, What actually got you into designing?, What inspired you to start this hobby?”
almost 5 years ago my favourite uncle from Greece gave me Adobe Photoshop 7.0. First I started with making tags (looking back it’s lame, but I learned the basics and discovered which style I like the most because of it). I always enjoyed art. You know..when you go for the first time to school and all you ever do is drawing drawing drawing instead of playing with cars/dolls.

“So, you said you started off with tags, What sort of style did you start off with?”
I did a lot of styles…vectoring, C4D but in the end mainly digital painting

“And then, I presume you went into Large Art?, What style’s did you go into then?”
Yes, a year ago I started with large art… But I was inactive because I had no internet for months. Now I’m a bit busy with being a Gallery Moderator at DeviantART, but soon I will get an iMac and will make more large art for sure.  But to answer your question: I started where I ended with tag making: digital painting.
Now I like to photo manipulate with digital painting together by the way

“Did anyone become your sort of Role Models, while you are designing?, Anyone that really inspired you to make better Art, then you we’re already doing?”
hard question,  No person if I really have to be honest… My family, artgroups and deviantART,  I always wanted to improve because of my family, artgroups with their artpacks gave me inspiration and the same goes for the daily deviations on dA
“Sounds like Family play’s a big role in your Art!, Do you have any of your Favourite Artist’s today?, Work that you think best describes, Today?”
I love Dylan Cole’s work, a lot, Salvador Dali’s,  Escher, Vladimir Kush.

“What sparks your love for these Artist’s?”
I love the surreal look, things that make you say: how the hell do you make that.

“Okay well, that seems about it for today, We will be sure to check back on your in future times, When you get your iMac!, Last thing though, Tell us about about yourself?, Any few last words, And.. Some mentionables you wish to name?”
My name is Sander, 21 years old I live in a rainy country where people think we live on drugs and wear wooden shoes: The Netherlands, but we don’t, I just wear Nikes lawl. I enjoy art for ages, all kinds of digital art, I can vector, digital paint, manipulation, animation, pixel art… most of my work is at school tho, that is why my dA looks so empty but I will change that soon,
when I get my 24 inch iMac from 2121,77 euro D:, I study Graphic Design and Laws, I work with Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter and Illustrator
Thank you for interviewing me. I hope I wasn’t too boring xD
I don’t have anyone to mention tbh, just that I’m glad to see as a co-owner what become from wm-studios. I’m proud of you guys, really. Keep it up!.

Published Award’s:
Advanced Photoshop, Photoshop Creative, Sander has recieved 3 Daily Deviationss at DeviantArt.
He is soon to be making a tutorial for Advanced Photoshop, He will also be featured in Advanced Photoshop with some of his best work yet!, So make sure you pick the magazine up, or check the website out regulary!

Thank you Sander, for giving us a bit of your busy schedule, To interview you!

sander-seto.deviantart.com