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Welcome back to another fun and interesting interview. Today, our guest of honor is an artist and web comic writer named Vitaly S. Alexius. I’m a big fan of his series called Romantically Apocalyptic. Thanks for taking the time to visit us, Vitaly.
Q: How long have you been a professional artist? A: Fourteen years. Q: You make beautiful drawings and paintings. Who or what were the biggest influences for your artwork? A: Russian seascape painter Ivan Aivazovsky is a core inspiration that defined my style. Aivazovsky painted the struggle of men against nature in a Romantic style. I pain the struggle of men against themselves in a Romantically apocalyptic style, a reinvention of Romanticism. I also enjoy works of Salvador Dali, Shishkin. As for modern digital artists – Craig Mullins and Sparth were a great inspiration, proving to me that an artist can be successful and well recognized just for Photoshop art. Q: One of your online profiles mentions a unique artistic style called “Dreamism.” Would you mind explaining it? A: Dreaminism is a feeling experienced in the split second before the waking, a thin line in which the mind still doesn’t realize which is more real – the dream or the world you wake into, when you can still clearly remember the dream, yet it is about to fade away. In my paintings, I create realistic scenes of existing cities- New York, Moscow, Toronto, San Francisco- with a catalyst twist in them.
 Q: You’re also a reputable photographer. What do you enjoy the most about photography? A: I have to be outside to do it, in interesting places like Iceland. Gives me a reasonable excuse to visit Iceland.    Q: Romantically Apocalyptic was a great idea. Why did you decide to make a web comic series? A: One day I moved into a house that had a room painted green in the basement for some reason. I decided to use this room for great effect. I started to work on it full-time in 2010 and it’s been floating around as a concept since 2005, with me posting various ideas for it on DeviantArt and conceptart.org Q: Zee Captain is my favorite character. Which character do you favor the most? A: Snippy!   Q: What’s up with the coffee mug? I don’t think it’s just an ordinary item. A: Nooooothing in the RA world is just an ordinary item. :P  Q: The Lifealope is also a bit mysterious. Would you mind explaining some details about this creature? A: It’s a “nice” version of the Biomatrix, a virus with powers that affect space-time. Q: Has your life changed since you created Romantically Apocalyptic? A: I travel a lot more because of it and I get to sneak into abandoned buildings with a good reason.  Q: My books series has something in common with Romantically Apocalyptic. Both of us found a way to bring a lot of humor into post-apocalyptic fiction. We found a way to laugh at the end of days, but is that a good thing? A: It definitely is. Finding humor in darkness is important in giving the readers hope that they too can find humor in their own private situation no matter how dark it gets.
Q: Something about the post-apocalyptic genre really speaks to me. Why are you interested in the genre? A: I like imagining that things are on fire. Q: Do you have a favorite post-apocalyptic film? Mad Max: Fury Road is definitely the winner for me. A: The Matrix! Q: The post-apocalyptic genre has been popular for several years. Do you believe this trend will continue for much longer? A: Yes. It’s just a version of the future as a dark, total dystopia.
Q: What else should we know about you? A: Dedication + imagination can achieve anything!   I really enjoyed talking to you, Vitaly. You’re such a creative and intriguing person. Thanks for bringing so much beautiful artwork to the world.
That wraps up another interview. You can find out more about Vitaly and Romantically Apocalyptic through the links below. The resolution of his artwork is much more clear on DeviantArt than my website, so you should check it out. I hope you guys enjoyed the experience and stay tuned for next week's post.
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I'm glad you guys survived the Black Friday shopping. Why don't you kick back and read this movie review? I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was actually quite impressive and surprising in a lot of ways. So, let's take a look at the good, bad, and ugly elements of this film.  First, I'm going to cover the positive components of this movie. J.K. Rowling has a really huge imagination. Her stories and films always have a ton of amazing fantasy elements. Fantastic Beasts is stuffed with wizards, creatures, mystery, clockwork mechanics, magic, and elements from the Roaring 20s. It's perfect for people who love elaborate world building.
This movie focuses on the political side of the wizarding world. You'll get to see magical detectives and investigators in action. The story takes place in a much earlier time period than the Harry Potter franchise and the location is New York City. It's completely different than Harry Potter and yes, that's a good thing. We don't need this franchise to be a direct continuation of the Harry Potter storyline. I'm glad to see something unique. Fantastic Beasts is loosely tied to the Harry Potter series, but it has enough individuality to spawn a separate cluster of films. It takes a lot of noir elements from classic films. In fact, the entire movie is one big mystery. This film is somewhat darker than some of the Harry Potter installments. I would say certain elements appeal to adults on a substantial level. However, the movie is totally suitable for kids too. There are a ton of interesting creatures in this film. I think it might have more beasts than the Harry Potter movies combined. Many of the creatures are entertaining and amusing, which would be appealing to children. So, this movie has something for everyone. On a related note to the beasts, the visual effects are very good. I can tell Warner Brothers invested a lot of effort in this film. The plot isn't predictable in my opinion. Several peculiar things happen during the course of this movie and the big reveal doesn't happen until near the end. I'll give you a hint. Monsters aren't the only entities causing trouble in New York. I read a review that said steampunk elements are in this film. Well, there are a few steampunk elements. It's not a very big emphasis. I noticed quite a few clockwork mechanics in a big fantasy vein. It was quite creative, but subtle. Also, the costumes are really cool. I really enjoyed seeing the fantasy version of 1920s fashion. What are the negative parts of Fantastic Beasts? Not many. I guess it takes a little while for everything to get moving. Once things become interesting, it's really cool, but the pace starts out a bit sluggish. My biggest complaint is some of the characters. Although Eddie Redmayne is excellent as the protagonist, some of the other characters seem kind of bland. I blame the acting more than the writing. The special effects and writing are the film's strongest assets. That's pretty much it. I wanted to give a basic movie review for the long holiday weekend. We're going to see something totally different next week. I'm going to interview an artist and web comic creator named Vitaly S. Alexius. He's the creator of Romantically Apocalyptic; a very entertaining and beautifully drawn web comic series. Leave any comments if you have additional thoughts about Fantastic Beasts and enjoy the long weekend. |
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May 2019
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