Interview: Vitaly S. Alexius

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.

Vitaly S. Alexius Website

Romantically Apocalyptic Official Website

Vitaly's Artwork On DeviantArt