Tell us what defines you as a person.

It's my upbringing that formed my set of values and believes which consequently define what I do. And each person is judged by his/her deeds, right?

How did you found out about deviantART and why did you join the community?

I guess once I found an artwork of one great 3D artist on Internet and luckily it had his dA address. I came to check his gallery and was absolutely taken aback. Naturally I didn't want to miss a single update and so I created an account. Few months after I started experimenting with 3D myself, but soon realized I couldn't get enough of "creative freedom" in this medium and started making my first steps in digital painting.

When and how did you discover your passion for art?

Probably that was since childhood. I just never took it seriously and never though it would become such a great passion in the future. When it actually turned into passion… I guess sometime after joining dA. When you have wonderful people around you who appreciate what you do, who are always ready to help with advice, give a meaningful critique and who can share your passion, you find yourself falling in love with art more and more until it becomes the love of your life.


What inspires you the most and when do you think your creativity is at its maximum?

My inspiration is a funny thing. I jokingly call it "a coconut from an outer space". It just appears out of nowhere, hitting you on the head and your mind starts to act on its own, forming a new concept with a lightning speed. Like thousands of pieces joining together and voila, you have a new concept along with irresistible desire to paint it right now.

And my creativity is at its maximum at night, definitely at night. In the daylight the progress on the paintings is ridiculously slow and I have loads of factors to distract me, while night has some special magic when there's just me in my artistic world and nothing else.

What do you think you'd be doing if you hadn't chosen this path?

Before I turned to digital painting I've been trying clothes design, photography and 3D. So I guess if I hadn't fallen in love with digital painting I would be doing some of those. Probably photography, it's my number one fave after painting.

What do you think it's your most meaningful deviation and what makes it special? Does it have a story behind it?

Ah, that's definitely this one: Mommy told to burn it... Love has different forms and the idea was to show a very unusual one. A child always loves his mother and does what she tells to do. So what if a loving child turns out to be a dragon and his mother wants to see the ashes of the city that refused her a refuge once? Mommy told to burn it down, must obey.


Do you have any insecurities regarding your art?

Sure thing. There's no such thing when an artists riches a limit and he understands – Ok, that's it, I'm the king of the world now. You never stop learning, no matter how good you are. Obviously when you only begin the number of things you find out is much bigger, but there's no full stop in this story. And naturally when I need to paint something I've never done before I don't feel sure of myself. I always postpone that part of painting as long as I can, crazily detailing all the other parts until there're nowhere to "escape". Bad habit. But the more you practice, the less insecurities you get.

Did art ever helped you to deal with your life problems?

I don't think so. I mean art is what brings me joy and excitement, but I never seek for a refuge in the world of my mermaids, dragons and superheroes. When there are problems – like real serious problems – my spirits are too low to fully put my heart and soul into the painting and I just can't work in any other way.

What is the one thing you always wanted to do but never got a chance to?

Are we still talking about art or I can spill out the list of my life dreams? I believe the first option would be more appropriate. Ok, if seriously - when talking about art and things you want to try there's no such notion as "no chance", it's more "too lazy/not sure how/don't want to waste time for all the attempts… etc." If you really want to do something you seek for the ways, not excuses. Personally I've always wanted to do a little comic, but the mere thought of how much time it will take immediately puts the idea into the "maybe some other day" box. So it's just laziness, probably I don't want to do it as strong as I think.


A few words for our fellow artists?

Well apart from obvious and the most important advice – being patient and practicing a lot – I would advice not being afraid of making mistakes. Make them. Only your own mistakes will give you a real understanding of how the things should be done right and why exactly it is wrong. When you start you read loads of tutorials which tell you – do this and never do that. But until you do that very forbidden "that" you won't understand why it's a bad idea to use it. Or quite on the contrary – find out that for your own style this and that trick can work just perfectly. Develop your style, don't be afraid to experiment and never stop mastering your skills. Art is a magical thing, so never stop bringing magic to people.