One of my favourite flickr
contacts is Brazilian artist Lucas de Alcântara. His beautiful colour palettes
and unearthly drawings are a constant source of inspiration for me, and I’m
sure, countless other illustrators. Check out his wonderful creations posted asTolagunestro
on flickr or at www.depthcore.com
Describe a typical working day for yourself…
My creative process is a bit simple, but I always have to follow some steps. I must be quite aware of what kind of art I want to make, which colors
to use, which composition. So I plan first, try to visualize it. Then I
rough randomly on paper, around that plan (roughing this way always
gives some compos I didn't think about back when I planned it).
I like the magician's rituals in setting up inks, setting up brushes and
all the materials I will use for the painting, or the less complicated
materials for drawings. I spend several minutes on it, and it's like a
little ritual for me, indeed. Then I try to finish the art as soon as I can. I don't like making an
art for days, or weeks. It's possible to make it this way, but it's not
my methodology - I usually loose inspiration if I let that happen.
Do you draw for a living? Where can we see more of your work?
I am illustrator, so I work with this for my living. It's been about 3
to 4 years, since I quitted the last Ad agency I've worked as designer. Since then I am freelancing. I am member of depthCORE art collective. It was a huge accomplishment in my career to be a part of dC, actually. You can find my works and more other works there in this link
www.depthcore.com Also I have my website (a humble one, just for link redirection) :
www.lucasdealcantara.com And on my Instagram, you will be able to see some more arts too:
@tolagunestro
Would you describe yourself as a fantasy artist? Your illustrations seem
to inhabit a world of their own without succumbing to any of the
clichés of the genre.
I like this description, "Fantasy art" Robert. Although I always take
care before labeling my own arts. I have a couple or more styles, and I
see so many difference among them, that labeling one specifically could
define a distance to each other. But I think that it's a great thing when I get to reach a point where
I'm able to put my fingerprint in arts. I think nowadays I can show my
own perspective of world, of dreams, of imagination, of fantasy.
Which artists have inspired your work?
Hyeronimus Bosch, Giger, Dave McKean, Doug Chiang, and some others were a
strong inspiration when I started more seriously with illustrations,
and art in general. They are a strong influence for me even still today,
but I've added some other names on my list. Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Iain Macarthur, Mattias Adolfsson, Tatsuyuki
Tanaka, Amano, Greg Simkins. But there are so many artists who inspire,
that list would be kilometric.
You work with a lot of mixed media, including digital in your art. How
does this type of illustration compare to, say, the traditional mediums
of fine art?
Technology is a part of human culture. It's a part of constructing and
changing, for us. I believe that there was a same rush when a guy came
up with a wooden stick with some hair on its tip, and called it "brush".
So I don't see digital "smaller" than traditional arts, at all. It won't substitute traditional methods, ever.
Besides, in a couple decades, everything "new" becomes "traditional".
Friends of mine have noticed their artwork being used without
permission, in fact, there’s been a few high-profile cases of large
design companies ‘borrowing’ people’s designs from their flickr sites.
Have you experienced anything like this?
That's terrible. It didn't happen to me, but I know about many people who had their arts taken this way.
With t-shirt graphics it's even worst, and in some other areas too. But I think that social medias are a strong way to fight back these issues.
You have flawless draughtsmanship in your illustrations – do you work from reference or direct from your imagination?
Sometimes, few times, I use references. But I try, even when I use them, to put my own touch on them.
Most of the time my arts are from imagination, though.
How important is feedback from the online art community?
I think it's crucial. But I always think that, not only artists, but everybody has to give more consideration on feedforward than in feedback. Results always are great when there is hard work and dedication in the middle of the process.
What are your hopes and aspirations for your art?
I am planning to move to Belo Horizonte in a couple of months, and there
I will find more good mood, and more possibilities of developing my
works. I will also try book illustration there. It's something I've been
planning for a long time. In general, I will always try to make my best
art, to improve my skills in every painting and drawing, everyday.
Finally, describe yourself with a song, a movie and a book…
A song, I'd say "This cold" from John Frusciante.
A movie… there are so many, but I try to reach the same level of
aesthetics of "V", "Tekkon kinkreet" and "Animatrix", among other
inspirations.
A book, I really like William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition", it was a book that marked me a lot.
Thanks to Lucas for the words and pics
