In this week’s interview, we interviewed Stas Lobachev, a multitalented matte painter and concept artist from Moscow, Russia, and we discussed his influences, styles, workflow, artistic medium and other topics.  From starting with art at an early age to consistently refining and practicing his craft, Stas stands out as a true artistic mind with passion and creativity to bring out the details and beauty in his work.

Here’s the interview and a select few of his works.

Thanks for taking the time to interview with us. First off, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Hello all, I am visual effect artist focusing on high-quality, photorealistic digital matte paintings, concept art and illustrations.

Wallachia Prevail

How did you get started with digital art?

I’ve been drawing since my childhood.  When I was younger, I studied at children’s art college, and after that I studied at architectural college and the Moscow Architectural Academy.  But when I started working with Photoshop, I decided that I would be a digital artist.

Server Room

Your works always have vivid details and careful attention to the lighting. How do you get such precision in these areas?

Thank you.  I really love my job and constantly in the process of improving my skills.  All my free time I devote to art.

Post Atlantis – Sacred Lands

What do you feel are the most important qualities for quality art?

Diligence and obsession with art are the important qualities.

What are your major influences? Any artists in particular who influenced you a lot, or other media such as music and movies?

I really like old classic masters: Rembrandt, Velazques, El Greco, Delacroix, Hals, Francesco Solimena, Jean-Leon Gerome, Edwin Lord Weeks, Ferdinand Hodler and etc.  All of them influenced me in different ways.

Brave New World

My favourite digatal artists who influenced me are: Sean Samuels, Jaime Jones, Dylan Cole, Brett Northcutt, Chris Thunig.

Also, I draw inspiration from in music, movies, and different literature.

From a creative standpoint, is it easier to work on personal work or client work?

For me, it makes no difference.  I like client work more.

Does your heritage, ethnicity or current residency location affect your art? If so, how?

I think it has no effect, I enjoy exploring various areas and themes, not restricted by my physical environment.  The only thing I can say – I would like to work with more interesting orders.

Heathen

How would you describe your style, in a sentence or two?

In many of my works, I try to show the mystery, impression and sublime beauty of nature.

Ruins Concept

Can you describe your typical workflow when you’re working on a project, whether it be personal or for a client?

I always work in a special scheme.  Always I start with the idea, then I develop that idea through sketches.  I can make one or several variants until I find a perfect composition.

Atlas Compositions

Then I work with references, detailing and generalization in the final work.  I wrote some tutorials and covered how I create my artworks, some of my workflows as well as tips and personal secrets.

Create an Incredible Avatar Inspired Matte Painting of Pandora

Using Lighting, Atmospherics and Digital Illustration Techniques for Matte Painting

Do you have a favorite work that you’ve done, or something you’re especially proud of? Why that work especially?

My favorite work is the work that I’m doing at present time.

Monument to the First Space Bus

Why do you like your current style, and why stick with it as opposed to working with a different style, technique or medium?

I like many styles of art.  In addition to digital art, I also practice with aquarelle, oil, tempera, pastel and gouache.

Dragon

Ancient Temple

What program do you do the majority of your work in, and why?

I have yet to come across a program that is more versatile than Adobe Photoshop, in which almost any problem can be solved in a million different ways.  For my goals, this program is the most suitable.  The secret to working with this program is simple – experiment all the time.

Do you use any external hardware such as a drawing tablet?

I use a Wacom drawing tablet.

Do you have any advice for beginning artists out there?

First of all, you need to love and respect your occupation.  To start, learn the basics of drawing, perspective, color theory and other artistic concepts.  Read and learn any available literature on drawing and painting, and practice a lot.

Moon in the Scorpio

Where do you see yourself in the future, and how do you feel that you will be growing as an artist?

I really like to work with concept art and I’m working with that and matte painting for various clients.

Tornado Concept

Tornado

Anything else you’d like to say? Any projects you’re working on that you want to draw attention to, or closing thoughts for the readers?

I really enjoyed working with Sepehr Dehpour’s “Arad”.  I liked the mix of historical and fantasy themes in the movie.  I had a large field for activities and creative experiments, so check that out if you want.

Legend of Arad: Bridge Shot