Original title: Painter Alex Horley looks back on his 15-year collaboration experience with Blizzard You are a fan of the "Warcraft" gaming universe, so even if you have never heard of the name Alex Horley, you will definitely like the artist's work! In the past 15 years, Blizzard has many classic visual art works from Alex's pen. From the impressive main visual work of "King of Draenor" to the countless paintings created for "Heartstone", you may have already admired his masterpieces without knowing it.
Artist profile
Alex's real name is Alessandro Orlandelli, he was born in a small town called Oprah on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. When he was growing up, he taught himself English by reading comics. "Since I can remember, I have started drawing," Alex said. "When I was very young, I just wanted to draw comics. I grew up in the 70s. I watched Jack Kirby and John Buscema, who were great artists. At that time, no one even knew about Marvel. "_P1p
Alex became obsessed with the works of Frank Frazetta when he was a teenager. He is an American science fiction artist and one of the most famous illustrators in the 20th century. Alex searched all the major bookstores and finally found the painter's book publication "Frank Frazetta's Fantasy Art" Volumes 1-4. The next day Alex bought the first set of brushes in his life and began to create his own. "After discovering Frank's work, my life has changed a lot," Alex said. "Because that was the first time I realized that a paintbrush and a little paint,Can actually create such an extraordinary masterpiece. _P1p
Alex taught himself to paint. He is a traditional painter, mostly using acrylic paint and oil paint for his creation. He prefers to use weird and creepy themes to create, and at the same time with the style of heavy metal comic magazines. This part is inherited from the works of cartoonists he read when he was a child. (Here are a few cartoonists as an example: Richard Corben, Sanjulian, Gil Kane and Gene Colan).
In addition, the wonderful stories written by Robert E. Howard also inspired him. Among them, "The Sword of the King" has a profound influence on him. Alex has a keen eye, and all the details of light, color and composition can't escape his eyes. His paintings are famous for their vivid depictions of movements and emotions, and his excellent understanding of biology and human structure is even more admired by the world.
He studied at a prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, and that academy did not offer special courses on fantasy painting or comic creation. During school, he did not spare any free time. Whenever he is free, he will go to Brera Gallery to sketch the statues there, or create his own fantasy-style illustrations.
In addition, he also frequents the local comic book store. After graduating, he used the stage name Alex Horley to create (now this name is his registered trademark) because he felt that his real name was too difficult to remember for the editor who had just met him. In addition, his real name also takes up space when signing the painting.
Alex continued to create for many well-known companies and characters during this period, including: Heavy Metal Comic Magazine, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, Disney, Robb ‧Zombies, Gene Simmons of the KISS chorus, and many well-known companies and figures in the entertainment and fantasy worlds are not as diverse as they are available.
Alex's art path led him to Blizzard in the mid-2000s, when he was invited to create art works for the trading card game of "World of Warcraft".
"In the year I started to create works related to trading card games,I have my own booth at the San Diego Comics Show. Many people came to my booth to find me. They were all very friendly and told me that they liked my work very much. "Alex said.
"I don't know who they are. Then someone told me, "Hey, that's Samwise! That's Frank Pearce! They are all Blizzard people!" Frank introduced himself to me and told me that he liked me very much. Created for the trading card game, and personally invited me to participate in the Blizzard Carnival. I felt very honored at that time!"
Frank Pearce is one of the co-founders of Blizzard, he personally collected at least seven Alex's paintings, in addition, there are more than a dozen Alex's works hanging in the headquarters of Blizzard Entertainment.
After attending the Blizzard Carnival, Frank invited Alex to the Blizzard Park to talk to other painters about his works for the trading card game. This is also the first time Alex has entered the Blizzard Park. "From the very beginning, we can feel respect, admiration, and love for art in each other. At the beginning, I was working with the creative development team." Alex said, "A few years later, I started directly with Chris Robinson and Chris Metzen collaborated to develop "Kings of Draenor"."
During Alex's wonderful Blizzard career, producing the main visual works for the "Kings of Draenor" expansion is one of the most proud of Deeds. At that time, Alex set a precedent and became the first non-Blizzard employee ever authorized to participate in game packaging art design.
"I was actually working in the park at the time. I brought my own paint every day. I also brought my own table and easel. At that time, I seemed to be incompatible with the surrounding environment." Alex said, "Because everyone I was working on the screen, but I was using the easel and brush to make some creaking noises. But that was really interesting! I was very happy to be involved in the creative development process. I even designed a few characters at the time, This is a very novel experience for me.”
In-depth creation process
When Blizzard commissioned Alex to create art works,Usually, he will be provided with an art introduction, media reference and scene description. The scene narrative will detail what the character is doing, the expected appearance of the character, and the current mood of the character. "This is when my experience and background in creating comics in the past come in handy."
Alex said, "Because comic characters are not fixed-frame characters, you must allow these characters to tell stories. I think the creative process of comic artists. , It is very similar to the film director’s production of the storyboard. From thinking about the scene and shooting the screen, to guiding the character, designing the lens movement, to the lighting and the background layout. You must use a single screen to make the character move, and Use a way that readers can understand to make them feel the emotions of the character. All these details must be taken care of at the same time and cannot be neglected!"
Each artist has his own set of methods, and Alex does not exception.
"My method is simple and traditional," Alex said. "The first step is the draft. I will solve most of the composition and shading issues in the process. You have to try small-sized paintings first, which is very important. In this way, you can ensure that the final image size does not matter. However, there will be no problem with this work. Next, I will try to create a large-scale painting, establish the overall balance, and give the complete conceptual draft to the supervisor for review.
If the supervisor confirms that there is no problem, I will The picture is transferred to the final canvas or other media, and uses an indistinct color as the background color. When applying the background color, some people like to use gray, some people like to use brown, and I like to use purple. For me, it’s easier to use purple. Because this color still retains light transmittance after stacking, it can shorten my painting time and ensure that the color remains vivid.”
After this, Alex will Start to balance the brightness, use the color palette to ensure that the background color is consistent, and check that the text is legible. "This is an iterative process," Alex said. "From the dark to the bright, and then keep repeating fine-tuning. Finally, I will scan my work, and make the final adjustments at this stage, and then send the work."
Creation Collection
Alex has created more than 500 illustrations for Blizzard over the years,In each of our game series, you can find his work. He has contributed a lot to Hearthstone: The portrait of Malfurion he created is the main portrait of the druid hero in the trading card game of World of Warcraft.
And the first painting that Alex created for Hearthstone is the pre-set hero of the warlock, Gul'dan. In addition, his more recent work, Illidan Stormrage's paintings, is one of the keys to the appearance of the Demon Hunter.
The paintings of this god-man also include a vicious murloc; in the past few years, he has also proved that he can interpret this amphibious race in a variety of styles.
"The flying murlocs in "Dragon Coming" were designed by me. From the perspective of painting, this is a rare experience, because the final product of this character is almost exactly the same as I expected from the beginning. "Alex said, "This situation has almost never happened! This character is almost the perfect look in my mind, which is why I really like the character of Flying Fishman. In all my creations for Hearthstone Among murlocs and cards, it is my favorite one.”
Recently, Alex is the creator of the concept of the return of ancient gods in "Crazy Darkmoon Faire". "I was fortunate to be able to work with Art Director Jeremy Cranford. He knew that I like terrible monsters and horrible things, as well as Cthulhu-style tentacles and fangs." Alex said.
"So, he decided to give me the task of drawing large-scale paintings. The difficulty of this task is that I have to create themed characters in the "Warcraft" game universe, and the brightness of these characters is usually quite low . Using the distinctive visual language and style of "Heartstone" to redraw these characters is a daunting challenge. So at that time I thought: "How do I make the work look like... God’s Carnival Paradise?" When I was drawing these works, that’s what I thought!
They must have a terrifying appearance, like monsters; but they must also have bright colors, as if they are exuding something Kind of joy.This is not an easy task, but it is indeed a valuable experience. I have a lot of fun in the process of painting, and it’s really great to see my works being loved by fans all over the world! _P1p
There are several suggestions and new generations of painters who can share their suggestions and experience with the new generation of Alex.
"Hold an open heart." Alex said.
"Don't be complacent. You must continue to study and study to get to the next level in your field of work. As a painter, it's normal to show the painter's arrogance occasionally, but sometimes we have to let go of arrogance to make progress. Don't Forget, everyone has something you can learn from.
I know that some painters want to work on video games, so they only focus on art works related to video games. Such an approach is equivalent to taking their own vision Limited! In addition to the field of video games, there are many things that can inspire you. Try to step out of your comfort zone, which will be very helpful to your art skills. Maybe you will be in your favorite Learn things in unexpected places, or be inspired."
END
Liked by "" friends, " Remember!
.
