Azrael Artwork – Interview with Akim Kaliberda
To celebrate the Limited Edition release of Azrael, I asked the cover artist Akim Kaliberda a few questions about his art for Black Library.
Akim has asked for his English to be excused – it’s much better than my Russian!
You can find more of Akim’s work over on the ArtStation website: www.artstation.com/artist/ape.
I’m sure a lot of artists would like to know how you came to be working with Games Workshop. Did you approach them, send a portfolio, or did their art team contact you?
Of course, I wrote to them first. I’m not so good that Games Workshop would have written to me. It happened two years ago. My friend, Aleksey Bayura found an ad that GW were looking for artists and offered to try to make a test brief. In November 2014 I wrote them a letter, in which was a link to my portfolio, and a few words about me. I failed the first time, but fortunately GW gave me a second chance, and at the second attempt I managed it. You would know how glad I was! At that time, I had worked in the CG industry for only a year, and I could not imagine that I would work for such a large and cool company like GW.
Did you have prior knowledge of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 or was it all new? Are you or have you been a gamer?
When I started working, my knowledge of the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universe were superficial. I was a fan of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, so all my knowledge of the universe was based on this game. Now, I try to fill in the gaps. This summer I read Eisenhorn by Dan Abnett, and discovered a lot of interesting details, which can be used while working on the illustrations. Books are very useful in this sense.
I love to play computer games! Sometimes I think I should play less. But I love to play so much! By the way, I’m looking forward to the release of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3.
You’ve drawn for both 40K and Age of Sigmar. Are there any differences in the way you go about illustrating the two settings – colour palettes, themes, etc?
Yes, there is definitely a difference, but I think that it is not essential. I don’t have a particular or a different approach to drawing these universes. Compositional decision is based on the story. Choosing a palette and a gamma largely depends on who I paint, whether it be Nurgle against Stormcasts or Adeptus Mechanicus against Chaos Space Marines. All pretty prosaic.
Were there any particular challenges painting the Dark Angels piece that has been used for the cover of Azrael?
There are always difficulties in drawing. It’s rare when the illustration is easy. I’m constantly searching for the right tools which will convey the atmosphere, the dynamics and the story of what is happening in the illustrations. In this case, while drawing Azrael, I was faced with two problems – lighting and dynamics. I hope I have dealt with them well.
What’s your favourite part about painting in the worlds of 40K and Warhammer?
I like both of these universes, but still I give my preference to Warhammer 40,000. I get a lot more fun when I draw Warhammer 40,000. Firstly I like the visual component of the universe. Secondly I really like the feeling of hopelessness and endless war. The gloomy atmosphere mixed with epic and heroic characters. And third is the universe is filled with an enormous amount of detail, and I love details!
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Akim!
Here’s some more of Akim’s artwork:
You can find more of Akim’s work over on the ArtStation website: www.artstation.com/artist/ape.
If you have enjoyed this interview, you might also like to read my other interviews with cover artists Neil Roberts, Victor Manuel Leza, and Mike “Daarken” Lim.
Buy Azrael
**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**
Please Feel Free to Share:
