20. Aleksandr Kirilenko, Lead Modeler, says Illuvium is the best professional experience he’s ever had.
Tags: Gaming, 3d, Cryptocurrency, Illuvium, Art

20. Aleksandr Kirilenko, Lead Modeler, says Illuvium is the best professional experience he’s ever had. Illuvium Apr 2·5 min read

Aleksandr Kirilenko

The rituals an artist does to expand their consciousness, and creativity, can be very different from typical productivity exercises that professionals in other fields would do. “Last week, I locked myself in my sauna with the lights turned off,” says Aleksandr Kirilenko, Lead Modeler for Illuvium. “I did it on purpose, to battle with some demons and be taken on a ride by my imagination. It was great, a proper monk-in-a-cave type of experience.”

It may not seem like it, but doing things like this helps keep Aleks’ game on point. It also helps him ensure that our team of, in his words, “fabulous artists,” stay on the same page about the look and quality standard of the project, with Aleks’ role as lead character artist.

Before Illuvium, Aleksandr worked in advertising, as a freelance 3D modeler for the megabrands Pepsi, Sony, and Toyota. Aleksandr was recently at Blur, an LA-based veteran company producing the highest quality cinematics and content for film and TV. Specifically, his work on game cinematics as a character/creature modeler and texture artist at Platigue Image was exactly what Illuvium needed. We were also impressed by his portfolio, which encompasses work as a digital sculptor for Prime 1 Studio, and at Ninja Theory, where he was a senior character artist. Ultimately, his experience in making characters for mobile and VR, and creating super-realistic assets for consoles and PC, all goes into his work to bring the modeling in Illuvium to the next level.

El Bastardo, a character Aleks worked on for Bleeding Edge (Ninja Theory studio)

He is meticulous, and pushes the team to pay attention to multiple small details at the same time. “I can seem like a proper psycho when, for example, I say that we need to inflate a part of a model by a couple of millimeters,” Aleks explains.

“The way I see it, I’m trying to show that even though the change might seem insignificant — which is debatable, by the way — it, hopefully, leaves a mark in the artist’s mind and next time, they intuitively know how to make things just a bit better.” This “just a bit better” philosophy is what brings Aleks and the team’s models to the next level.

As a Lead Modeler, Aleksandr unifies the style of the aesthetic, which needs to be nailed down from the very beginning as the foundation upon which the whole project is built, and could fall apart if not solid.

Batgirl collectible for Prime1 Studio

“Style is king. Style is consistency,” he states, explaining that: “As a reference for our style execution, I chose two artists. One — a genius from the old days, another — a genius from the present day. They are Michelangelo and Carlos Huante. When it comes to form and balance, I don’t think there is anybody who can beat these two chaps. So in some sense, the Illuvials need to be imagined from the eyes of Michelangelo or Carlos. That’s a big challenge.” The goal is not to copy Michaelangelo and Carlos’ style, but to interpret through the lens of their style. “And then do justice to the inspiration.”

One of the challenges for Illuvium is making the more recognizable creatures look unique and in line with the overall style of the game. “It’s one thing to take a rhino/beetle/flower looking creature and sculpt the **** out of it with a mad look on my face and lightning and thunder playing death metal concert outside the window,” he says, “but it’s a completely different game when the same needs to be done to, let’s say, a lynx.”

Aleks was recruited as a recommendation by our anonymous Art Director, who goes by the moniker Von Neumann. “When an old friend of mine, like a ghost from the past, contacted me out of the blue and asked me if I could help out with some sculpting work, I didn’t hesitate for a second. He and I go way back, and one of the things that we have in common is that we are nuts when it comes to quality standards. So, ordinarily, I’m not an easily excitable person when it comes to seeking out experiences. FOMO is the least of my problems. But for this, I sensed a bit of tingling in my body. And I said yes. That’s how I got involved with Illuvium. And so far, this has been the best professional experience I’ve had.”

The Lead Modeler works most closely with the Lead Concept Artist. Fortunately, Aleks and Von Neumann’s professional dynamic, and friendship, gives them a synergy that is more elusive and not a sure thing between these two positions. “We are completely on the same page and have an unshakable mutual trust in each other’s abilities. I would bet my trusty fifteen-year-old Wacom tablet’s pen that not a lot of artists in the industry have this kind of relationship with their leads. It’s special.”

Ninja from Bleeding Edge (Ninja Thoery studio)

Illuvium makes plenty of room for its Core Contributors’ personalities, which Aleksandr considers more than just a fringe benefit to working the long hours every day. It’s a key benefit. “I came in with a feeling that I can be myself and show a more crazy side of me — my girlfriend, a wonderful person who has met a gazillion different people and had a conversation with at least a billion of them, told me once that I’m the craziest person she’s ever met; or at least that’s how I remember it going. I also post a lot of GIFs and completely derail some chats with our Lead Concept Artist, whose GIF game is one to be reckoned with.”

As one of the project’s leads, Aleksandr again credits teamwork, rapport, and solid professional experience of our efficient team. To execute on the vision of Illuvium, Aleks emphasized that “we need a proper team” to fly through Illuvium’s ambitious timeframe to release the game within one year.

“I love our team. Not just the character artists, but all the other departments. The whole Illuvium project is special. It’s special for me personally because of the team. It’s special because we are doing something in a new space altogether, and because everybody is on the same page — we simply want to create something spectacular. The only pressure we have on this project is our own standards and ambition. Which, paradoxically, is quite freeing.”