Lomaev Anton Yakovlevich was born in 1971 in Vitebsk. His interest in drawing led the boy first to the art studio, then to the art school and, finally, to the secondary art school in Leningrad. After serving 3 years in the army, Anton continued his studies at the Academic Institute of Painting. His specialization was book graphics. Back in university years, he began to collaborate with publishers.
Becoming an artist
90 years - a crisis in the country in all areas of the economy. Book publishing at this time suffered serious complications. Anton Lomaev faced big problems while looking for work. Then a lot of fiction and fantasy was published. His works are interesting with the books of John Tolkien or with the Slavic sagas, where the hero is the Autumn Fox.
The portrait of a fictional hero, according to Anton Lomaev himself, is a difficult genre. It is tempera-style and refined at Photoshope. At first, the artist agreed to illustrate everything that the publishers offered, but he wanted to work with books for children. But I did not have to choose. If necessary, he drew postcards, with the advent of comics, he worked on their advertising. Having become a member of the Union of Artists in 2000, Anton Yakovlevich got the opportunity to freely pursue his creative interests.
Source of inspiration
Now Anton Lomaev is working with a child’s book with enthusiasm. Illustrations in the work help to understand the meaning of the written. He wants to find a new approach to the old story, which has been repeatedly illustrated. He seeks a lot, and he is helped by what the artist paints, first of all, for his children. Anton Lomaev does not think about how to please the reader.
It is important for him to convey his thoughts to the person who will open the book. The artist is looking for fairy tales and texts that produced him in childhood or are now vividly impressed. He tries to talk with the child clearly and simply, and the sense of humor is absolutely not superfluous. Computer graphics, although Photoshop is well mastered, the master is not keen on. He prefers to work with watercolors and other traditional materials. Such drawings become more direct and lively.
Personal at work
Often the artist lacks nature, and since he has three sons from two to fifteen years old, their faces appear on the drawings created by Ant Yakovlevich. This is also due to the fact that the work is very personal in nature, as discussed above, and is done primarily for loved ones. So, the work on Moby Dick was for the eldest son. And for the younger, he draws "Turnip". Sometimes, for reliability, you have to stand in front of a mirror and take various poses or make faces, imagining yourself as the next character in a fairy tale.
"Red Riding Hood"
Work on this fairy tale went on for a very long and rather difficult time. Especially difficult were all the moments associated with the appearance of hunters who cut the beast. For a long time, the artist saw in her political motives that connected this tale with today. But still he came to more traditional images, but not trivial motives. The artist acted as the director of the play, which presents the story of a wandering theater troupe, which plays a fairy tale in front of the audience on the town square.
But we will give an elegant illustration where the passage of Little Red Riding Hood through the forest is as difficult as balancing on a rope. And the wolf is depicted as an 18th century gentleman and wears a mask so that his essence is not visible. Such a reading will show everyone that Anton Lomaev is a brilliant illustrator, with an unlimited flight of imagination.
Book that I remember
The Little Mermaid was made not by order, but by the command of the soul. She had to cut time from the main work, which gave money to support a family. This went on for two years. And then the drawings were handed over to the publishing house, and earnings made it possible not to engage in turnover, but to move on to creativity. The result, among other things, was the award - the Interpresscon Prize in 2010.
Work for adults
Do not think that if fairy tales and fantasies are listed, the books “Puss in Boots”, “The Brave Tailor”, “The New Dress of the King”, “Caliph-Stork”, and Anton Lomaev are an artist only for children. No, he designed the books of Shakespeare, Derzhavin, Kafka, Babel, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Rabelais.
As long as there are artists such as Anton Lomaev, death does not threaten the paper book, because illustration is a full-fledged component of the text. In Gargantua and Pantagruel, the text merges with the pictures. They became consonant and carry the aroma of time.
Tale on electronic media
Nevertheless, the artist is trying to create electronic versions of his tales. A. Lomaev is somewhat wary of this work, but work is already underway in Russia and the United States. It is assumed that the tales will be accompanied by sound and animation. In America, the book will be released in several languages at once.
Summing up, I want to say that the wealth of our Motherland lies in the people who inhabit it and, no matter what they say, it will not lose its talent.