Weilard, it's so nice to speak to you today. I'm a big fan of the worlds you create. What attracts you to pixel art?

No gradients, no modern effects, no animation without pixel-perfection. I understand that this is good for modern people. And I do it for commercial projects. But for myself... I serve the old gods.

I really feel it. I can't betray them. My teachers Westwood Studios, Silmarils, Delphine Software, old Interplay, Bitmap Brothers. They build the perfect images of our golden past.

Yes, I understand that time flows and is moving only forward, and for modern gamers need to exist modern developers and modern games. But... what about roots? That is why I so love working with German developers. They still save the roots of the old adventure genre. And their visions of the games - almost without changes. This is like touching the history.

That is why I write a funny cycle of articles - how to draw classic pixel-art. This cycle has some popularity in Russia. The main goal - save the roots. And tell the story that shows that pixel-art is not so scary as people think. And all of this can be reached easily if you just know the basics. I'm not even speaking about pixel-art as part of simpler art, but at the same time this is the transit point to the large world of more global art.

What early games did you play? Did they inspire you to get deeper into this craft?

The first game I saw - Paratrooper, released in 1982. 4 colors. CGA mode. Not so impressive, yeah? But for small kids, it was something amazing. When I saw it - I realized that I wanted to do something like this. Some people want to be a cosmonaut, a sportsman, or an action hero in childhood. But I knew that I want to make games.

After this, I saw other games, like the text game Larry and some others. But then one of the friends of my brother came to us (in these old times our father had 286 models of PS, 256 KB RAM) and brought a few discs. It was "Prince of Persia," and "Dune 2." Through these sprites I saw sand, rusty vessels, mentats and fight for the Dune. This changed everything.

In our country it was very hard to buy licensed games, we didn't even have any black markets. Discs were moving through the hands like nomads. This is the same way I encountered Another World (Out of this World / European name of the game), and FlashBack. With the Legend of Kyrandia, Lands of Lore. All of them built my influences as a future artist. In the old times I just loved them. When I grew - they taught me. From these games, I received knowledge of colors, volumes, and passion.

Wow yes! Prince of Persia was the first game I ever played. Spoiler alert- I love the boss fight at the end where the only way to win against your reflection is to disarm yourself. A beautiful metaphor. I certainly see the influence of these game worlds in your work. That nostalgia you capture is so appealing to me. What programs do you use now to create these pieces?

All of my life I used Photoshop. Not a good software for pixels. Artists understand me. Especially in the case of pixel-art animation. But a few years ago, maybe two or one (I'm really bad with years, they flow between the fingers like water, a year ago I was young, now... I'm gray-haired)... so... some time ago one young pixel-artist Tanya Veksell started to push me to change the software. I was crying like a shot wolf, but she pushed me... and pushed me... and pushed me again and again, to Aseprite. After a year of siege, I surrendered.

Now I use Aseprite. And mixed technique Aseprite + Photoshop. Because Aseprite is good for animation for example, but at the same time the software generates some visual bugs. In any case, this is the best software if you want to start the dance with the pixels.

Ah beautifully said. I really like the way you write :)

I'm proud to say that also I love to serve the art of talking. In Russian of course. In English, I'm savage... or a neanderthal. I don't like the present world when people always love to change the words, replace them with something short or slang. Our languages made us rich. This is good when you can describe your thoughts clearly and with some taste of humor. It's good for the brain (he also need to train when your ass still sit in the chair, let's at least let one of the organs be well trained). But this is good not only for organs, but for listeners too.

You’re amazing. So cool! What is the advice for someone who is just starting on the path of creativity?

Thank you! Glad to hear this kind word. I don't like to give advice, because I don't hear other advice even it is smart. I want to go on my path by myself, by listening to my heart, my feel of truth. So... I can say only one thing for people who are just starting. Don't be afraid. Just move forward and never stop.

In my youth, I asked two extremely popular artists, where I need to concentrate- what I can do in art (when showing my artworks). One said - never draw more, you are not an artist. Second artist, said - just move forward and draw more.

So my advice - believe in yourself and move forward. Do what you love and find the force in your soul to feel the difference between evil comments (networks are full of evil), and useful сomments. Hear the professionals, but remember about your path. Some of us falling down on this path, but some of us can rise up to the top. This is life.

We all afraid many of things. But we love to live. We love life. We can't pin our lives to the point that we love most. So... we are moving forward. If we stop moving forward this will be mean that we are afraid to live. The same scheme works in any of the aspects of art. We can't stop. We can't be afraid. We need to move on.

Weilard, thank you so much for taking the time to share your work and your thoughts with us. Truly one of my favorite articles yet. You are full of wisdom and talent and I'm glad we got to connect at this level.

To the reader, you can connect with Weilard via his Twitter, Website, Twitch, Patreon, and DeviantArt.