And today we have an interview with an artist that you all know perfectly well - Elena Samoryadova.

• Lena, your work admires the entire Internet. Overseas fans on Instagram from the East. When did you start painting?

• I started drawing at 6 years old. But seriously somewhere in the third year of high school (I studied at the Faculty of Art and Graphics).
  

• And when did you fall in love with Aliens? How did you start?

• I fell in love with others a long time ago 20 years ago. I watched the movie for the first time on cable along with my parents. They did not bother at all about the fact that you can watch a child, but what does not. Only during the coming screamers they looked at me slyly. But I was simply fascinated by the xenomorph - a beautiful, exquisite creature. And so wanted to know more about him. But at that time (and this is the 90s) the information was almost unreal to find - and even a child. Then a few years later I watched other films with my friends. So, I'm a fan of others from a young age. In childhood, I read novels and books available at that time. Now, of course, it is much easier to study the universe - there is no such book that cannot be bought or ordered, there are fan communities, etc.

• Do you have your work at home?

• Hanging only printed illustration with David next to the desktop. We used to hang drawings decorated in a baguette - but for various reasons we removed them.

• How much time does it take to create an illustration? After all, it’s necessary to draw xena and flowers ...

• In different ways - it all depends on the complexity of the composition. The most quickly drawn art from the series “David and his xenomorphs” - because in fact it’s just color sketches with no background. It takes me an evening or two. But on complex work in color sometimes it takes weeks. The most difficult work devoted to a stranger, I had a drawing of gonzohvat in colors - I painted it for about 8 days. It was really difficult - because the flowers and faces were something that I usually could not do. With this work, I threw myself a challenge and made a lot of things for myself - at least I understood how flowers are drawn.
  

• You're a night owl or an early bird? When does it work better: in the afternoon or in the evening?

• I am an owl and I draw almost always at night - when nobody touches me or pulls me.

• How did you get the idea to get away from some canons and start drawing Aliens with animals, David with snuff, etc.?

• Well, I'm an animal painter ... And strangers for me are the same animals - dangerous, predatory, intelligent - but still animals. All works have their own promises - they should not be taken literally. As for the series - "Aliens and wild cats." The series was formed by chance. It all started with the fact that I wanted to draw someone else's runner (runner, dog, scout) from the third film. These aliens are my favorite. Just drawing a running creature is boring - because the illustration must tell a story. I began to think with whom this creature can be compared - who else is running fast - and my thoughts led to a cheetah - the fastest land predator. I decided why not let him run with the cheetah. Since I love the film “Alien. Covenant "I decided to depict running in the square near the temple. Moreover, the area looks like a stadium. Then a friend of mine ordered an illustration for his story - a stranger with a tiger in the Rain room of the temple from the Testament (the room in which Neomorph killed Rosenthal is called Rain). Then, in conversing with this friend, we noticed that there are already two illustrations in approximately the same topic - even if they are originally from each other and not related. And the idea arose to draw a series of artifacts - “walking” along Zavetovskii places. Now I am finishing the last illustration in this series. I want to release an artbook on it. And maybe even try to send it to Ridley Scot at his studio address. The package is most likely to be thrown out by managers, but there is a tiny chance that they can convey it - miracles happen). About David. This is my favorite character, I believe that he is a victim of human greed and cruelty. And his fate was sad. I wanted to think of another for him - an alternative life. So that David with those illustrations lives happily with his two sons - Xenomorph Roy and Neomorph White. These characters have their own characters - and I can only invent stories for them. This series is planned very large. Well, at some point I realized that it was possible to “acquaint” David with other characters that I like - this is how the Newt Salamander appeared in the pictures with his nose. And not one, I believe that David and Newt are something similar. And Newt would definitely like Neomorphs and Xenomorphs, and David would appreciate the dangerous creatures of their wizard's suitcase. So the owners met two beautiful bestiary.

• The idea to send Ridley Scott artwork is just super! I support very much! Lena - you are a true collector. You post a lot of photos from your collection. Do you somehow animate your figures? Give them names?

• Yes, I collect figurines, figurines and dolls in the universe of a stranger and not only. Many of my “exhibits” are original, unique items. And yes, I animate some of them and not all,
  but I give many names. Of my strangers, my favorite is the hinged figure of a runner named Dragon or Dragos (from the word dragon). He is the first in my collection and probably the most important. There is an alien protomorph named Roy (named after a character from a series of illustrations with David). Three (out of five) of my neomorphs have names — these are White and Toadstool, Ollie. Hinge lick grip Nathan. For my other people's nicknames they didn’t come up ... And the figures of human characters already have names by default - Newt, Ripley, Daniels, David. Well, there is still a figure of an engineer named Rath.

• How do your friends and acquaintances react to strangers? I didn’t hear from my ...
  

• Friends and acquaintances are mostly or neutral or the fans themselves. A colleague at work even watched the films, though she was only enough for Prometheus, the Testament and the Alien - to understand why xenomorphs and David are so attractive to me. At work, it’s fun at all - the editor-in-chief loves me to play tricks on the topic of strangers - but without malice. On the last day of my cooking, they even threw off - to give me a denyuzhku on a stranger's figure (it was very cute). In general, I am not ashamed to talk about my hobbies - if you are shy, then it is your people who are not needed. Aliens and David met me with very interesting people, some of them are my friends.
  “I was also given a Ripley figure at work for this birthday too.” If xena suddenly appeared on Earth, would you like such a pet to yourself?

• Unfortunately, Ksenov cannot be tamed (like many predators), and it’s hard to feed such a creature - it’s only him who needs to work with meat ... I’m afraid that I wouldn’t pull such a beast ...))) And in general I am not a supporter to keep predators at home or in aviaries (not counting cases when animals for some reason cannot live in the wild), these are not pets like dogs - who simply need a person who has a need to communicate with a person, but put a living creature on a chain because I want it - I want to admire it Ila and grace - I think it's terrible.

• Again, moving away from the canon, that they can break through the skull, what would your living Xen be? How would you bring him up?

• But if you suddenly imagine that you can still tame xena - and he would be able to become a full-fledged companion, like the same dogs. Just dream about it - I would like it to be an Xen runner - he is smaller than other Xen varieties and moves on all fours mainly - which is convenient for a pet. How would you bring up? I don’t even know for sure the same as the big dog). I would try to teach him not to throw at other people, not to sharpen claws on a sofa, etc. Well, I would not have to part with the floor cloth - constantly wipe drooling after it).

• What is David for you? Just a favorite character, or a connection with Michael somehow helps to go through life?

• Well, for me, David and Michael are not the same person. Michael is a living man - a talented actor. Who as a demiurge brought from somewhere in another world of David. Brought to our world - albeit according to the means of the movie. And David has healed with his life having become an important and symbolic character for many people (not only for me) - I don’t even know why or how - but there is in him something that sticks. It is possible that the character is deep and somehow alive. It was not for nothing that the Prometheus screenwriter said that when prescribing David’s dialogues, it seemed to him that it was David himself who voices Michael's words. As if he managed to wrest the archetype from somewhere. Owned to bring into our world, and not to invent it. Not for nothing, David has touched the hearts of many creative people - it creates a lot of fan-art –sculptures, drawings, author’s comics, stories and much more. And I noticed that not only I did not consider him a sinister. I repeat - David is a victim of human cruelty and greed. Peter Weiland wanted to become a god and created a quote: "The man who will make us gods." Created an artificial person capable of realizing his position as a slave, capable of feeling, able to create. And here these intelligent beings people began to sell as slaves - this is terrible. At any time, synthetic people could, reset, rewrite memory, correct behavior, destroy. Yes, the David series androids are not people, but these are rational beings ... why was it necessary to endow them with almost a human psyche, mind and sit on a leash? David is not protected by human laws and morality, so why should he live by these laws? Therefore, David has his own truth - and he can be understood. I do not say that I approve of some of his actions - but I can understand. That is why when I looked at the Covenant I did not know for whom to root for David or for the Covenants who became hostages of the situation and robbed of the sins of other people. And David has become for me an endless source of inspiration and muse - he's also an artist, he is not afraid to go against the system and achieve his goals and defend his position. Sometimes it is important not to lose yourself and believe in your ideals - even if you are alone against the whole world. Well, in and of itself, he is an interesting personality - an old romanticist, in which vulnerability and strength are combined.

• Do you plan any creative projects for the New Year? I saw the calendar in Instagram, the cards will be?)

• Well, I’ll definitely make a new year's e-card, and maybe not just one).

• Well, the last question and I will leave you alone :) What advice would you give to beginning artists? And those artists who can not promote their work on the Internet?
  

• Well, in the first place, do not draw what is fashionable and hyipovo, if you draw what you like and as you want - there will be people whose interests coincide with yours and their own audience will appear that will not go away when the fashion changes. Work on your skill and draw constantly. Well, to spread their work online - do not be shy. Now a lot of resources exist for this.

With you was the artist Elena Samoryadova.