Community Spotlight is a regular feature which highlights and celebrates amazing fan projects in the Remedy community. In 2018 we switched things up a little with each month having its own spotlighted fan and fan project. This year we're continuing the tradition, and for our June feature, I'm so happy to be talking about Klementev's gorgeous Alan Wake artwork.
With a constant stream of Control goodness throughout June such as E3 2019, the initial teasers for Gamescom, community milestones, and various livestreams; the month somehow... happened, and very quickly at that. But today I am really excited to talk about the artist that I selected for our June Community Spotlight. Her name is Klementev (Twitter) and she is a Finnish artist whose mindblowing artwork you may have already seen in the community.
For the article, Klementev very kindly agreed to do an interview which you can read in full below, but first I wanted to write an introduction about why her work caught my eye and what interests me about it.
One of the ongoing themes of the series is sleep, whether it's the lack of it driving the writer's consciousness, hidden memories surfacing in an unconscious state, or walking through a sleeping town. And it's an aspect of Klementev's work that I really love too; that sleepy, soft nature that complements the game's themes and style. The pieces are reminiscent of the dream-like sequences where Wake is guided by Zane across a landscape ruled by dream-logic and everything is both a threat and distant. That's what Klementev's artwork feels like, a blend of realism with a little bit of magic and wrapping it up in a soft focus dreamy look, that makes her work instantly recognisable and special.
To date, she has currently created two pieces of Alan Wake-inspired artwork. The first, shown below, was her breakthrough piece in the online Remedy community, after becoming a fan of the series following its recent return to digital marketplaces. That piece particularly interests me as sometimes when I see it, I imagine Wake being underwater, and then at other times, I see him emerging from the darkness or from sleep. I like that mystery and the dual perspective and both works incredibly well with the game's narrative.
The second piece, featured above, has a more American Nightmare feeling to it, with beautiful dawn-like colours. Once again, there's a dream-like nature to it, especially as Wake blends into the background. The illumination of the protagonist from behind is also a fantastic look, as is the small detail of the crows blocking the light out or the trees lightly hinted in the jacket. It's a stunning composition and a piece that really captures that Alan Wake vibe! I love it!
A little while ago we asked Klementev if we could interview her about her work, and she agreed! You can check out our full conversation below:
Tell us a little about yourself!
I’m a 21-year-old hobbyist artist from Finland. I’m currently studying English at university and in my free time, I dabble in music, art and video games.
Where did you get your passion for art?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, really. I guess I started getting into art “for real” in late elementary school. Around that time I joined my first online art communities and started making digital art. Fandoms and other artists have always been art fuel for me, constantly pushing me to create and improve!
How did you develop your style? And were there any artists that inspired you?
It’s still a work in progress! I enjoy creating both cartoony, highly stylized art and more realistic “painterly” stuff (see my featured piece). I started developing this painting-like style only a few years ago as a way of conveying more serious themes. Some inspirational visual artists include Leonid Afremov, Ross Tran, Minttu Hynninen, ctkcave and all my irl/online artist friends.
How and when were you introduced to Remedy’s games?
I was somewhat familiar with Remedy thanks to the Max Payne franchise, but ironically enough I only truly got to know the studio and Alan Wake through to the unfortunate audio copyright mess of 2018, almost a decade after the game’s initial release - despite living in the country Remedy’s based in! Better late than never.
What made you decide to create artwork for the games?
I was watching my friend stream the first Alan Wake game and I was immediately captivated by the dark atmosphere, sense of mystery and the play between dreams and reality. I also really liked Alan himself – I sensed a kindred spirit in this insomniac, caffeine-addicted artist. I instantly felt compelled to capture my interpretation of him and his struggle. I got to work as soon as the credits rolled!
What would you like to see in a potential Alan Wake 2?
As long as Remedy stays true to their signature style that made the first game(s) so unique and memorable I’ll be happy. I do hope they’ll spice up the gameplay mechanics a little, though, as I found the combat to be slightly repetitive at times. It would be sweet if they explored the characters and their interpersonal relationships even further - more Anderson brothers and Alan and Barry bro moments, please! Mr. Scratch was also delightful in American Nightmare so seeing him again would be neat, even if unlikely.
A huge thank you to Klementev for the interview!
