Alexis Christodoulou: "Anyone Who is Qualified as an Architect Inspires Me"

由专筑网小R，王雪纯编译
   
人们痴迷于Instagram上的美图，痴迷于那些现代、简约的审美特征，能表现出材质的高级感的暖色调尤其如此，而将这种美与当今数字化世界完美结合的设计者是自学成才的艺术家Alexis Christodoulou。在下文中，这位艺术家谈到了自己的设计理念、灵感，以及电子游戏对他的影响。

Immersing ourselves into Instagram's extensive photo galleries, we discovered a record of modern aesthetics, minimalist design, with a warm color palette that seeks to represent noble materials — all these assemble into incredible digital worlds created by the self-taught artist Alexis Christodoulou. Read on to learn about the artist's intentions, inspirations, and how he was influenced by videogames, in the following interview.



ArchDaily / Danae Santibáñez（下文称为AD）：让我们从头开始，你为什么一开始就选择了使用3D软件呢？

Alexis Christodoulou（下文称为AC）：大概在8年前，我开始使用3D软件，当时只是用作广告设计和我自己的兴趣爱好，我喜欢用创意的方式来抒发压力，我小时候喜欢玩电子游戏，同时我也发现自己对于3D渲染特别感兴趣，所以我有空的时候会在Youtube和Vimeo上看视频教程。现代主义建筑美学的形成十分自然，在一开始，我想要设计更加有机的图像，但是我不懂设计技巧，因此便构成了更加自然、几何，也近乎粗野的发展方向。

ArchDaily / Danae Santibáñez: Let's start from the beginning. How and why did you start using 3D software?
Alexis Christodoulou: I started using 3D software about 8 years ago while I was working a job in advertising. I've always had a creative outlet as a hobby, for a while it was writing but it became too much of a pressure. I have always been interested in computer-generated images since I was a young boy playing video games. When I realized that I could teach myself to create 3D renders on the internet I started spending my free time on youtube and Vimeo watching tutorials. The modernist architectural aesthetic was something that seemed to come naturally. Initially, I actually wanted to create images that felt a bit more organic but I didn't have the skills yet, so a more geometric, almost brutalist style came out and developed from there.



AD / DS：那你一般会用什么软件呢？

AC：我一般用Cinema4d和Redshift进行渲染，然后用photoshop和lightroom进行视频编辑。

AD / DS: What software do you use for your creations?
AC: I use Cinema4d and Redshift for rendering. I do post in photoshop and lightroom and I edit video in After Effects.



AD/DS：你的色彩看起来非常和谐，这些色彩从何而来呢？你怎么选择呢？

AC：它们的应用十分直接，比如也可能是流行色彩的使用。最后的用色和最初的渲染色彩其实并不一样，因为饱和度会高一些，因为我发现这样的色彩搭配起来更好看一些，然后再在后期的制作当中将饱和度降低，从而构成轻盈的感觉。

AD / DS: You have very harmonic color pallets, where do they come from and how do you choose them?
AC: Initially they came out quite intuitively, perhaps it was an unconscious reproduction of the trends in color at the time or my ideas thereof. My colors in my initial renders are actually quite different and often quite saturated. I find it easier to choose the saturated colors that match. Then I desaturate them in the post-production to try a light and airy feel.



Ad / DS：那么你的灵感从何而来呢？建筑师是否能给你带来灵感？

AC：我的灵感来源于很多方面。但是建筑师确实能给我带来启发，实际上，每位建筑师都能给我带来灵感。我没有受到过专业的训练，但是我比较喜欢从理论中去理解建筑和空间之间的关系。

我喜欢Ando、Chipperfield、Rossi的作品，但是我也从绘画作品中获取灵感，例如文艺复兴和抽象的现代主义。在博物馆里，我花了很多时间去钻研大师们的作品，也许在很多年之后，我才能真正理解了其中的美学内涵。

Ad / DS: Where do you get inspiration to design your imaginary worlds? Is there an architect that inspires you?
AC: My inspiration comes from numerous sources. There are definitely architects that inspire me, in fact, anyone who is qualified as an architect inspires me. I am untrained and have an intuitive approach to creating my spaces but I always appreciate an informed perspective that understands the relationships between architecture and space from a theoretical standpoint.
I love Ando, Chipperfield, Rossi. I also obviously look at painting a lot for inspiration, everything from the renaissance to abstract modernism. I just spent a lot of time looking at the Dutch Masters in museums in Berlin and Amsterdam and I think after many years I'm only now starting to decipher a lot of the beauty that those paintings hold.



AD / DS：你说过你喜欢电子游戏，那你有考虑设计一款游戏吗？

AC：我是很喜欢电子游戏，但是随着年龄的增长，自己的想法不再那么丰富，同时也有些公式化，尽管如此，这些想法仍然很独立，就像是在一部电影当中进行充分的遐想。

我很想自己设计一款电子游戏，感觉会很有趣。

AD / DS: You said that you like videogames… Have you ever considered to design one?
I do like videogames, I think less and less now that I'm getting older and they are becoming quite formulaic and boring. There are some great independent ones though, the big-budget ones are basically just like playing your way through a boring Marvel movie.
I would love to create a video game using my worlds, I think it would be a dream project!















图片：Alexis Christodoulou