This week we have already been teasing you with several images of artist Nerddesign, this month’s Feature Artist. Today we would like to present an exclusive interview where we will be talking about his stories and his art. Ever wondered how the world of Hekaria and its characters came to be and why he chose for this realistic fantasy setting? Curious as to what he will have in store for us in the future? Answers on those questions and more, can be found here!
Please tell us a little something about yourself.
What should I say? I love 3DX. Okay seriously. I’m from Austria, 33 years old and I have lots of hobbies. 24 hours a day is too short for all the stuff I wanted to do. I like astronomy, reading and writing and of course making 3DX for example.
How did you get started in art? And how did you get into 3DX?
I was always very interested in art. I did a lot of drawing and sketching in the past for example. Then, I think it was around 2006, I started with modding different games, for example Fallout 3. Mostly level and quest design and some basic props. So working in 3D wasn’t really new for me as I started with 3DX. It was in fall 2011 when I found some work of Hitman_X3Z. I was very impressed by his work. At this time I didn’t know that there was a 3DX community. I only knew some hentai stuff. So I started looking around for other artists work, but most of the stuff I found was bad quality. I thought “I can do that better.” So I got my first version of Poser, Victoria 4 and some basic stuff and started with some experiments. It didn’t take long and I began to render my images in Cinema 4D. That was also the point when I began to share my work on Planet Suzie. HZR invited me to Affect3D and yeah, here I am now.
Where did the name Nerddesign come from?
I mostly use Torian as my nick. But Torian is also the main male character in my comics, so I wanted something different. If I remember correctly I saw an episode of Big Bang Theory. I thought, why not Nerddesign? You have to be a bit of a nerd to make 3DX, so I think the name fits.
Looking at your website, it seems like you have created a whole world surrounding your characters and their adventures. Could you tell us a little something about the world of Hekaria and its inhabitants?
The world and the characters are based on a fantasy novel I wrote around 2010. It isn’t that kind of classic fantasy you know from Lord of the rings or other fantasy franchises. I tried to create a more “realistic” universe. You can also call it Science Fiction instead of fantasy. Magic for example is more like paranormal skills, like telepathy or telekinetic, like in Star Trek or Stargate. Technologically I would say it’s between Renaissance and the Victorian age. So no knights in shiny armor. 😉
Hekaria is just one of a bunch of kingdoms. In most countries for example it is forbidden for women to learn to control their magical abilities. Only in Hekaria and Stoneford is it allowed. Galandrien is the biggest kingdom and at war with Hekaria and some other kingdoms at the moment. It’s ruled by emperor Fryn I, a very sadistic guy. And there are the Andriis like Yani and Floreigh. They aren’t elves even though they look like them. They are descendants of humans on which the Banethak (an annihilated species) have performed genetic experiments thousands of years ago.
This is just some basic information. I wrote around 50 pages of design documents and also drew a map. You can learn more about the world on my website where I’ll add more articles of the world in the future.
So it all started with a novel. Have you perhaps written more of such stories, and have you ever thought about publishing them?
Nothing as big as this one. The novel has around 500 pages. I think it takes around three or four years to finish it. But I wrote some short stories 10, 15 years ago. Mostly science fiction.
I thought about publishing it but then I started with 3DX and the next logical step for me was to adapt it to a comic series. Over the years I did some big and lots of small changes to the original story, but it’s a good base to work with.
Like you mentioned the story can be seen as a more realistic fantasy, because it doesn’t have the typical fantasy elements. What is it that made you choose for this approach?
I think there are three main reasons for that. I’m a big fan of “realistic” science fiction like Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001 or Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series for example. I like stories with logical concepts in the technical design of the world. Sure, they are still science fiction, but not unbelievable. An important point for me. And then I’m also very interested in astronomy and physics. It’s cool if you read a story and see that the author thought about the technique his characters interact. For me, it makes the story much more interesting. The last point is that there are so many fantasy novels out with always the same concept like orcs, bag sorcerer and stuff like that. Why can the sorcerer throw fireballs? Because he is a sorcerer. That’s boring. My intention was to create an unique universe which is still fantasy, but realistic. And who knows? Perhaps there is a planet somewhere in the universe where princess Thora and her friends live. 😉
I also find it really interesting that you have given your characters very detailed backgrounds. Could you introduce us to some of your main characters? And do you perhaps have a personal favorite?
My favorites are Princess Thora and Yani. Thora was also my first created 3DX character, so she’s something special.
Thora is the Princess of Hekaria, 25 years old and the daughter of Queen Arienne. Her father died when she was five years old. Since early childhood, she deals with the artifacts of the Banethak and is therefore regarded as an expert.
Yani is a 18 years old Andrii girl from the coastal town Maribtor. She escaped together with her sister Floreigh and Torian from Maribtor. Episode I takes place during the journey from Maribtor to Anderyll, the capital of Hekaria. In most countries the Andrii are second-class people and often pursued and killed by the humans.
Where did you get the idea for this fantasy setting?
Boah, a good question. I would say mostly from all kind of Fantasy and Science Fiction novels. Nothing specific.
Who or what are your biggest inspirations?
When I began with 3DX I would say Hitman_X3Z from the technical point. And Andrzej Sapkowski, who wrote “The Wichter”, from the writing point.
I noticed you are already working on your next comic, which will be episode 2 of the Tales from Hekaria series. What can we expect in this exciting continuation? And do you have any other future plans?
Episode II will be my first “real” comic. Episode I was more of a test to find out how to make a comic. It hasn’t really got a story. In episode II half of the comic will be non sex scenes. At the moment it has around 100 pages. You will find out for example why Yani and Floreigh have to escape from Maribtor and why Torian was there. It starts the story line I wrote in my novel and there will definitely be more episodes. Release will be mid to end of august I hope.
I also planned to do a comic in a Science Fiction setting with Max Black in the future. But therefor I’ve no specific plan at the moment.
Max Black is one of your newer characters? Could you tell us a little more about her and perhaps her story?
I created Max in fall 2014, so she’s not one of my newest. I just wanted to have a beautiful, Asian girl. The world she lives in is loosely based on a short story I wrote 12 years ago. At the moment she doesn’t have a big background. She works as a bounty hunter together with her best friend Tina sometimes. Max is a very tough girl and loves vanilla ice cream. From time to time I’m working on settings for her. So there will be something she’s in, but not in the near future except some images.
Could you tell us something about the process that goes into your works of art? Any specific programs or tools you like to use?
The first thing I make for a comic is a story board. Very helpful. If I just do a render then there is no real process behind it. I just think about what I will achieve with the image and start.
I use DAZ (since I swapped to Genesis 2) for posing. Cinema4d for the scene setup and rendering/corrections and Gimp for the 2D part.
Do you have any advice you’d like to give to aspiring artists?
Just do what you want to do. Don’t try to copy the style of another artist. Find your own style and be unique.
Where can we find more about you and your products?
First of all my website.
On Deviant Art and if you want to support me (which is always very appreciated) on Patreon.
Oh, and of course here in the forum.
And finally is there anything you would like to share with our readers?
Thanks for your attention and your support! And don’t be shy to be critical with me.