Growing up, Roman lived near a zoo, and he spent nearly all of his time there. "I dreamt of becoming a zoologist and often sketched animals. I eventually graduated from art school and university. You could say that I am an artist by training and a naturalist at heart," the artist writes on his website.
But before diving into Paleoart, Roman worked as a designer on television. His hobby was extinct animals and dinosaurs. the artist shared that when 'Walks with Monsters' came out, he was inspired because no one had ever made such a film before. "The thing is, I was educated as an artist, and I studied anatomy, so I decided to draw these animals for myself based on their skeletons. So the end result was put on a zoo forum and shown to other people. It turns out that I’m not the only one interested in this kind of reconstruction. Besides, when I was a kid, I had books about ancient animals with illustrations of Burian and Flerov. And the family lived near the zoo, so I practically grew up there."
"My knowledge of animal anatomy makes it much easier to accurately draw all sorts of beasts and birds. My childhood fascination with animals is stronger than ever. Using only their skeletons, I bring creatures to life that roamed the same routes that take you to and from work hundreds of thousands of years ago. What was once a hobby is now my life’s calling. You won’t find any dinosaurs here. In my drawings, I recreate the world that surrounded them, the long-extinct animals that you may never have seen."
We wanted to know how Roman ensures the accuracy of his size comparisons. The artist explained that he relies on bone measurements and data from scientific papers.
However, Roman encounters certain challenges in his work. "Very often found remains of extinct animals are scarce and fragmentary, so when I’m working on reconstructions, I have to focus on related species."
When dealing with prehistoric animal data, Roman frequently comes across new information. "Science does not stand still, so I have to monitor the paleontological news and make adjustments to previously created reconstructions. Sometimes I even have to completely remake an ancient animal," the artist shared.
When asked about prehistoric animals he'd like to explore in the future, Roman replied that there are so many fascinating creatures that it could take a hundred years of work to cover them all. "You cannot embrace boundlessness," he added.
However, there's something more crucial that Roman wanted to talk about. "Today, my main task and the goal of all Ukrainians is to win the war that Russia has unreasonably started. And we still need the support of the entire civilized world!" If you have the means to help, you can do so here!
