WHO IS ALEX LANIER?
Alex Lanier is an award winning and published Artist with a background in Architecture (FIU - School of Architecture). While still in college he worked as an Architect at (Red Design Group - Miami Based Firm). Wanting to use more of his artistic ability, he took the Architectural Visualization path at (Spine3D - Miami Based Arch Viz Studio). He later transitioned into a full-time freelance artist in Los Angeles CA. (BIG CHANGE!) While freelancing in LA he worked for several major studios creating Illustrations, Concept Art, Storyboards, Event/Set Design and Architecture Illustrations.
He is currently a freelance Artist creating art for clients and collectors worldwide. You can also find Alex displaying his art at some of the countries largest and well respected Art Festivals and Galleries.
WHAT IS CHESSTECTURE?
Chesstecture (Chess + Architecture) is a custom chess set brand visualized by artist Alex Lanier as a vehicle to express his love for travel, Architecture and experiencing new environments. He always loved playing chess but never thought of actually creating a set until studying the structure of the game.
"I was attracted to the chess set because it has an architectural feel to it. The layout and pieces have to be in a certain place for the structure of the game to work properly just like a standing building. The Rooks act as primary support beams, the Bishops as cross beams and the Pawns are live loads."
"I usually think design first and then figure out the structure but in this case the chess set is my structure. So when designing a custom chess set, my creative mission is to figure out how and what I'm going to design around this already given structure."
THE PROCESS?
Each project starts off by him gathering inspiration from sketching and exploring with his digital camera. Once the concept is finalized, he begins final drawings or goes straight into constructing the board. Once the board is complete, Alex starts sculpting roughs of the pieces to get the size and proportions correct. He begins final sculpting and then oven bakes the clay to lock in the details. He let's the clay sit for a few hours before painting and inking. The board and pieces are sealed with a waterproof varnish for the final touches.
"Everything is handmade and a 1 of 1"