Tuesday 31 August 2010

2010 proving a busy year for artist Duncan Long


SciFi Art Now artist Duncan Long reports that, despite the economic downturn he's been keeping busy, with many self-publishing authors and small presses realizing that in order to compete with big presses, a quality cover illustration is key. Something other artists in the book will, I'm sure, would like to impress on their contacts!

On the "established press" side of things, Duncan is currently finishing up a collection of illustrations for a graphic novel, Werewolves of New Idria, written by John Chadwell, from Moonstone Books.

• Fast-view Flash portfolio: http://duncanlong.com/portfolio/


• Standard HTML portfolio: http://duncanlong.com/portfolio/index_html.html


• Read our interview with Duncan here

Monday 30 August 2010

Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Nemons

The format of SciFi Art Now - out this October - is such that it promotes the art of the creators, but there's not much room to tell you more about them and their work. We're publishing interviews with creators here to redress the balance.

Gary Hall (aka Nemons) has worked in the games industry as a commercial artist for over 10 years creating characters, concepts, logos, user interfaces and more for companies such as Sony, EA, Microsoft, SEGA and Activision. 

Now he's trying to establish himself in his own right in his own way, more of which can be seen on his official web site...


SciFi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?

Gary Hall: Pencil, paper, scanner and my iMac!

SciFi Art Now: Why?

Astro Zombies by Gary Hall
Gary: I like the crispness I can achieve by using a computer and it let's me adapt my work for different media

SciFi Art Now: What inspired you to become an artist?

Gary: Reading Asterix, TinTin and 2000AD and watching Disney films and other animations, I used to spend endless hours copying my favourite characters and covers.

SciFi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?

Gary: Don't give up! practice, practice, practice...

Durham Red from the UK comic 2000AD
Homage by Gary Hall
SciFi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?

Gary: Albert Uderzo, Disney and Pixar, Saul Bass, Chris Foss, HR Giger, Aubrey Beardsley, James Jarvis, Junko Mizuno - I could go on and on!

SciFi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?

Gary: I love retro sci-fi and b-movie horror films, the monsters, heroes and girls are just fantastic - the 1950's and 60's was the golden age of these type of films and their posters really inspire me. Men were real heroes, women were fainting femme fatales and one-eyed martian killer cyborgs were one-eyed martian killer cyborgs!

SciFi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?

Gary: I'm never satisfied with anything I do! I guess it's a built in survival system to make me create more work :)

SciFi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?

Gary: I have so many bizarre experiences on a daily basis it's nice that they don't happen when I'm drawing.

SciFi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?

Gary: that the world and his dog are expert art critics and never let a moment go by to tell you "what you've done wrong" or "what they would have done"

SciFi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?

Gary: "Why stop now just when I'm hating it" - Marvin!

SciFi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?

Gary: Never let anyone stop you drawing what you want to draw! It might not make you rich but it will make you happy.

Web Links

• Check out Gary Hall's web site at: http://nemons.deviantart.com

• Contact Gary via: gary@octopus-ink.co.uk


Friday 27 August 2010

Competition Seeks Illustrator to Bring Cleveleys’ ‘Mythic Coastline’ to Life

Ever fancied seeing your artwork in a published book, or brought to life by a sculptor? Then grab your pens – or your computer mouse – because the hunt is on to find a talented illustrator for a brand new children’s book exploring the history, landscape and folklore of Britain's Cleveleys coast.

Lancaster-based literature agency Litfest and Wyre Borough Council have launched an open competition to find an illustrator for the Mythic Coastline project, which is developing stories, illustrations, public art works and events to inspire and enthuse local people and visitors to the Lancashire coastline between Cleveleys and Fleetwood.

Critically acclaimed children’s author Gareth Thompson is writing the book, provisionally titled Between the Moon and the Earth, which will highlight some of the area’s diverse environments – including the Bowland Forest, the fishing harbour at Fleetwood and the sand dunes at Rossall – as well as mythic or unseen features such as petrified forests and shipwrecks.

Not only will the book will be published in hardback next year by Foxtail, an imprint of Litfest Publications, as well as in e-book format, but it will also provide the inspiration for public art works to be created by sculptor Stephen Broadbent. And there’s a commission fee of £8,000 up for grabs too.

"We’re looking for imaginative, sparky illustrations which invoke the spirit, history and folklore of this fascinating landscape," said Andy Darby, Artistic Director of Litfest, who will edit the book. "We’ve got a great writer on board – now we need a fantastic illustrator who can give the book another dimension."

Councillor Lynne Bowen, Wyre Borough Council Cabinet member with responsibility for culture, added: "The council has a vision for the Mythic Coastline to capture the imagination of all who see it. This is an extra special project, so it's only right that we search for an exceptional illustrator who can make Wyre's new waterfront come alive."

• Entrants are asked to complete an application form and submit two examples of their work. Full entry details, terms and conditions, and the application form can be found on the www.wyreway.org/mythic website, or can be obtained by calling 01524 62166. The deadline for entries is 27th September 2010.

Check out the Cleveleys web site for possible inspiration

Monday 23 August 2010

Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Duncan Long


Crystal Dragon cover for Asimov's
- featured in SciFi Art Now
The format of SciFi Art Now - out this October - is such that it promotes the art of the creators, but there's not much room to tell you more about them and their work. We're publishing interviews with creators here to redress the balance.

Duncan Long started work as an illustrator/writer in 1985. Since then, he's created over a thousand book and magazine illustrations. As a writer, he's authored 13 novels (for HarperCollins, Avon Books) and 60-plus technical books (Paladin Press, Delta Press, Lyons Press, etc.), and ghostwritten over a dozen titles for radio and TV celebrities. 

SciFiArt Now: Tell us a little bit about yourself and some of the work you have done.

Duncan Long: I've played on both sides of the publishing street, starting as a small publisher in the 1980s, doing the writing and illustration for the books I marketed via mail order. I soon discovered I loved the writing and illustration part but hated the marketing and paperwork, and so graduated to having other publishers handle that stuff.

Over the last decade or so I've migrated toward mostly creating book illustration and only occasionally writing a book or article.

The majority of my illustrations are done for self publishing authors, though I still do some work for larger publishers. Among those I've done work for are HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, and Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.

Currently I'm working on the artwork for John Chadwell's graphic novel Werewolves of New Idria, which is being published by Moonstone Books.

Readers can see my best work online at http://DuncanLong.com/art.html

SciFi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?

Duncan: I do all my work digitally, and generally don't even make pencil sketches or the like. Digital is much faster and allows for experimentation on the fly, so it has become the most natural route toward producing artwork. Since most publishers prefer work in digital format and often request changes, this also does away with the need to scan paintings or drawings, colour adjust them, and so forth. Digital from the start is just a whole lot easier and faster.

'Roberto Aceves' by Duncan Long
My hardware is a four-core, memory-crammed PC with a Wacom tablet. Software is generally an old, old version of Corel PhotoPaint 8. I use other software from time to time including Vue. But most of the work is done in PhotoPaint.

SicFi Art Now: What inspired you to become an artist?

Duncan: I have just always loved art and drawing. As a kid I also loved the old science fiction book covers and such, so doing book cover illustrations is pretty much a dream come true for me, and something that seemed like I should be doing from the get go.

SciFi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?

Duncan: Actually it came from my music teacher: craftsmanship comes from practice.

You can't just think about making artwork, you have to dive in and make more and more artwork, music, or whatever it is you're intent on doing. Only when your craftsmanship is secure and the mechanics of production second nature, can you be free to realize in your performance what you imagine in your head. Whether you're riding a bike, painting a portrait, or playing the piano, practice is where it's at.

SciFi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?

Duncan: About any famous artist offers techniques and layout that an illustrator can learn from. A few off-the-top-of-my-head picks: Leonardo Di Vinci, Salvador Dali, Norman Rockwell, and Michael Whelan. But it's a list that might go on and on.

SciFi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?

Duncan: Science fiction is the melting pot of the arts. You can have a story set in any time past, present, or future; set anywhere from under the sea to deep, unexplored corners of the universe; and with any sort of character from an android wanting to be human to a human becoming a monster. Each new illustration project with a science fiction theme has a potential surprise or two and often will demand new solutions and even techniques to make the picture work.

'Agendas' by Duncan Long
SciFi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?

Duncan: This is sort of like asking a parent which child is their favourite! I think My (current - it changes by the day) favorite top five would be "Agendas," "Crystal Dragon" (which appeared as an Asimov's Science Fiction cover), "Down to Earth," "Treehouse Clan," and "Roberto Aceves" (which was concept art for John Chadwell's Werewolves of New Idria).

SciFi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?

Duncan: I think about the only notable thing was my bashing a keyboard apart on the monitor when things weren't going so well (ha). But I generally am pretty patient and easy going (my story notwithstanding) and my life, pretty uneventful. I'll have to try to make up some good stories, ideally involving the exchange of gunfire and a beautiful female model.

SciFi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?

Duncan: I think the current trend toward artwork by committee. When a project is under the wings of a good art director or seasoned editor, things generally go smoothly because that person has a vision and knows what works and what does not. They explain what they want, pick you because they know you can handle the work, and things are straightforward with results that I can be proud of.

'Treehouse Clan' by Duncan Long
More recently too many of those in the publishing industry seem to have lost their nerve, asking everyone and their cat to make suggestions for changes once the project is underway. When that happens, a project gets jerked this way and that, becoming a great example of the old saw that a camel is a horse designed by a committee.

I have come to call this "death by committee" and it's always sad to see an illustration that had great potential die a slow death from a thousand meaningless changes.

Fortunately those in the industry are growing aware of the problem and hopefully it will soon go back to the practice of having a seasoned and secure art director to pilot the project along to a safe harbour.

[Duncan talks more about this problem here on his ace Book Cover Illustrations blog]

SciFi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?

Duncan: Well, money always helps (ha). However I think the satisfaction of those illustrations that are so marvelous when they're finished that that I have to step back and say, "How in the world did I do that!?" Sometimes it seems like the muse was whispering in the illustrator's ear and the artwork exceeds the ability of the artist. Those are moments of joy and amazement.

SciFi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?

'Starman Smith' by Duncan Long -
featured in SciFi Art Now
Duncan: Find a style you do well and that you enjoy doing. Art directors and other clients often pick illustrators for a job by the past work the artist has done and by the stuff in the artist's portfolio. If an illustrator isn't careful, he can get locked into doing work he doesn't much enjoy. And, of course, doing something you enjoy always makes the work better and more pleasant to do.

• Check out Duncan's work at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html

Bookmark his blog for insights into the publishing industry and his latest work

Duncan Long's Book Cover Illustrations, Book Cover Art, CD Album Art, Graphic Designs, and Other Graphic Artwork

Duncan's Free Ebooks and Publications

Duncan's Digital Music and MP3s

Friday 20 August 2010

Titan Books seeks book cover artists

Ruescape Art


Titan Books has put out an open call to recruit book cover illustrators for their future fiction titles.

The call appeared this week on the new blog of Titan’s revamped website and Twitter feed asking if their fans and readers “want to be the next Chris Foss?”

The opportunity comes on the back of an announcement that Titan will be continuing to expand its fiction range in 2011, with new science fiction and fantasy series such as T.S. Church’s RuneScape, the art for which appears as the masthead for the online recruitment call.

• Interested artists are requested to send five low res pieces of their work with a brief CV and cover letter to illustration@titanemail.com

• For full info visit: http://titanbooks.com/blog/wanted-book-cover-illustrators/

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Corel's Quest for the Best Challenge

'The Calm Before the Storm', SciFi Art Now contributor John Malcolm's entry for Corel's contest.
Illustrators in North America, the UK and Germany still lhave time to both enter software maker Corel's Quest for the Best Creativity Challenge.

The challenge is part of the company's 25th aniversary celebrations: their way of saying thank you to all of their customers, partners and employees who have helped them grow from a tiny startup in Ottawa, Canada, to a global software company with customers on virtually every continent.

The Quest for the Best Creativity Challenge is offering over $25,000 in prizes in a search for the next great digital artists. Entrants, whose work is initially judged by popular, registered vote and then by a panel of professional judges, could win the ultimate design studio (valued at $9,500 US), a Nikon D700 SLR camera, a Wacom Cintiq tablet, an iPad, a Flip UltraHD Camcorder or other great prizes.

Current entrants include ace artist and SciFi Art Now contributor John Malcolm, whose 'Calm Before the Storm' is a fun piece of fantasy art.

Corel are posting a regularly updated 'Most Liked Overall' gallery on the contest web site, as well as daily favourites and most recent entries.

Artists should simply enter your best illustration, painting or image made with Corel software before 31st August 2010 for a chance to win. Anyone who wants to vote for their favourite art in the competition needs to register on the site - and anyone eligible to vote is in with the chance to win for a chance to win one of 10 HP Mini Netbooks.

The contest is open to residents of the United States, Canada (excluding the province of Quebec), the United Kingdom and Germany only.

• Visit www.corelquestforthebest.com for full contest details
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