• More Christmas cards on my Flickr page, including more from other Sci-Fi Art Now artists such as Lee Gibbons and Neil Robetts!
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Wishing you a very Merry Midwinter and a Happy New Year
I'll be back posting in the New Year with more interviews from the Sci-Fi Art Now contributors but in the mean time, Oliver Wetter (aka Fantasio) just sent me this cheeky Christmas card you might enjoy! Check out more of his work at fantasio.info
• More Christmas cards on my Flickr page, including more from other Sci-Fi Art Now artists such as Lee Gibbons and Neil Robetts!
• More Christmas cards on my Flickr page, including more from other Sci-Fi Art Now artists such as Lee Gibbons and Neil Robetts!
Friday, 17 December 2010
Glasgow's Hope Street Studios looking for intern
Hope Street Studios in Glasgow are looking for any illustration students interested in a paid internship, who would mainly be doing comic book work but possible storyboarding and design.
Top artist and Sci-Fi Art Now contributor Gary Erskine, who is heading up the hunt, tells me they're looking for someone from Glasgow and Edinburgh (or within nearby area) as some work involves being on hand at the studio.
Sequential art experience is preferred but not essential.
To apply, please send a link to your Deviant Art site or similar and provide a contact email address.
• Email Gary at garyerskineonlineATbtinternet.com He will follow up with interested parties as soon as possible.
Top artist and Sci-Fi Art Now contributor Gary Erskine, who is heading up the hunt, tells me they're looking for someone from Glasgow and Edinburgh (or within nearby area) as some work involves being on hand at the studio.
Sequential art experience is preferred but not essential.
To apply, please send a link to your Deviant Art site or similar and provide a contact email address.
• Email Gary at garyerskineonlineATbtinternet.com He will follow up with interested parties as soon as possible.
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Read Duncan Long's Masque of the Red Death for free
Duncan Long has released his Christmas gift for his fans - a newly illustrated version of Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death (in PDF format)."A Poe story may seem an odd choice for Christmas," he notes, "but in fact it’s in keeping with English tradition of telling ghost stories around the fireplace on Christmas (yes, an arguably odd tradition – as are most).
British readers will confirm this - the BBC has recently revived A Ghost Story for Christmas, screenings of ghost stories, most by MR James, an idea the broadcaster first came up with in the 1970s. (There's a fan site about them here: www.ghoststoryforchristmas.co.uk)
If you missed them, Duncan has previously released illustrated versions of Poe’s Eleonora and The Raven.
When not creating his own editions of Poe’s stories and poems, Duncan works as a freelance magazine and book illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, Fort Ross, ISFiC Press, and many other publishers and self-publishing authors.
• Check out his book illustrations at: http://DuncanLong.com/art.html
Sci-Fi Artist Emma Alvarez stands up for Human Rights in new exhibtion
Some months ago, Sci-Fi Art Now contributor Emma Alvarez was asked if she wanted to take part in a travelling exhibition for the Human Rights in Alicante.The exhibition, "El Arte Con Los Derechos Humanos", features 30 pieces of art from different artists, who all had to choose an article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and create their artwork based on it.
Emma's choice was Justice, based on the Declaration's 7th article.
"I chose this because I think that in some way it comprises the essence of Human Rights," says Emma. "Everyone has the same opportunities, and everybody can have the same education. It is just that we all can be the same."
The works of art by sculptors, photographers, water colour and collage artists and more aim to explore and inform people people about the words and images of human rights.
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| Promotional poster for the exhibition |
"There were plenty of people at the opening," says Emma, who received plenty of prase for her work on the night, which was both flattering and embarrassing - like many artists, she's a modest about her work!
The exhibition, orgnaised by Amnesty International and local art organisation Espejo de Alicante (EDA) was opened by Vicente Pertegás, co-ordinator of Amnesty International, Consuelo Giner, president of the EDA. (If you're curious, the EDA blog, in Spanish, has a full list of artists involved here - be aware the blog is pretty sluggish to view, there seems to be some animation slowing down loading time).
"We got lots of signatures for several human rights issues," she adds. "I'm very happy of participating in this."
• More about the exhibition opening on her official blog
• More about the exhibition on the Espejo de Alicante blog (in Spanish)
• More about the exhibition on the Spanish Amnesty International web site (in Spanish)
• Read our interview with Emma Alvarez
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Max Bertolini
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| Max Bertolini's cover for Nathan Never #9 |
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
Max Bertolini: I begin drawing the characters with a pencil that helps me to create the shades as well. Than I scan them into Photoshop and put on the colours.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
Max: I began with oils years ago but finally turned to the PC because it's faster and you can fix colours quickly. Now I have a lot of fun drawing with Photoshop, much more than traditional ways.
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| New Beginning by Max Bertolini |
Max: When I was a child I wanted to bring to life the characters that kept running into my mind. I wasn't satisfied until I managed to draw them exactly. When I grew up I started enjoing all kind of art, not only comics and fantasy novels, and that helped me so much expanding my artistic views.
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| Thor by Max Bertolini |
Max: I was given a lot of advice. The one I remember best was a talk with Neal Adams, that explained me the importance of photo reference among many other hints I had from him.
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| Iron Man by Max Bertolini |
Max: John Buscema, Neal Adams, Klimt, Martiniere, Sparth, Marko Djurdjevic and many other I can't even remember.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
Max: Sci-Fi is the place where anything can happen, so you can draw anything.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?
Max: There's a cover I made for an Italian comic book called Future War. I like the colours and the mood of the piece.
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| Future War by Max Bertolini |
Sci-Fi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?
Max: Once I drew a background watching the reflection of my room on the monitor!
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| Daredevil by Max Bertolini |
Max: That I'm never good enough.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?
Max: I have tons of stuff still to learn and I want to know them all!
Sci-Fi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?
Max: Learn to observe reality around you, never give up, study different styles of art, not just those you're used too look at, and draw, draw and draw!
• Check out more of Max's superb art at: www.maxbertolini.com. Contact Max via maxATmaxbertolini.com
• Check out more about Nathan Never on publishers Sergio Bonelli Editore web site
Sci-Fi Artist Spotlight: Andrew Skilleter
Andrew Skilleter is an artist who doesn't feature in Sci-Fi Art Now but I'm hoping that if there is a follow up volume he might be in that. I first worked with him back on Doctor Who Magazine in the late 1980s and I admire his work; he's a dab hand at both original and licensed art commissions, particularly Doctor Who (for which he's best known) - and some of his Dan Dare pieces, inspired by the Eagle comic character, are tremendous fun.Anyway, after much planning and labour and little help from his friends, his new website is now live, including extensive galleries, bigger and better images, a blog and shop with online secure checkout if you want to buy any of his prints, such as his Narnia range.
As well as Doctor Who, Andrew has worked in numerous genres and you'll find a kaleidoscope of multi-genre images on this new site.
• Check it out at: http://andrewskilleter.com
Monday, 13 December 2010
ILEX Manga title wins Harvey Award
UK publisher of Sci-Fi Art Now Ilex’s bestselling The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga has been announced as the winner of the 2010 Harvey Award for ‘Best American Edition of Foreign Material’, and was also recently shortlisted for the prestigious Eisner Award. Written by Helen McCarthy, the book is the first authorised English language biography on Japan’s most celebrated artist of the 21st century and I think it will interest followers of this blog. I also worked with Helen on Manga Max magazine a few years back.
Osamu Tezuka has often been called the Walt Disney of Japan, but he was far more than that. Tezuka was Disney, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Tim Burton and Carl Sagan, all rolled into one incredibly prolific package, and he changed the face of Japanese culture forever.
This book reveals what makes him one of the key figures of 20th century pop culture. Packed with stunning images, many never before seen outside Japan, it pays tribute to the work of an artist, writer, animator, doctor, entrepreneur and traveller whose insatiably curious mind created two companies, dozens of animated films and series, and over 150,000 pages of comic art in one astonishingly creative lifetime.
ILEX call The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga "an amazing adventure for the manga and anime neophyte, an essential reference for the confirmed fans, and a visual treat for anyone who loves art".
• The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga is on sale from amazon.co.uk
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Oliver Wetter
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
Oliver Wetter: Pencil, Paper and Photoshop CS5, occasionally clay and a camera.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
Oliver: Pencil on paper is the very first and fastest way to get an idea out of my head, everything else is secondary. Some pieces scream for being rendered in high definition, others want to be roughly painted and some others are meant to be in between. With the mixed media, I have reliable options to fulfill these demands.
Oliver: I think it was a fascination with provoking reactions from a viewer, and the possibility to control those reactions to a certain degree. Early caricatures and comic strips from teachers and classmates are a proof for that.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?
Oliver: I was going the hard road, so advice was rare, the only advice that last until today and which I pray like a mantra is from artist Greg Spalenka, who once said to me: "Every kind of promotion is important." I had this quote in big letters over my desk for a long time, now I think it's ingrained.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
Oliver: It gives some of my works a fitting frame and therefore eligibility to exist. OK, they could exist without, but that definition makes it easier for my works to be widely accepted.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?
Oliver: It's always difficult to pick one favorite, but mine is The Disquisition, which was done throughout one week of work - non-stop. At first it might not look that compelling, but the intention was to bring it upon a 70x170cm canvas. The photoshop file is around the 1.4 GB mark!
It's my favourite, because it's a tribute to many of my inspirations, like Michael Parkes, Pascal Blanche and Salvador Dali.
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| The Disquisition by Oliver Wetter |
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| Oliver's 2005 still life... |
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| -- and the sculpture 'in amp' it started out as. (Full Pic) |
Sci-Fi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?
Oliver: The most frustrating fact is probably, that I use to or need to have the knowledge of around 15 professionals (marketing expert, copywriter, web developer, clerk, etc) but getting paid for one only!
Sci-Fi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?
Oliver: The hope that one day I'll get paid the same kind of money I would for all those 15 professionals I have to be...
Sci-Fi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?
Oliver: "Get the fundamentals down, otherwise the fancy stuff isn't going to work." (The advice of the late Randy Pausch)
• Check out more of Oliver's work at http://fantasio.info or his blog or deviant art space. You can contact Oliver via fantasioxATgmail.com or via Twitter: http://twitter.com/fantasiox
Brian Eno, Jason Bruges and other UK artists in Yota Space digital exhibition
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| Volume by UVA and 3D |
Yota Space, an exhibition of digital art that includes works by Britain's Brian Eno and Jason Bruges, has just opened in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Described as one of the greatest collections of digital art ever assembled, it features the work of over 20 of the world's most cutting edge digital artists including onedotzero and the legendary Brian Eno. Some of the works have been commissioned especially for Yota, over five floors in a converted building in the heart of St Petersburg.
A prominent contemporary art enthusiast and the founder of his own video design studio, Lumen, Eno creates video installations which are accompanied by his own compositions from the the late 1970s.
His "77 Million Paintings" project – a program that creates endlessly unique digital "paintings" with individual audio accompaniment - will be presented at Yota Space.
"This is a great platform for digital art and music, which in my mind have a natural cohesion to one another," says Eno. "I'm also delighted that it is being held in Russia as I have always had a connection with the country. As an art student my favourite period was Russian painting of the early 20th Century.
"I also lived in St Petersburg for a short while. This is the first time my work '77 Million Paintings' will be seen in Russia, which combines art and music, my two great loves.
The event, which will run annually, has been created by Russian wireless 4G broadband company, Yota and the festival brings together a never been seen before level of interactive digital art and brings many of Europe's best artists to Russia for the first time.
Visitors enter to be greeted by 'Volume', a collaboration between design collective United Visual Artists (UVA) and 3D from Massive Attack, which consists of 47 columns of light, each with their own audio output. The visitor determines their own pathway through the columns affecting and creating their own unique journey through light, nature and space.
Guests will then receive a stunning and totally immersive sensory experience across a further four floors of installations and works that include: • Brian Eno's "77 Million Paintings" which provides a unique and almost infinite perspective for each visitor
• Chris Levine's specially commissioned "Alright Now" installation which projects images to the observer's peripheral vision(see video, below)
• In Jason Bruges' specially commissioned "Peasouper", visitors will appear to float through the space as passers-by in the foggy streets of London
• onedotzero has taken over an entire floor to showcase a collection of handpicked artists. Works include a digital interactive photo-booth produced by Cassette Playa and Kin Design and works by Hellicar + Lewis, AntiVJ, Quayola and more
• United Visual Artists' "Volume" is an immersive experience that was created in collaboration with 3D from Massive Attack.
• The interactive Body Paint installation from MSA
The exhibition was launched with a multi-media party headlined by Grammy award nominated British electronic band Hot Chip. They were joined by up-and-coming acts Masters of Skweee and SCSI-9.
Yota has curated the event itself as a way to ensure that it stays at the cutting edge of contemporary culture and cultivate the creativity that sits at the heart of the brand.
"Yota Space has been created as part of our mission to transform people's lives by giving them access to new ideas from across the globe," explains Dennis Sverdlov, Yota CEO. " Yota aims to be a company that inspires, so we've invested in bringing together some of the most inspirational people in the world for this event.
"We hope the people of St Petersburg enjoy what promises to be one of the most unique events that Europe has seen this year."
• The exhibition will continue at the Yota Space until 19th December 2010. For more info (in both English and Russian), visit space.yota.ru. (Be aware the web site is a bit cranky, certainly from my experience)
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: John Ridgway
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| John Ridgway. Photo: Jeremy Briggs |
"I like things to be practical and thought out," he says. "I like working with CGI. I dislike cities and love the countyside. I love Austria – beautiful forests, great mountains, good food and clean air."
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
John Ridgway: Most of my work is black and white linework, or coloured linework. I draw on 2 or 3 ply Bristol card (I used to use Oram and Robinson Academy Line board, but that company went out of business).
The linework is scanned into the computer and coloured in Photoshop. To draw, I use HB leads – very sketchy at first just to get the idea down. Then I tighten up bits where accuracy is essential prior to inking those parts – so I’m pencilling and inking as a go along.
For inking I use Rotring ink with a dip pen with crow quil nibs (mapping pen nibs). For areas, or where a thicker line is required, I use a Pentel brush-pen. For large areas I use a cotton-bud.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
John: Those are the tools I am comfortable with.
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| A sample Doctor Who page featuring Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor |
I always wanted to draw and create my own stories. It always seemed a natural development.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?
John: I didn’t have any advice.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?
John: Hal Foster, Frank Hampson, Burne Hogarth, Frank Bellamy, Frank Frazetta, Sydney Jordan...
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
John: The sheer variety, wonder and immensity of space – the exploration of what is possible. The list of exo-planets is constantly growing. It’s only a few decades ago people thought there were no other worlds out beyond our solar system.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?
John: It is yet to be done.
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| No Place to Land by John Ridgway |
John: No.
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| Proving Ground - a cover for DC Thomson's Commando. |
John: Getting stuck in a rut drawing stuff that requires no imagination – often written by writers who have no idea how their scripts restrict what can be done with a page.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?
John: Deadlines.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?
John: Get another job to give you an income you can rely on. Then practice, practice, practice, until your work is good enough to sell. Then decide whether you want to work for America or Europe – and push. Never give up.
• John Ridgway is on Facebook and the downthetubes British Comics Forum. To get in touch, email him via johnATridgwaydesign.fsnet.co.uk
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Kevin Levell
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| A mock cover for 2000AD by Kev Levell |
"My primary school teacher put it best, I think, in my first ever report card," Kev feels. "'If Kevin could be left to draw all day, he would be happy.'
"I've often been doodling when I should have been doing something else... but now I'm trying to make a living out of drawing it's often the other way around!
"So far I've done a few strips for the small press and a couple of spot illustrations and covers too," he reveals. "To make it work financially I've been doing other more mainstream illustration and amongst other things I've done a couple of books for the Cambridge University Press, some story-boarding for adverts and a few bits of graphic design.
"The ultimate childhood dream would be to draw Judge Dredd for 2000AD, and I regularly bombard Tharg with my samples, so who knows!"
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
Kev Levell: Pencil, various pigment/indian ink pens, A3 scanner, iMac, Wacom Intuos 3 and Photoshop.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
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| Kev's cover for the British indie comic Violent, homaging the 1970s comic Action. |
Sci-Fi Art Now: What inspired you to become an artist?
Kev: I've never thought of myself as anything else. I can't remember a time when I didn't love drawing, painting, sculpting, designing, whatever you want to call it, I've always been (and I don't really like the word in this context) creative. It's what I've always wanted to do, I got distracted for a while by a career designing the stuff that used to fall out of cereal packs, but hopefully I've bought back my soul now and I'm no longer wasting my talents.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?
Kev: Measure twice, cut once!
Sci-Fi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?
Kev: That's a tricky question. In my teens I would probably have said Brian Bolland, Arthur Ranson, Frank Quitely and Simon Bisley, comic artists, because that was what I was in to. A couple of years ago I would have mentioned names like Alphonse Mucha, Arthur Rackham and Norman Rockwell, classic illustrators... but now I find it's my contemporaries that inspire me most, my artist friends really, Matt Dawson who I used to work with and of course my cohorts on the web strip, Fractal Friction.
I'd also say the same of writers I've worked closely with too, Rich Clements and The Emperor, who I immensely enjoy batting ideas around with, it's a different sort of inspiration but the brainstorming part of creating things is where I get a lot of excitement and motivation - watching something evolve that didn't exist before.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
Kev: I think it's the way that the improbably and highly fantastic can seem reasonable (if you're willing to suspend your disbelief), if a writer or artist is skillful enough to convince you within a credible framework that what you are seeing/reading is possible then that's a joy. It's that sort of illusion I hope to create (where possible/applicable) with my own work.
Sci-Fi books were always lying around our house as a child and I'm a bloke over 30... so, I'm pretty much predisposed to like it. I think I'm probably filtering the same small pool influences as everyone else of my generation.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?
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| iCandy by Kev Levell |
The other thing I'm hugely proud of is the Graphic Novel I am working on with Rich Clements, it's called Corvus and is about Superheroes in Roman Britain... there is a very cool publisher attached to it, but I'm not really able to say who that is at present.
Sci-Fi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?
Kev: It's usually coincidences with me... one that springs readily to mind was at the Bristol comic con two years ago. I am a huge fan of 2000AD
so, I was talking to Dave Evans and Rich Clements from FutureQuake about stuff I'd been thinking about pitching to them to include in one of their 2000AD themed fanzines. One idea was to do with the Origins of Wulf Sternhammer (for those who don't know, Wulf is Johnny Alpha's partner in the long running classic 2000AD story Strontium Dog). Rich virtually spat out his own teeth as this mirrored some thoughts he'd been having about what Wulf had done as a child... With a punned suggestion made by Nik Wilkinson at last year's British International Comic Show for the title, the resultant strip, Teen Wulf has become a fast favourite with fans and even garnered a mention in Tharg's Nerve Centre.Sci-Fi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?
Kev: What ends up on the page is hardly ever as cool as what I see in my head. As with most artists, I'm rarely happy with the results but if I can come back to something a while later and look at it with fresh eyes and not immediately cringe - then that piece usually goes in the portfolio!
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| A page from Teen Wulf by Kev Levell, written by Rich Clements. |
Kev: My wife, and the fact that I'm determined to achieve my dreams! The way I see it, I'm my own boss and I essentially enjoy what I do.
Despite not really having earned much money at it, I'm much happier than I was before. I'm left alone to draw all day!
Sci-Fi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?
Kev: Be professional, dedicated and prepared to change your plans to "working tonight".
• Check out Kev's work at http://kevlev.blogspot.com and http://www.kevlev.co.uk. Contact Kev via http://www.kevlev.co.uk/Kev_Lev_2.0/about_me.html
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Adam Grose
"I create various stories, usually in the realm of science-fiction and fantasy," he reveals. "My biggest story to date is Cosmogenesis: The Chronicles of Quongo with illustrator Tony Suleri, which was written over a period of seven years culminating in an epic 550 page tome.
"Other books I have created include: The Prison and Other Tales, based on my observations and stories with a twist; Phoenix: A Warrior's Tale, an onomatopoeia experiment and a series of short stories based in a prison called HMP Temeraire."
Adam is also the current cover artist for a poetry, prose and art magazine, Reflections, each cover dealing with an aspect of reflection.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
Adam Grose: My first love is oil paint on canvas. I create fine art paintings exploring areas to do with 'entropy' (order and disorder).
My comic strip and illustration work ranges from pencil-shaded drawings, built up in successive layers from 2H to 6B, brush and ink and digital via a Wacom Bamboo tablet. I experiment with various tools including; twigs, feathers, rollers, bits of cloth and my fingers. I intend to create some painted comic pages and covers with oil paint in the future.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
Adam: I prefer to draw by hand on paper/ canvas because I still love the hands on approach drawing with pencil, charcoal and painting with brushes. I love pushing paint around on a canvas, building up the glazes, step by step and I love the smell of oil paint and the atmosphere associated with the painting studio. The use of different tools allows me to create various textures.
I bought a Wacom tablet back in February to experiment with digital painting, enabling me to try new ways of drawing. I scan the original piece into the computer and create colouring and texture effects via CS4. I like the way I can change things around and even delete layers that don't work, however, I still prefer creating an original hard-copy on paper instead of only a digital copy.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What inspired you to become an artist?
Adam: When I was young my parents and my sister inspired my love for drawing. My mum used to draw with charcoal and my dad used to paint small oil paintings, usually battle scenes. Later, Rolf Harris' programmes inspired me, teaching me to experiment with various media and using different materials.
I always knew I wanted to be an artist and when I first met Tony Suleri he introduced me to comics, 2000AD and into the world of science-fiction and comics (I later came across a pile of 2000AD comics at a charity shop, starting from prog 11 – fuelling my imagination further). It wasn't long before I discovered DC, Marvel and my local comic shop, 20 miles away in Street, Somerset. I haven't looked back since.
My passion for storytelling, sequential art and fine art has continued to grow, feeding my insatiable appetite for art, artists and creating.
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| HMP Temeraire - Childhood Survival by Adam Grose |
Adam: My parents and my sister were always encouraging me to continue drawing, filling Revel Pads like there was no tomorrow. I decided from a young age that if I was going to be any good or considered any good then I would need to practice everyday, carry an A6 sketchbook everywhere, observe life and draw from nature, never shying away from the things I found difficult to draw - because one day I knew it would all click into place and I would understand the mechanics of drawing.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?
Adam: Each of these artists have taught me new ways of seeing and revealed a different technique which has helped further my own style: Frank Auerbach, Rothko, Lucien Freud, Bernie Wrightson, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Turner, Edvard Munch, Vermeer, Frank Frazetta, Alex Raymond, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Brian Bolland, Ray Bradbury, Cam Kennedy, Goya, Titian, Alex Toth, Dave McKean and Frank Miller.
Various Japanese, Indian, African and South American art has also showed me different ways of looking and recording the world around me, especially when I travelled and lived in some of these countries.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
Adam: I love the 'what if?' aspect that science-fiction lends itself to. You can write about anything and mask it under the label of science-fiction. This allows the writer and artist to allude to current events without having to be blatant.
I believe every creator places current events/ thoughts into their work which may not reveal itself until much later, when looking back. When I look at Cosmogenesis, I can see how the 'War on Terrorism' and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was influencing the direction of the story in some ways. These sub-conscious elements helped expand the original idea.
Underlying events happening at the time of writing/ drawing informs the art and can bring a resonance that people respond to at a deeper level of awareness. Science-fiction, I find, allows people to explore their own understanding of the world around them, how we play our part in shaping reality and sometimes foreshadowing thing to come (The Drowned World by JG Ballard; 1984 by George Orwell; Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; Valis by Philip K. Dick). I'm interested in the human condition and how we manipulate the world around us, furthering understanding of our place in the world and the universe, from the outlandish to the pragmatic, both exploring different realities, inner and outer space.
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| Soldier's Grief by Adam Grose - a personal favourite of the artist |
Adam: I loved working on Cosmogenesis, working out the entire story and its expanded plots. It taught me a lot about writing and how various plots in previous books informed the future books of the six-book series, creating a epic arc while being comprised of nine parts (six books).
I loved writing the characters and how they interact with one another, the way they would speak, react and influence one another. I'm currently working on several stories at the moment, some I will draw and others by other artists.
I'm currently working with Tony Suleri on a new three book series based on a few of the characters from the original Cosmogenesis series, introducing new characters and some of the worlds seen in the map of the Galaxy of Nom-Yakk. This also gives me the opportunity to create some pre-production drawings, which I love doing, and one of these new characters appears in the Sci-Fi Art Now book.
I'm also creating a series of paintings under the title 'Plague of War'.
Sci-Fi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?
For example: When I was going through a period of just painting my eyes the painting I was doing at the time had decided to suddenly fall off the easel, falling on top of the palette. I thought the worse. I lifted it off carefully and luckily the only bit of paint from the palette was a blob of red on the outer edge of the painted eye. I placed it back on the easel and looked at it deciding what I should do. I noticed the blob of red paint looked like a small red skull leaning on its side.
I decided to leave it there, adding to the painting which I had been titled 'Hunter'. The image inside the eye looked like a stag being hunted by me.
I find these accidents influence the original idea and reveal something else, as though they were meant to happen.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?
Adam: Time and balance. I have to be very conscious of my time management deciding what needs to be realised from thought. I like being able to create everyday and I'm aware that the secret is getting the balance right between my work and work for other publishers and managing time and keeping to a routine. It's all about balance.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?
Adam: I love learning new techniques and skills, reading and looking at other creative work, gaining an understanding about how others overcome their frustrations and problems, in-turn helping me to become a better artist and writer.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?
Adam: Practice everyday. Carry a small A6 sketchbook and draw everything you see around you from nature and life in general. Doodle, sketch and experiment. Set yourself tasks and time frames.
Sit in-front of a movie on the television/ computer screen and pause the image for 2-5 minutes and sketch what you see. Learn to get the basic structure of an image, its composition, the angles and perspectives.
Draw without looking at the page with your eyes firmly on the screen and feel your drawing. Everything you need to know about drawing is found in nature, from the micro to the macro.
I recommend The Lives of the Artists by Vasari, John Ruskin's works and definitely John Berger's Ways of Seeing. Understand how the mind works at sequencing and how you can apply these techniques to the narrative.
Everyone has a unique perspective on life and reading about them will help you to understand more about yourself.
I would also advise joining a group that is unrelated to your work, like swimming, yoga, gym classes, diving, something you enjoy doing. Being around people will keep you socially sane!
• Check out more of Adam's work at: www.adamgrose.com and www.adamgrose.com/galleries.html• You can buy Adam's books. including Cosmogenesis from www.myebook.com/clownpress
• Contact Adam via adminATadamgrose.com
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Drop in on artist Vicky Stonebridge
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| Vicky Stonebridge at work |
The workshop will run from 1.30pm-4pm on Sunday in the Leeds Art Gallery Tiled Hall and
admission is free.
Vicky, who's currently working on the comics project Slaughterman's Creed written by Cy Dethan, will be showing how to make your own handmade small storybooks using a variety of recycled products such as waste products, old magazines, scrap paper and packaging.
"It's quick, easy and fun to do," she enthuses.
This is a drop in workshop, but places are limited so if you want to be sure of a place you can pre-book by emailing thoughtbubbleinfo@googlemail.com.
Vicky will also have prints of her own work for sale over the weekend.
• The full programme of Thought Bubble events is here:www.thoughtbubblefestival.com/full%20programme%20new.asp
• More about Slaughterman's Creed
• Read our interview with Vicky
• Visit Vicky's web site at: www.balnacra.com
Thursday, 11 November 2010
The Elements: Advice to Aspring Artists
Lee Moyer offers his useful guidance to would be or practicing artists trying to gt their break in the world of commercial art...
I critique hundreds of pieces every year. Not because I'm a Creative Director (although I have been), but because I (like you) am a consumer of art - of illustration, painting, comics, games, et alia. And the act of critique is one of the most helpful for enlarging one's own understanding and formalizing concepts that might otherwise float away...
While the following list is by no means scientific (many of the elements listed below overlay others, and many great paintings use only a few) I made it for my own reference and I hope it will be food for thought.
Print it out and put it by your drafting table or computer if it'll help.
Focus
Where do you want your viewer's eye to go? What's the heart of the piece, the crux of the biscuit?
Composition and Design
Create a visual hierarchy - A path for the viewer to follow? Something fractal? Separate elements intended for book cover, spine and back cover? Consider the surface you're working on, its aspect ratio and how that effects the harmonies and tensions of your piece. When working in a tall oval, or a wide ceiling, or a strange milled form, that's pretty obvious. But it is just as important within a normal rectangle.
Palette
There are many good ones that great painters have applied over the years. Use one of theirs or make your own!
Value
Can your piece be reduced to black and white and still read correctly?
Sometimes good pieces work their value in terms of warm and cool colors, but most need strong tonal variety to read well.
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| Signs by Rosie O'Neill. |
Think Rodin, JC Leyendecker or Rose O'Neill.
Texture
It makes things and people seem real.
Symbolism
Personal, classical, mystical or cultural - words, numbers, objects, beings. There's no shortage of sources or end to interpretation as Michael Kaluta and Brian Despain are good examples.
Synecdoche (Micro defining Macro)
A small area of tight or implied detail will help define vast shapes - like the windows in a colossal building or the wrinkles on an elephant. One needs the wee bits for versimilitude...
Ornament
Whether it's Mary Engelbreit's checkerboards, or Stephen Hickman's ornate orientalism, Ornament matters. Sometimes it's a sort of texture, other times the whole raison d'etre.
Narrative
Is there a story here? A big idea? A paradigm, a parody, a pastiche? Has the sword been nicked in battle, has the dog been fed, has the sweater been patched? Norman Rockwell began his pictures thinking of a soldier under a light post and ran scenarios in his mind (often switching "lead" characters) until he found a painting.
Juxtaposition
Comparisons and contrasts of size, scope, meaning, characters... in our world of Zoroastrian black and white contrasts, this is often too-easy. Use discretion and variety.
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| Hunt for Adventure art by Glenn Orbik |
Stylization
Sometimes it's fetishism for a type of brush-stroke or color scheme, sometimes caricature or anatomy. For example, the best pin-ups (by Gil Elvgren, Aly Fell, Glen Orbik, et alia) have similarly stylized elements, some of which might surprise you.
If you're working on a pin-up, just crack their code and you're off to the races.
Character
Have the characters lived real lives? Are they real beings with hopes and fears? Body language, gesture and costume are crucial here.
Tension
Gesture is important, but so is the feeling of tension. Sometimes it's the most important part of a piece. Drama, high stakes, suspense. If you can enlist the viewer's sympathy support or curiosity, you win.
Line
It's quite obvious in the works of Franklin Booth, Aubrey Beardsley, and Mike Mignola - but don't underestimate its importance for Drew Struzan, Arthur Rackham or John Jude Palencar.
Research/Reference
I know precious few people who draw brilliantly out of their heads, but those heads have absorbed the lessons their eyes have shown them for many years. Most of us have been nowhere near as observant, and while we may remember and be able to imagine many things, there are usually areas where we fall down. Bolster yourself and your work with reference. Don't stick slavishly to it, but make it do your bidding.
Vignette
The play of shape (whether silhouette or fully rendered form) against a white, colour, or fully realized background is so important for keeping a viewer interested.
Perspective
Each point in perspective applies to a single dimension (in 2 point perspective the points are nearly always width and depth). Get perspective right and you'll be halfway home. Also, the more you keep you POV away from a normal grid as seen from 6', the more dynamic your piece will be.
FUN!
A certain joie de vivre is key. It doesn't matter if you paint supplely or with technical perfection - If you don't bring some fun and adventure to your work, viewers can tell. They won't always know what's wrong, but they'll get that something is...
To which list the delightful Kurt Huggins suggested:
Process: This is your way of managing and editing all of these different elements. Each step of your process should be about solidifying one more element of the image, building up to a final piece. There are many processes, and many ways to finish, but I think most processes start with idea or composition.
• More of Lee's work at www.leemoyer.com
• Read our interview with Lee Moyer
This article © 2008 Lee Moyer. Used here with permission
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Ron Miller
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| Mars from Deimos by Ron Miller |
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
Ron Miller: Photoshop almost exclusively.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
After doing the first few traditionally, I realized there was no way I could meet the deadlines and maintain anything at all resembling quality work. A few years earlier a book had turned out badly because I had taken on too many illustrations in too short a period of time -- resulting in many of the paintings being much too hurriedly done.
So I swallowed hard and took the advice of several colleagues who had been urging me to try painting digitally. And it worked! I could create a painting that looked as though it took me a week to render... but do it in only a day or two.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What inspired you to become an artist?
Ron: I was born that way.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?
Ron: Neither give nor accept unsolicited critiques.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?
Ron: A zillion! But if I limit myself to my specialty, astronomical art, there are only three: Chesley Bonestell, Ludek Pesek and Lucien Rudaux.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
Ron: One never knows from assignment to assignment what'll turn up. It's always a surprise!
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| Titan by Ron MIller |
Ron: It's usually the most recent thing I did... until the next one comes along. But I did an illustration a couple of years ago for Scientific American I'm still very proud of. It's a scene on Titan just after a methane rainfall.
Sci-Fi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?
Ron: Well, it might not be particularly bizarre, but I think I do have the (probably) unique experience of having one of my works slightly more than halfway to Pluto.
Back in 1991, I did a series of postage stamps, one for each planet and the moon. There was a spacecraft associated with each world... except Pluto. It was labeled "Not Yet Explored". This apparently rankled so many space scientists that a movement was started to launch a Pluto exploration mission. This eventually culminated in the New Horizons probe. As a kind of thank-you for the inspiration, Alan Stern -- the mission's principal investigator -- attached one of the stamps to the spacecraft (and invited my wife and me to the launch). That was very cool! My only fear is that the stamp wasn't canceled... if not, the spacecraft is going to wind up right back here in 15 years.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?
Ron: Never doing anything really good enough to suit me.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?
Ron: Hope springs eternal.
Ron: For God's sake don't get into my specialty, I have enough competition as it is!
• Check out more of Ron's work at www.black-cat-studios.com. To contact Ron email him via spaceartATembarqmail.com
Some of Ron's recent works include Digital Art: Painting with Pixels
(Lerner Publishing, 2007. For a full bibliography, check out www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Author:Ron_Miller Friday, 5 November 2010
Sci-Fi Art Now Creator Interview: Lee Moyer
Inspired by the 20th century's great illustrators and the glories of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Arts & Crafts, propaganda art and the Pre-Raphaelites, Lee Moyer tailors his work to the specific needs and tastes of his clientele. He excels in art direction, design, collaboration, and illustration - whether classical, vintage, modern, or post-modern.Embracing digital media in 1989, Lee, whose clients include Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Hasbro and Dark Horse comics, swiftly learned to mix traditional and digital painting seamlessly. He spent a decade as a Docent & Naturalist Illustrator at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The New York Times nominated his work for a Webby in 1999 and his work has featured in Spectrum 12 - 17, Communication Arts, Design Graphics Magazine, D’Artiste - Digital Painting and at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Zoo.
He lives in Portland, Oregon with his talented photographer wife Annaliese and their dog Lego. He also designs games, sculpts, writes, performs, and plays a mean game of Scrabble.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What tools do you mainly use to create your art?
Lee Moyer: Although I've used most every medium known to man over the course of my chequered career - from ink to Scraperboard, carved wood to Sculpy, Oil to Watercolor, Bryce to Groboto - Pencil and Photoshop predominate these days,
Sci-Fi Art Now: Why?
Lee: Ease of use, plasticity. Some media are deeply unforgiving of error (watercolour, oil paint), but since we only get better by making mistakes, I want to use media that encourage and reward mistakes. And there's never been anything as powerful for that as Photoshop.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What inspired you to become an artist?
Lee: The stunning black and white illustrations of John R. Neill in L. Frank Baum's OZ books; the amazing paintings of NC Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish; the surrealism and psychedelia of Rene Magritte, Yellow Submarine and The Point; the beauty and majesty of Night on Bald Mountain (my first encounter with the work of Kay Nielsen) and the other classic Disney films.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What was the most useful piece of advice you were given when you began learning your craft?
Lee: It was probably all the people telling me to do something else. You can't really tell someone to be stubborn and brave and work blindly to an unseen goal. All you can do is make them angrier and more stubborn.... (laughs)
Sci-Fi Art Now: Which artists most inspire you?
Lee: So, so many. My friends Michael Kaluta, Paul Komoda, Steve Hickman, Dawn Wilson, Adam Gillespie, and the late Dave Stevens. Then there's Heinrich Kley, Holling Clancy Holling, Gustav Dore, Rembrandt, Phil Hale, MC Escher, Jaime Hernandez, David Trampier, Kyle Baker, Steve Purcell, Henry Clews Jr., Nicholas Roerich, Winsor McCay, Edd Cartier, Virgil Finlay, Arthur Rackham, Joseph Cornell, Robert McGinness, Richard Amsel, George Petty, Todd Schorr, Antonio Gaudi, Nicolai Fechin, Gil Elvgren, Brian Bolland, Yoshitoshi, Yoshitaka Amano, Bill Watterson... I could go on for days.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What is the appeal to you of science fiction as an inspiration for some of your work?
Lee: It's the best of both worlds. I love making things that no one has ever made before, and making things using the tropes and in the styles of previous SF artists.
Sci-Fi Art Now: Do you have a favourite piece of work or project you have worked on?
Lee: My favourites change pretty often, but the piece that comes to mind is the Art Nouveau poster commissioned by the brilliant bassist Melissa Auf der Maur (from Hole and Smashing Pumpkins).Sci-Fi Art Now: In your career, have you had any bizarre experiences while creating your art?
I was drawing a portrait of a desert nomad (a la Dune) when I accidentally dropped a greasy piece of pizza on the paper, forming a peculiarly wonderful pattern which I accented with a pencil line. When it was sold in an art show the media were listed as "pencil & pizza grease". Years later, the buyers of the piece brought it to me so that I could outline the concentric "rings" of grease as they spread further across the nomad's cloak.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What most frustrates you about being an artist?
Lee: I love people, but my work demands I forego their company.
Sci-Fi Art Now: What keeps you going despite the hopefully occasional frustrations?
Lee: I love the challenge, the problem-solving, the possibility that someone somewhere will be as inspired by my work as I was by the work of so many that came before me. It's fun. And besides, I have no other viable skills. (laughs)
Sci-Fi Art Now: What advice would you offer to anyone starting out as an artist?Lee: It's humbling, low-status and all-too-often unrewarding, so do it only if you must!
That said, if you must, study the work of everyone around you. Learn the why of their work, not just the how. Practice is key.
• Check out more of Lee's work at www.leemoyer.com
• Lee has written his personal guide on creating good art, which we have published here with his permission.
A tête-à-tête with Aaron Jasinski
Sci-Fi Art Now illustrator Aaron Jasinski lets us know the pieces from his newest solo exhibit, "tête-à-tête", are viewable at Screaming Sky Gallery in Portland, Oregon if you happen to be in the area."Using humour and pop-cultural references, this series of paintings explores ways that how people interact with each other one on one," he says. "I would be mighty grateful if folk would check out the work."
Aaron, who grew up in a suburb outside of Seattle, is a multi-discipline creative artist who graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Illustration/Design from Brigham Young University.
Currently, he works as a user interface designer, painter, and produces music in his spare time, which influences his work, as does his love of travel and urban themes.
"I'm interested in painting pictures that relate to the human situation," he says. "I believe art is only truly worthwhile when it connects with the viewer's soul.
His work has displayed internationally, from Los Angeles to Anchorage, Arizona to Rome, Italy. Venues include La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Gallery 1988, Dorothy Circus Gallery, Society of Illustrators, Cannibal Flower, and Communication Art Magazine.
"This show studies the ways people connect on an intimate, one on one level," he explains. "Various reasons that bring people "face to face" are the subject matter for each piece in the show. I explore these themes using pop cultural references, juxtaposition, and humor; yet what the audience brings to a piece is half of what makes it a success or failure so I hope there is enough open-endedness in my work for there to be more than one way to look at it."• Exhibition Info at: www.screamingskygallery.com
• View the artwork
• Aaron's Blog: http://jasinskiart.blogspot.com
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