SciFi Art Postcard book on sale now

The long-awaited SciFi Art Postcard title from ILEX is now officially on sale, comprising a selection of ace science fiction art included in SciFi Art Now and some other art specially selected for this project, too.

With a cover by Patrick J. Jones, it features some art used in the Sci-Fi Art Now book and other illustrations - 30 gorgeous SF-inspired postcards in total.

The artists featured are: Larry Blamire, Matt Gaser, Rian Hughes, Stuart Jennett, Paul McCaffrey, Aaron Jasinski, Patrick J. Jones, Michael Kaluta & Lee Moyer, Tom Kelly, Yigit Koroglu, John Malcolm, Sergey Musin, Nemons, 2012 Hugo and Chelsey Award-winning John Picacio, Neil Roberts, Steve Sampson, Smuzz (who I'm working with on the Crucible comic), Jon Sullivan, Dave Taylor and Oliver Wetter.

The book looks great and joins a number of similar titles from ILEX, more information here in an earlier post.

John Picacio, Lee Moyer win Chelsey Awards

Congratulations are in order to SciFi Art Now cover artist John Picacio and artist Lee Moyer for their much-deserved 2012 Chelsey Award wins, given by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists each year for excellence in genre art.

Lee secured Best Cover illustration for Weird Tales, Winter 2010/2011 above), while John won the Best Product Illustration category for his art in the George R.R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire 2012 Calendar published by Random House.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, who are all listed below and include another SFAN contributor, Jon Sullivan. Wonderful to see the late Jean Giraud, aka Moebius, was recognised for his work this year.

Check out the galleries on the ASFA web site - there's some terrific stuff to enjoy.

Best Cover Illustration: Paperback Book

ASFA Gallery

• Winner: Matthew Stewart for The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells, Night Shade Books
• Mitchell D. Bentley for The Alamo and Zombies by Jean A. Stuntz, Yard Dog Press, Dec. 2011
• Dan Dos Santos for My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, DAW Books (above)
• Justin Gerard for Heart of Smoke & Steam by Andrew P. Mayer, Pyr Books
• Lucas Graciano for The Goblin Corps by Ari Marmell, Pyr books
• David Palumbo for God’s War by Kameron Hurley, Night Shade Books
• Jon Sullivan for The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man by Mark Hodder Pyr Books
• J. P. Targete for The Sword of Darrow by Alex & Hal Malchow, Ben Bella Books

Best Cover Illustration: Hardback Book
ASFA Gallery

• Winner: Tom Kidd for Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison, Subterranean Press.
• Stephan Martiniere for Prospero Regained by L. Jagi Lamplighter, Tor Books
• Lee Moyer for Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kieran, Subterranean Press
• Cliff Nielsen for The Tempering of Men by Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear, Tor Books
• Greg Staples for The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard, Subterranean Press

Best Cover Illustration: Magazine
ASFA Gallery

• Winner: Lee Moyer for Weird Tales, Winter 2010/2011
• Facundo Diaz for Clarkesworld July 2011
• Laura Diehl for Fantasy, August 2011
• Carly B. Sorge for Apex Magazine, September 2011
• Dariusz Zawadski for Fantasy, May 2011

Best Interior Illustration
ASFA Gallery

• Winner: Julie Dillon for “The Dala Horse” by Michael Swanwick, Tor.com
• Scott Gustafson for Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe by Scott Gustafson, Simon & Schuster
• Ryohei Hase for “Narco Americano” by T. J. English, Playboy, February
• Greg Staples for The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard, Subterranean Press
• J. P. Targete for The Sword of Darrow by Alex & Hal Malchow, BenBella Books

Best Monochrome Work: Unpublished
ASFA allery

• Winner: Raoul Vitale for The Yeti, pencil
• Justin Gerard for St. George and the Dragon, pencil
• Stephen Hickman for Siegfried, ink on toned paper
• Joāo Ruas for Migration, graphite on paper, vellum & acetate
• Allen Williams for Wood Nymph, pencil

Best Color Work: Unpublished
ASFA Gallery

• Winner: Omar Rayyan for The Dragon and the Nightingale
• Stephen Hickman for The Hero of the Apotheosis
• David Palumbo for Through a Blood Red Veil
• Eric Velhagen for Fantasy Feast
• Raoul Vitale for Turin and Glaurang

Best Three-Dimensional Art
ASFA Gallery

• Tie Winner: Michael Parkes for Moonstruck, bronze
• Tie Winner: Vincent Villafranca for Robobike, bronze
• Gil Bruvel for Dichotomy, cupro nickel
• Thomas S. Kuebler for Baba Yaga, mixed
• Virginie Ropars for Autumnnalis Venenata, mixed (above)

Best Gaming-Related Illustration
ASFA Gallery

• Winner: Michael C. Hayes for Distress, 2012 Core Set Magiccard,WotC
• E.M. Gist for Wandering Elf, Magic the Gathering: Tactics, Sony Online
• Lucas Graciano for Pathfinder Player Companion: The Humans of Golarian, Paizo Publishing
• Chris Rahn for Glissa, the Traitor, “Mirrodin Beseiged” Magiccard,WotC
• Matt Stewart for Creepy Doll, “Innistrad” Magic card, WotC

Best Product Illustration
ASFA Gallery

• Winner: John Picacio for George R.R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire, 2012 Calendar, Random House, July 2011
• Stuart Craig for production design for the Harry Potter films, Warner Brothers, 2011
• Lee Moyer for Check These Out, 2012 Literary Pin-up calendar, Worldbuilders, 2011
• William Stout for Zombies 2012, calendar, Andrews McMeel, 2011
• Michael Whelan for Gift from the Sea, Dragon*Con 2011 promo art & program book, 2011
• Michael Zug for IlluXCon 2011 promo poster, 2011

Best Art Director

• Winner: Irene Gallo for Tor
• Matt Adelsperger for WotC
• Lou Anders for Pyr Books
• David Palumbo for Night Shade Books
• Jon Schindehette for WotC

Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement

• Winner: Jean Giraud, “Moebius”
• Jim Burns
• Charles Vess

 

Sci-Fi Art Now Covers Revealed

ILEX Press have released the covers for their UK and US editions of SciFi Art Now - and they look superb.

The UK cover, above, is by the brilliant World Fantasy Award winner and Hugo Award-nominated artist John Picacio. This art was first seen gracing the cover of Pyr Books brilliant SF anthology Fast Forward 2, but you'll have seen his art on many book covers for a huge range of publishers including Subterranean Press, Golden Gryphon Press, Pyr, and Star Trek novels for Pocket Books. (The tryptych he did for their Terok Nor trilogy back in 2008 is just knockout).

John tells me he's honoured to be on the cover and likewise, I'm grateful to Pyr Books editor Lou Anders for putting me in touch with John: I've admired his work for ages, and I'm very grateful he gave us permission to use his work.

The US cover is artwork created specifically for SciFi Art Now by Brighton-based artist Steve Sampson, who I first encountered back in the 1990s when he provided me many covers for the Marvel UK weekly comic, Overkill.

Working with Ghy Kurabayashi, Steve is well known for combining their illustration and graphic design skills with their love of colours, manga, games, vinyl toys, comics, music, pop, urban art and all things Japanese!

Also known as Sampson Art, their clients include ILEX Press, Barnes & Noble and Brazil's Editora Abril. Their manga illustrations are sold worldwide through Getty Images.

"I'm almost lost for words," Steve told me on learning his art, titled Stone Fish, was being considered for the book's cover. "That's stunning news and a great honour – I couldn't be more excited!

"I really enjoyed doing the image and it was well worth taking the time and thought to do something
specifically for the book."

• SciFi Art Now is on course for publication in October 2010.

With Great Power is now... Masked

My friend Lou Anders, who used to work for me on Star Trek Magazine and Babylon 5 Magazine, but these days is an award-winning editor for Pyr Books, and who very kindly introduced me to artist John Picacio whose work features in SciFi Art Now, has a new short story superhero anthology title on the way. One good turn deserves another, so I'm giving it a plug here.

To be published by Gallery Books, Masked features a cover by Trevor Hairsine, artist on such titles as 2000AD, Captain America, Wisdom, Ultimate Galactus, Black Panther and many other comics.

"I think the new title -- and title design -- works quite well," says Lou.

The stories in this 384 page collection are 'Cleansed and Set in Gold' by Matthew Sturges, 'Where their Worm Dieth Not' by James Maxey, 'Secret Identity' by Paul Cornell, 'The Non-Event' by Mike Carey, 'Avatar' by Mike Baron, 'Message from the Bubblegum Factory' by Daryl Gregory, 'Thug' by Gail Simone, 'Vacuum Lad' by Stephen Baxter, 'A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows' by Chris Roberson, 'Head Cases' by Peter David & Kathleen David, 'Downfall' by Joseph Mallozzi, 'By My Works You Shall Know Me' by Mark Chadbourn, 'Call Her Savage' by Marjorie M. Liu, 'Tonight we fly' by Ian McDonald and'A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)' by Bill Willingham.

A 2008/2007 Hugo Award nominee, 2007 Chesley Award nominee and 2006 World Fantasy Award nominee, Lou Anders is the editorial director of Prometheus Books' science fiction imprint Pyr, as well as the editor of anthologies Fast Forward 2, Sideways in Crime and more. In 2000, he served as the Executive Editor of Bookface.com, and before that he worked as the Los Angeles Liaison for Titan Publishing Group, writing a huge number of brilliant articles for me on STM and other Titan Magazines, as well as authoring The Making of Star Trek: First Contact.

Due for release in July, Masked looks to be another great collection from an editor who's a dab hand at assembling great anthologies (but never let him try and make you drink grass).

• Buy Masked from amazon.co.uk


• Buy Masked from amazon.com