More extraordinarily complex draughtsmanship from Katushiro Otomo’s 2182-page manga masterpiece “Akira”.

**Possible Spoilers**

The above images are taken from the end of Akira book 3 published by Dark Horse comics, I used to have the colourised version compiled by Epic Comics but alas, it’s long since vanished! For those of you perhaps more familiar with the 1988 animated movie but not the Manga, I’d thoroughly recommend checking it out, the story is massively more complex, intertwining a multitude of characters and many recurring, explicitly described locations…

The reason I chose to feature this set was I still vividly remember how much of an effect these illustrations had on me as an aspiring artist/designer, the detail is beyond phenomenal. Of particular interest is not just the superb architectural designs but the way the building are crowned with differing mix of signage, communication arrays, air conditioning systems, water towers etc….

Akira volume 01 is available over on Amazon http://is.gd/dxk1Q and all good bookshops!

** Edit – Also check http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ a good place to pick up all the volumes at retail – cheers for the tip DQN

More on Katsuhiro Otomo here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katsuhiro_Otomo

A selection of four Images taken from British Artist Ian Miller’s Illustrated compendium “Green Dog Trumpet and Other Stories” (published by Dragons Dream 1978) a book I’m lucky enough to own.

Green Dog Trumpet and Other Stories contains 5 abstract visual tales, each with a loose narrative but no written dialogue – this works splendidly, forcing you to attempt intense studies of  meticulously detailed, chaotic compositions. I tend to find that with each new browsing I notice something new, and it’s hardly surprising – even though some of the illustrations are small there amazingly intricate, worlds you can totally loose yourself in.

As I’ve mentioned in the past Ian is one of my favourite artist’s I feature on the blog, mainly because as a style of illustration it’s just so out there. In fact,  fairly recently on a trip to the cinema I caught Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland re-imaging which (superflous 3d aside) looked, as you might expect visually stunning – once again reminding me of certain close similarities between Miller and Burton’s work. I wonder if there paths have crossed at all ? or if Burton and his team have referenced Miller in the same way Roger Dean was obviously referenced by James Cameron and his Designers for last years SF blockbuster Avatar… Just a thought!

A selection of differing illustration styles all linked from my Flickr Favourites – I figured that rather than post these one at time It’d be better to pack them into groups as a kinda round up. So here’s the notes on the images:

Top: Ejection “Captain Lockhead and The Starfighters” – A 7″ single sleeve, in a style somewhat reminiscent of Barney Bubbles though it is in fact the work of Rodney Matthews. Love the plum and salmon pink colouring here… Image via Flickr User Daevideo

2nd Top: This is one I spotted a while back via Will Schofield’s amazing A Journey Round my Skull. This cover is from a 1975 Estonian Childrens book “Panga-Rehe Jutud” by Jüri Arrak – a typical of the rare, outlandish source material Will so often posts…

3rd Top: Another lift from “A Journey Round My Skull” this image comes via a special feature “Women Snakes and Stalkers – South Asian Book Covers”. Well worth checking out to see a really diverse range of Illustrative work – also check the source: http://www.womensnakesandstalkers.com/ superb stuff…

4th Top: So back to more SF orientated material, and here’s a cover for the 1975 Robert Silverberg Short story collection “Sunrise on Mercury” art by Peter Goodfellow. What actually caught me eye here was that this wild sunscape actually reminded me very much of the 1988 Sega arcade game “Galaxy Force 2″. Not sure if any of you remember that, it was kinda an evolution of sprite scaling tech used in Sega’s Outrun or Afterburner. Anyway the Coin-Op was pretty rare in the UK, expensive to play and not particularly entertaining. On the plus side the level graphics were pretty imaginative and considering this is a 22 year old game the pseudo 3d effect looks very advanced for it’s age! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaLRLo2yB04. Image via Filckr user: Martin Isaac

5th Top: A 1963 cover for the John Wyndham apocalyptic classic “The Kraken Wakes” art by Denis Piper. Even though it’s over fifty years old (first published 1953) this is still definitely one SF novel I’d class as essential reading – a plot thats mirrors the plight face with potential global warming and rising sea levels – highly recommended! Image via Flickr user: metoikosdraig

Bottom: The final image is another classic penguin David Pelham SF cover. Here’s a link again to the Penguin SF Book covers gallery: http://www.penguinsciencefiction.org/ – this image is via Flickr user levar

A selection of imagery scanned from “The World of the Dark Crystal” a 2003 compendium of conceptual art, design and illustration produced for Jim Henson’s 1982 fantasy movie masterpiece “The Dark Crystal”.

For those of you not familiar with the story of the Dark Crystal – it’s a powerful and dramatic tale of a lost world and Jen, a young ‘Gefling’ who set out on perilous quest against sinisterm dark forces. 28 years after it’s original release the award winning Dark Crystal is firmly embedded as a true cult classic and even to this day a is a tour de force in special effects featuring breathtaking animatronics and puppetry… The whole film just oozes quality – there’s never been anything quite like it since – a remarkable odyssey suitable for adults and children alike, although I have to be honest, parts of it still freak me out!

I’d really like to write more here but I’m once again I’m a little time restricted, I think I’ll post here and then revisit again soon – anyway I’m guessing that most of you a familiar with the film. If not – wow! – your in for a treat! I recommend the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD with excellent special features http://is.gd/cTgLX or the BluRay version http://is.gd/cTgXX

The award winning design as shown here is the work of Devon based English Fantasy Artist Brian Froud, who in addition to producing of 20 illustrative book has also lent his considerable fantasy artist talent to several other famous film projects including as Labyrinth (1985) and Peter Pan (2003).

Ok so some notes on the Images I’ve featured from top to bottom (some spoliers here!):

Top: A conceptual sketch of an ‘Ur-Ru’. The Ur-Ru are the ying to the Skeksis yang, Ur-Ru represent light and good, the Skeksis dark and evil. Each Ur-Ru is inextricably linked to it’s Skeksis counterpart, both share a divided soul and are part of the higher being known as the ‘urSkeks’. This omnipotent super-race was violently spilt apart in an attempt to harvested the full power of the planets three suns known as “The Grand Conjuction”

2nd Top: A conceptual sketch of a ‘Skeksis’. For me creature and costume design doesn’t get much better than Skeksis – it’s not that the regal/Afghan hound looking Ur-Ru aren’t beautifully designed too (they are!) – there’s something memorably horrific about the Skekis, their shrill voices and bloated, twisted bodies wrapped inside fantastically elaborate but rotting clothing!

3rd Top: A perfect example of the fallen decadence – “skekEkt the Ornamentalist who made clothes above all for himself, rich fabrics that dripped jewels, the death of a 100 birds for 1 cloak. He first discovered the art of anointing the skin with a paste of clotted blood and diamond powder, to restore the sparkle of youth.”

4th Top: Another superior sketch, check the ruff, ruched sleeves and carefully balanced Tri-Spectacle action! “skekOk the Scroll-Keeper kept the record of the Skeksis; he was the smallest finest-featured, least honest of them all. He wrote and and rewrote his accounts, and kept changing them one or another of his shifting allies, The truth was soon lost.”

5th Top: A close up detail sketch of Skeksis head. A fair visual description would be to say the Skeksis are a kind of avian reptile, perhaps like an Archaeopteryx but also taking the most heavy visual cue from the Vulture .

6th Top: The contorted chaos of “The Castle of the Skeksis”.

7th Top: A design for the floor plan of the Crystal Chamber, the symbols of the original 18 urSkeks can be seen around the edge whilst the crystal hangs above the inner ring…

8th top & Bottom: Concept drawings for Jen the Gelfling, his costume and accessories – love the man bag!

***

For more on Brian Froud visit his official website: http://www.worldoffroud.com/ or read more about him over at Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Froud

And finally, for nostalgia purposes here’s a youtube video of the original 1982 trailer…

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Earlier this month the we sadly lost one of the foremost and talented Fantasy & Sci-Fi Illustrator/Artists of all time, America’s Frank Frazetta who passed away on the 10th of May aged 82. Franks career spanned an almost unbelievable 60+ year’s when he started working in the comic book industry aged just 15, initially providing pencil clean-ups he soon progressed to drawing comics an by the 50’s was producing work spanning a raft of genres including Western, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Historical Drama. Later a spoof Illustration of Ringo Starr for MAD Magazine would bring Frazetta to Hollywood’s attention and he was soon producing Poster artwork, the first of which for the 1964 feature “What’s New Pussycat?” earning him $4,000 – then a years salary for an afternoons worth of work!

Frank’s commercial work was primarily rendered in oils, but he also worked in watercolours, Ink’s and Pencils – examples of which I’ve included above – a style which incorporates brooding compositions of ultra-defined muscular heroes and heroines, always poised for or in mid-action. Other telling trait’s include tattered flailing clothing, powerful ornate armour and weaponry, all beautifully lit beneath apocalyptic skies…

Read more about Frank: his obituary at The Gaurdian.co.uk http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/13/frank-frazetta-obituary
or at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Frazetta

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Here’s the notes on Sci-Fi-O-Rama’s visual tribute to Frank and his supreme talent, vision and influence…

Top: “The Silver Warrior” – One of Frazetta’s most famous works. Image via Flickr user mtkup

2nd top: “Death Dealer” (1973) Probably Frank’s most Iconic and recognisable image, originally painted in 1973 the used by for rock group Molly Hathcet for the self titled 1978 album.

3rd top: (1966) Not sure of the title here (please post if you know) image is via net-cafe.hu

4th top: (1977) Movie poster for the Clint Eastwood 70’s action flick “The Gauntlet” (not part of Dirty Harry series). Staring Clint Eastwood and then partner Sondra Locke, this is one of my favourite movie posters of all time! (movie’s not bad)

5th & 6th top : Samples of Frazetta’s Comic book / Black and White work…

Bottom: A portrait of Frank taken in 1984 at the Frank Frazetta Museum, prior to opening. image via Flickr user: StevieB44

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Recommended further reading & viewing:

Frank teamed up with Director Ralph Bakshi to create the 1983 animated feature film “Fire and Ice” check the trailer at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r75CZPk8uPs

Ok Before I start must confess to a bit of stage fright as It’s so long since I’ve actually posted anything!

First off many apologies for the long pause and the lack of response to comments and emails (I will work my way back through them shortly) my reason for extended pause and dropping out of the blogosphere has been purely work related, I will now try and resume a normal level of posting – thanks for bearing with me! – So then, onto the first post…

This superbly executed airbrushing is a follow up to Adrian Chesterman -Tiger! Tiger! another gorgeous (if warped) Penguin SF Book cover that dates from 1979. What I really love the sinister styling and precision Adrian’s deployed in nailing this twisted composition, a fitting feature to kick off the Sci-Fi-O-Rama reboot…

Too see more of british artist Adrian Chesterman’s versatile and extensive portfolio check his new website http://adrianchesterman.com and in addition his older site: http://www.chestermanart.com

Ok this post I’ve put together with the help of Tommi Bren over at the excellent http://www.houdinination.de/ an excellent online archive of science fiction literature…

The above images are taken from the 1971 German Sci-Fi Novella “Der Purpurne Planet” (The Purple Planet) Illustrations are from excellent Werner Ruhner, whom I confess to know little about! though very much like his style… Fortunately Tommi has helped with some translation, and here’s a little bit more on Werner via German Wiki:

Werner Ruhner born 27 May 1922 in Meerane, Sachsen, Germany – According to the very short entry at Wikipedia, he is or was an assistant at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (where the artists Neo Rauch and Peter Piller teach, for example). In the former East Germany, Ruhner was among the busiest illustrators for a variety of genres, science fiction (Verlag Neues Leben Berlin) among them. He allegedly lives in Borsdorf near Leipzig.

Tommi also adds that finding information on German / East German Illustrators isn’t always that easy as not all them have have really made it big – Kelly Freas being the most prominent exception…

Scans via http://www.houdinination.de/

The stunning Barbarella, as visualised by the late Tim Hildebrandt an America illustrator who worked with his brother Greg (as “The Brothers Hildebrandt”) producing art  for many famous film, book and comic franchises; StarWars, Tolkien and Harry Potter and many more.

Check out “The Brothers Hilbert” official site for a full sample of their collective portfolio http://www.brothershildebrandt.com/ and of particular interest there is this really slick set of Star Wars Illustrations http://www.brothershildebrandt.com/starwars.htm

Many thanks to Sérgio for the lead on this, I’ll definitely be posting more Hildebrandt art…

Also if you fancy a quick brush up on Barbarella, if only to remind yourself of just how amazing Jane Fond looks in the sumper-camp 1968 classic! check the original trailer here http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3858367257/

A recent E.P Cover from Dan McPharlin the first in a planned series of three, lovely stuff as usual blurring the line between hard Sci-Fi and abstract geometric design/art, washed with a beautiful lime palette. The font used is the classic Serif Gothic looks great particularly in the heavier cuts.

Art via Dan’s regularly updated Flickr Stream  http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmcp/

More superior 70’s retro book cover art via the fabulous Dean Ellis, really dig the spartan typography here. The font is ITC Busorama (thanks Eric/Martin/John!) nice and clean…

This cover has a suitably epic feel, similar in vein to the covers Dean conjured up for Larry Niven’s Ringworld series, I added a post RE those last year click here for a refresher…

Art via one my Flickr Favs: mystique123_2000