OK, as promised, I’m very proud to present an exclusive Sci-Fi-O-Rama feature, this time with Swedish Design and Illustration superstar Kilian Eng. Here we have a total tour de force of the imagination, gloriously twisted, washed in 80′s technicolor and blending only the very finest Sci-Fi and Fantasy references…

I’m quite sure you’ll be familiar with Kilian’s work, he’s built a considerable following since first proliferating through the major design/illustration blogs. Interestingly it was in fact Dan McPharlin that first put me onto Kilian with a post over at But Does it Float, and I’d put these two in the same bracket, pretty much the finest contemporary Science Fiction Illustrators on the planet. Another totally enviable fact is just how prolific Kilian is, check his primary portfolio site at behance.net/KilianEng for a vast array of interstellar work, amassed in just a few years.

So then, in the tradition of the Sci-Fi-O-Rama interview I have set the post up as follows, firstly a selection of Kilian’s work with my notes, then the interview we traded via email, before finishing on a selection of links and further reading. Lets start then with the notes:

Above: This wonderfully surrealistic illustration typifies Kilian’s portfolio, it’s a truly beautiful style that obviously pays homage to French masters such as Moebius and Enki Bilal. For me what really sets this work apart from others is just how hardcore the imaginative elements are – totally out there – a fusion of the surreal, the psychedelic and the technological, re-birthed with just the slickest style. The fact that the above image could easily work as a fashion illustration serves to underline that.

Above: This example highlights several of Kilian’s clever design traits. Firstly we have a lovingly balanced colour palette, subtly and carefully diffused to give a sense of depth. Next up, edginess – this work is the Sci-Fi definition of it – often tinged with darkness as above, but brought back with a wry sense of humour with nods to the 80′s cartoons that thrilled a generation. Ultimately though, the defining ingredient is the otherworldly factor, totally unforced, it’s the product of a powerful, wandering mind.

Above: Love this! A more graphical element is deployed here in one of the most striking examples from Kilian’s portfolio, thus one of my absolute faves.

Above: A follow up to the prior Illustration, indeed this is actually part of a set of four, check the other two here: behance.net/gallery/Various-work-05/1134721 …what to say, wonderful stuff!

Above: This frenzied, sinister illustration shows Kilian at his most detailed and linear, note the carefully selected tones, only 5 or so colours to define the background – cloud or cave?  – there is something of a feel of Fighting Fantasy’s Russ Nicholson here.

Above: We move once more onto the surreal tip here, this fabulous, dreamlike image forms part of a small series called ‘The Statue’ check the rest here: http://bit.ly/vFW9Ae

Above: This image is just one of many, fantastical environments Kilian is able to – seemingly – effortlessly create.

Above: In addition to his linear drawing and the graphical facets, Kilian also is capable of working in this quintessentially 80′s ‘Robo’ mode – note the much heavier diffusing and neon glows. It’s a style that looks almost effortless (though trust me it isn’t!) and again mixing in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy creates something truly haunting.

Above: Another rendering in the aforementioned ‘Robo’ mode. As usual it’s mind bending stuff, suffice to say it’s another personal fave, would love to see this entity in motion.

So that brings to a close my small selection (bonus after the interview). As I alluded to earlier I’ve barely scratched the surface so if it’s more imagery you seek, head directly to behance.net/KilianEng

**

INTERVIEW

Hi Kilian, tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a 29 year old illustrator and live in Stockholm/Sweden. My commercial work as an illustrator began around 4 years ago when I started to do record covers for bands in the electronic music scene. However I had been drawing on my own stories long before and exploring different sides in my work. My education was at Konstfack, University of Arts Craft & Design in Stockholm at the graphic Design & Illustration department which is also called storytelling at Master’s level. From there I graduated in 2010 with an animated short film and I have continued to work on this afterwards so its soon to be completed.

You have a very distinctive style, how would you best describe your work?
Well its perhaps easier for others to put a label on it but I would say something like “often rich in colour with a surreal sci-fi approach with alot of focus on environments and architecture”. Perhaps not exactly what I would say if someone asked me on the street, but I hope it explains something of what I do.

Your portfolio oozes Sci-Fi and Fantasy references, but is there a visual style/genre you identify with more than others? (ie Cyberpunk, Post Apocalyptic, Surrealist?)
I would say that all those themes visit my work from time to time. Its always hard and certainly not necessary to sort out exactly what takes place in the pictures but I would say that a rather surrealistic approach often comes back, both in motive and the way that some work is being created. Surrealism is of course a huge area with limitless approach, but for me some of the best moments in the work process is when the subconscious is allowed to take part. It doesn’t happen too often but from time to time things just go almost by themselves and you can create like 5 pieces without thinking or analysing the process. Afterwards you start to put in the meaning and you try to understand what it is you have in front of you. At that point you can start to see explanations and the meaning or at least hopefully something that can be interesting to look at. When I do commissioned work I plan it much more and think about what kind of themes/genre I want to include, there you have to respect and be aware of the expectations from others on the outcome.

Do you work straight to screen (via Wacom) or does part of your workflow still involve pen and paper?
At the moment almost all of my work is drawn with the Wacom board, some exceptions are black and white outline illustrations that i scan and the color in the computer. Then I draw a lot of rough ideas in the sketchbook offcourse.

And following on from that, which part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
I love to create shapes and plan the composition and space in images so I would say to build the environment where everything takes place. If you look at a lot of my work your can see that many times it puts focus on the room, often the surroundings are dominating the image and the character’s just passing trough or standing there without really doing anything, just taking in whats around them.

What are you working on at the moment? anything exciting coming up?
I’m just finishing a commission as concept designer for a sci-fi short film, the details around this project is still top secret but I have a very good feeling about the whole thing.  Other than that I’m doing some cover artwork and trying to develop and improve my work with animation. Then there wil be a little book with my work in preparation. It will hopefully be available in december this year. (Sci-Fi-O-Rama says, more on this soon!)

**A couple Sci-Fi-O-Rama generic question’s

What’s the best piece of Sci-Fi related material you’ve come across and been impressed by recently (book, film, artist)
As many others I’m really into H.P Lovecraft and just found out that in the 80′s a great Swedish Actor called Ernst Hugo Järegård read Lovecraft stories to tape and they are available as audiobooks. So far I have just been listening to a short preview of the reading but it sounds fantastic. What makes this so great is that I can’t think of any other actor here in Sweden who would fit better to read Lovecraft for an audience. This is of course very local as its only in my native language but it made me very happy to find out about!

Finally a follow on to the last question, any classic Sci-Fi material (book, film, artist) you could recommend think reader’s might not know of or have overlooked?
Some time ago i watched two short movies by Saul Bass and Elaine Bass called Phase IV and Quest, amazing and visually very strong films.

Many thanks Kilian!

**

Final Notes:

Before we finish up here’s a essential follow up links, Kilian’s portfolio site behance.net/KilianEng his Tumblr: http://dwdesign.tumblr.com/ and a link here to his Facebook Page.

Finally Kilian has very kindly took his own visual spin to our Sci-Fi-O-Rama logo! here it is, with the artist at work!

More from Kilian soon…

Here’s a special feature I had planned to run before my break, but managed to trash a bunch of email and thus the interview! all I can say is an extremely big thumbs up for Jobs and krew for OSX’s Time Machine – without doubt it’s greatest asset…

So then for this piece I’ve grabbed just a taster selection from the Mondo back catalog, I’ll add some notes on those in a moment, then run the Q&A kindly supplied by Mondo’s creative director Justin Ishmael. First up though here’s some background information….

Mondo is the collectible art boutique of the Alamo Drafthouse. If you’re not familiar with the theater, it’s a world-renowned cinema eatery and has been named the “best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly. The Alamo Drafthouse is based in Austin, TX and there are currently 10 theaters in Texas and Virginia, with plans to expand nationwide. The Alamo Drafthouse derives its reputation from it’s incredible programming. Mondo creates the poster artwork for special Alamo Drafthouse events (see the examples from the nationwide Rolling Roadshow tour, a yearly event where Alamo Drafthouse goes on the road to show famous movies in famous places — http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/events/rollingroadshow/). And in addition to creating posters for Alamo Drafthouse screenings/events, Mondo also has acquired licenses for properties like Star Wars, Star Trek and Universal Monsters. They work with artists across the world to create original works of art that are screen printed, hand numbered and limited to small quantities for collectors.

See more (and buy) at www.mondotees.com or for all the latest news check their excellent, regularly updated blog.mondotees.com

Some quick notes then on the featured posters here; 3 of the greatest Sci-Fi Movies ever made and one the strangest (no prizes for guessing which that is!).

Top: “The Empire Strikes Back” 1980, Directed by Irvin Kershner. Without doubt the greatest of the Starwars Trilogy, absolutely love this interpretation by Tyler Stout so cool it actually includes Boba Fett not once but three times, superb!.

2nd top: “The Holy Mountain”. This beautifully rendered screen print by Florian Bertmer perfectly captures (or suggests) the tone of this  nightmarish, psychedelic extravaganza, directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky in 1973.

3rd top: “The Thing” By John Carpenter 1982. More astonishing artwork from Tyler Stout this time for perhaps my favourite ever Sci-Fi Movie, well it’s this or Aliens. Love the composition here, featuring every member of the films all male cast, would absolutley love a copy of this, but alas, it’s long since sold out!

Bottom: “Alien” an extremely sinister interpretation of Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror masterpiece, this poster lovingly crafted by Australian Ken Taylor, also available in glow in the dark inks!

** Interview **

Q: How longs Mondo been going and when/How did you get involved?

We’ve been going for about 5 years or so. I took over at the beginning of 2009. There are three of us that run the company creatively. Myself, Rob Jones and Mitch Putnam. We all come from different backgrounds so it really helps with deciding what projects we take, what artists we get, etc.

• What’s your day to day role with Mondo involve?

My day to day is pretty time consuming. I am technically the creative director, but I run the backend and all of the social networking stuff, number all of the posters, negotiate all of the deals, talk to studios, etc. We all wear many hats at Mondo as we’re a relatively small company.

• What’s been the highlights of 2010 for Mondo? any favourite pieces?

Well, 2010 has been a breakout year for us. We really got on some good projects like Universal Monsters, Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. We also go to work on some big movies like IRON MAN 2 and SCOTT PILGRIM. Personally, I think it’s cool when we get to spotlight smaller movies like THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE or MONSTERS. Most of the general public doesn’t know what those movies are because they’re not getting advertised during commercials of TWO AND A HALF MEN or whatever, so I like to think that we can help spread the word by doing a poster for them. I also really love the Universal Monsters series. I have a DEEP love for those films, so it’s really cool to open your inbox and see an image you’ve never seen before for something that is so iconic and recognizable.

•  And what’s lined up  for 2011

Well, 2011 as it stands right now looks like it will be bigger than 2010. We have A LOT of projects lined up right now and a lot of things pending. One of the most exciting things is the Director Series we just started with Guillermo Del Toro. We have about two or three other big name directors lined up right now, so it will be a fun thing to do every once in a while for 2011. Plus, we’ve signed some new contracts for licenses…it’s just a lot of secret things that I can’t share. haha

•  Any particular type of SciFi/Horror/Fantasy that you feel particulary drawn too or aligned too (personally)?

Those are my favorite genres, which is weird because I was born in ’84 so I really grew up in the 90′s and watched nothing but action movies. My grandfather is the one that got me into sci fi movies. I remember the first time I watched PLANET OF THE APES so clearly. The scene where they catch Heston in the net and he says the “Get your paws off me” line I said “WOW” aloud. That was such a happy day for me.

I didn’t start watching horror until I was a junior in high school. Now it’s full blown. One of my favorite movies is a mixture of sci-fi/ horror and it’s called THE DEADLY SPAWN. I actually got a half sleeve tattoo of it a few years ago because I like it so much. I highly recommend that one.

Some of my faves are the POTA series (especially Conquest), DUNE, ALIEN PREDATOR, LOGAN’S RUN, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS ’78, GALAXY OF TERROR, EQUINOX, etc. I could go on and on. I have to say that some modern sci fi movies have been really amazing. MOON is one of my all time favorites now and I also really enjoyed DISTRICT 9 and MONSTERS.

I really like to follow movies because of who did the special effects or designed things. Rob Bottin (The Thing), Dennis Muren (Equinox, Dragonslayer) , Richard Edlund, Moebius, Giger, Rick Dunn, John Dykstra, Syd Mead, and on and on. They are some of the coolest people on the planet. These dudes are my rock stars. It’s kind of like how some people would’ve thought Axl Rose was an ultra badass back in the day, I think that way about Muren and these guys. If they had posters, they’d be up on my walls. I watched a live streaming conference with Dennis Muren one time online and it was like two hours long. I would LOVE to meet these guys some day.

Oh, and Harryhausen….but, that could take an interview up all by itself.

•  Do you have (or what would be your) a wish list of other artist you’d like to work with and why? (living or alive)

Nobody knows this, but we were talking to Frank Frazetta about a year ago. We were really close to making something happen. I was really sad when the word came through that he passed away. I really loved and respected his work. Actually, as I type this I have a Death Dealer ring on that I bought from his gallery. I also want to work with Moebius and Dan McPharlin. You’ve profiled Dan a lot on the site and also Moebius. We’ve got projects in mind for both of them, so it’s just a matter of getting ahold of them and pitching it. Moebius is legendary. Better writers have dissected his work, so I won’t go too deep, but I love Arzach. I found the paperback with all of them collected and also started buying the original Heavy Metal books. I think I have 1-10 right now. Someday, I’ll buy the Metal Hurlant versions, too. That art was so amazing and to this day still holds up. I would be blown away if the dudes doing the new HEAVY METAL movie did an Arzach story. How nuts would a Fincher directed Arzach movie be?

Dan McPharlin was a guy that I liked, but just figured it was some art from the 60′s or 70′s. Then, I downloaded THE SWORD’S album and saw the cover and made the connection. We have about three things off the bat that we would immediately put him on that he would be 100% perfect for. His landscapes are gorgeous and I love what he does with his characters. There is a piece in particular where it’s a spaceman riding a horse with a helmet on. It’s one of my favorite images of his.

• Finally can you point readers in the direction of obscure SF/Horror/Fantasy they might of missed?

So, the main movies I watch are sci-fi and horror and I highly recommend these seldom seen gems.

THE DEADLY SPAWN
FORBIDDEN WORLD aka MUTANT
GALAXY OF TERROR
LIFEFORCE
THE HIDDEN- Drop everything and watch this…now.
SORCERESS
FIRE AND ICE (Buy the Blue Undergound disc for the awesome Frank Frazetta doc called Frazetta: Painting With Fire)
TIME MASTERS
MOEBIUS: REDUX
EQUINOX (Directed by SFX god Dennis Muren)

If you’d like me to give more detailed little snippets of why I like these, I’d be happy to, but seriously….all of these movies are AMAZING!

** Many thanks Justin! oh and I totally agree there on The Hidden!

A polar expedition about to be ruined (in a big way) by a bizarrely crowned, giant furry humanoid…

This is the work of zany Belgian Illustrator Brecht Vandenbroucke, an artist who specialises in mixing playful cartoon like, video game visuals with horror and general weirdness… Suffice to say then, that his portfolio includes some pretty far out work, definitely raises a smile for me!

To see more of Brecht’s work check his Flickr Photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/brecht_vandenbroucke/ or blog http://brechtvandenbroucke.blogspot.com/

Continuing on with the freaky portraiture I thought I’d start 2010 with a piece I’d earmarked and scanned right back when I first began this blog, and I guess some extremely sinister character art from blog favourite Ian Miller, is as good a way as any to kick off a new decade!

This Illustration is scanned from one of the few Fighting Fantasy books I still have in my possession – FF28 “Phantoms of Fear” – published by Puffin back in 1987 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantoms_of_Fear. The game plot revolves around a hopeless near suicide mission (is there any other sort?) battling through a blighted forest and eventually infiltrating a vast demonic fortress… The adventure takes place in both the physical and dream worlds, but what really makes it stand out are of course Ian’s fantastical warped illustrations, I can’t think anyone else better to illustrate a chaos tainted army of darkness. If your a fan of Ian’s I definitely recommend checking this rarity out, its available on Amazon for next to nothing: http://ow.ly/WWP2

If your new to Ian’s work I’ve run several posts already: Ian Miller & Also check Ian Millers home site/portfolio http://www.ian-miller.org/

Some pretty far out and slightly Horrific Psychedelic Fantasy Illustration from English artist Patrick Woodroffe.  this piece used a cover art for the 1974 edition of Micheal Moorcock’s ‘The Oak and The Ram’ published by Quartet Books, London.

Art is via Flickr User: Jovike, I highly reccomend checking out his Photostream over there, loads of super cool stuff including retro SF novel covers and Record Sleeves….. Also Check his Blog:  http://www.enkil.demon.co.uk/

This expertly crafted clean and striking design is one of the original promotional posters for the 1978 Horror sequel Damien: Omen II – the follow on from the 1976 original classic “The Omen”.

I saw this years ago as a kid and found it pretty freaky, in that weird way that only 70′s horror can be – something to do with everyone wandering round in flares? – though I actually kinda think all paedophobic horror (Village of the Damned etc) is genuinely creepy! Check the original trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az86iKhWAjk

So there you go, a really cool poster,  and I’ll add that the Raven is one of my favourite birds -  slightly off topic, but Crow’s actually have a high level of intelligence having been observed to fashion and use tools and even play tricks on one and other!  Here’s quite an interesting read if you have 5 mins: http://www.physorg.com/news168701856.html and another one on avian intelligence in general…

One last thing, can any type spotter’s identify the two Serif font’s use here? not sure whether the title is an actual font or rather just a distressed version of an existing cut….

A small sample of Irish Illustrator’s Harry Clarke’s (1889–1931) work for Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tales of Mystery and Imagination” first published in 1923…

More notes coming soon…

Art Via http://ajourneyroundmyskull.blogspot.com” (an amazing blog!) full article here: http://ow.ly/JE9V

Originally spotted via butdoesitfloat.com

Rock Music Poster Art is arguably one of the coolest facets of design & illustration, (at least in my mind anyway) and here’s a sample from one of said genre’s modern masters – American artist Alan Forbes.

Alan’s produced poster’s for Queens of the Stone Age, Rage Against The Machine, White Stripes etc – check out more of his work here: http://www.gigposters.com/designer/1303_Alan_Forbes.html

This freaky spectral beast is a special effect from the 1992 movie Pet Sematary 2, sequel to the the original 1988 film Pet Sematary that was in turn based on Stephen Kings 1983 novel.

(SPOILERS!!) (SPOILERS!!) The basic premise is that the Pet Sementary in question is actually built near to a certain other type of burial ground (wonder what that might be) and (gasp!) burying a dead pet there will in fact resurrect it, only of course the reborn pet is not exactly the same as the old one… I’ve not seen either film  (I have read the book) so didn’t recognise this when I originally spotted it via FFFFound, when backtracking through my bookmarks and came across it’s source; the absolutely awesome kindertrauma.com and that’s really what this post is about….

If you’ve even the slightest bit interested in Film Horror from the 70′s / 80′s / 90′s particularly of the B-Movie variety, then I wholeheartedly recommend a good peruse through kindertrauma.com – a lovingly devoted site to all those slightly obscure films you might just remember being tucked away at your local video store…

Check out http://www.kindertrauma.com “Your Happy Childhood ends here”

Here’s something a little out there to say the least!

Super freaky sweatshirt designs adorned with completely over the top 8-Bit coloured, LSD tinged, David Shrigley-esque drawings – a quick taster of the work of Parisian collective Shobo Shobo… Love all the primitivism and neon/mettalic colours, Great stuff! there’s a real art to styling something this outrageous!

Shobo Shobo make drawings, art work, installations and fashion and is the brainchild of Mehdi Hercberg and Kanh Linh La. Check out more of their Fashion at: http://grogore.free.fr/accueil/accueil_set.htm or visit the main site: http://www.shoboshobo.com/