Low Palette Archive - Sci-Fi-O-Rama

Silence Television

Silence Televison

It’s been a couple of months since my last article so time to unplug the cryogenics, thaw out and get writing. A few special features lined up this month, including an exclusive interview with a certain Swedish Sci-Fi Illustrator, but to start with here’s a close up on the super slick work of Peruvian Designer and Illustrator Gianmarco Magnani, better known by his monicker Silence Television.

Before compiling this post I did attempt to get in touch with Gianmarco to help contextualize this article and get an insight into his inspired, idiosyncratic approach, also no response as of yet, but hopefully we can hook something up in the future. in the mean time here’s a run down on this stunning artwork with my thoughts.

Above: Browse Gianmarco’s portfolio (www.silencetv.com) and you’ll notice several recurring themes; glamorous biker chicks, rock paraphernalia, deconstructed retro motor vehicles and bikes. What really stands the style apart is not just the ultra tight rendering, or the faultless craftsmanship but a real meticulous eye for detail that binds beautifully – a rare pedigree that almost looks effortless. This image shows up all those traits, and with such confidence, one could get lost just studying her enveloping tattoo.

Silence Televison

Above: This one uses several graphic tricks, notably rendering in negative for extra graphical punch. Also note that, not only has Gianmarco perfectly fashioned the splintering guitar, he’s also adorned it with a balanced selection of logotypes, nods of course to his influence and driving inspirations…

Silence Televison

Above: This one is pure class, the perfect poise and composition, again great attention paid to the details such as the subtle texture on the skirt and it’s geometric hem. Also really like the ruffled sleeves, emphasizing the girl’s model-type svelteness.

Silence Televison

Above: A definite feel of Katsuhiro Otomo here, and probably the most Sci-fi orientated material of this post (like that matters!). Worth noting that Otomo is another bike fan, there must be a shared connection between these two!

Above: Another superior detailed composition with a subtle but effective overlayed gradient, again you get a feeling a real sense of gleeful joy is harnessed when Gianmarco applies his finishing touches, perhaps here seen with the retro Vavoline and Texaco stickers.

Silence Television

Above: We finish up here with one final bike rendering – this one in negative profile – A lovely balance of hard graphics, and technical Illustration. Superb stuff!

Further Reading: Head straight to http://silencetv.com for the full portfolio. There’s also a chance to buy prints here: http://society6.com/silencetv/prints and depending on how au fait your Spanish is you might also want to check out the Silence Televsion blog http://silencetv.com/blog/ remember Google Chrome will has a translation option. Finally is you want to show some Facebook love, go to http://www.facebook.com/SilenceTV

*Edit November 15 2001* Happy to say that Gianmarco has been back in touch, so hopefully we’ll run a interview soon.

Eduardo Paolozzi – Screenprints

Eduardo Paolozzi

Time once again to electroshock Sci-Fi-O-Rama from it’s semi-dormant state, here with a selection of work from the late Scottish sculptor and artist Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005).

Paolozzi has always been a favourite of mine, particularly his beautifully composed, ultra-vibrant graphic screenprints. This post was sparked when I recently picked up a copy of “Paolozzi” a 1999 paperback publication that gives a chronological overview of Eduardo’s work. Here is the back page synopsis, note that I’ve embellished this slightly, altering present to past tense.

Eduardo Paolozzi (of Italian descent) was one of the major figures of postwar British art: A father of Pop Art a creator of key icons of the nuclear age, a brilliant manipulator of the images produced by the media, an iconoclast and traditionalist, an outsider and academican.

Onto the notes, I’ll keep it simple and won’t attempt a heavy analysis. If you would like to read more about Paolozzi, his methods, motivations and technique then the best place to start is his in-depth wikipedia page. One (patronising!) point I will make is when viewing, remember that all of these images hail from the 60′s or 70′s, long before the age of Photoshop. An obvious point for sure, but for me something that underlines just how sophisticated and forward leaning this work was at the time.

Top: “Hollywood Wax Museum from Zero Energy Experimental Pile (Z.E.E.P)” 1969-70 Screenprint on paper. We kick off here with a real trademark pieces, and I’m actually referring to the title not just the artwork, every bit as out there! A real diverse mix of elements features here, Sputnik, attitude indicators, giant Mecha robots, Marylin Monroe and the uneasy focal point of a NASA space monkey (Sam?).

2nd top:“B.A.S.H”1971 Screenprinted on paper. A flat colour, more geometric offering, this one gives clues as to Paolozzi’s background in surrealism.

3rd top: “Silken World of Michelangelo from Moonstrips Empire News” 1967 Screenprint on paper. Another great example of the way that Poalozzi used repeated patterns, to layer up composistions, at no point here does the eye rest easily. Also of note; the deconstructed Disney image worked down to mosiac form, something that appears in other screenprints.

4th top:“Print from Mein Kolner Dom: Blueprints for a New Museum” 1980-81lithograph and screenprint. Another playful and innovative composition; a giant blue bottle, Skylab (remember that?), Albert Einstein, jet packs and more, all playfully juxtaposed over the inners of a grand gothic cathedral.

5th top: “Part One, Frozen Terror… Part Two, Fangs of Death”1965 screenprint. This piece and the subsequent lower two are taken from http://www.paolozziprints.comand are available to buy, signed by the artist with the edition number. Another fab title, this mixes familiar pattern geometrics with pin girls and a strange alien type crusader creature, printed with a typically vivid contrasting colour palette.

6th top: “Cover for a Journal” Screenprint. This more abstract piece features a slick example of overprinting.

7th top: “Why children commit suicide…read next month’s issue” Signed and numbered photolithograph 1965-70. Another crazy title!

8th top: A photo of the artist, taken at a Hamburg ship breakers yard in 1961.

***
Images taken from paolozziprints.com scanned from Paolozzi (Fiona Pearson 1999) http://amzn.to/mwl61i

More Art of the Arcade Machine Marquee…

Space Odyssey Marquee

Super Qix Marquee

King of Dragons Marquee

Castle Of Dragon Marquee

Bubble Bobble Marquee

Out Run - Marquee

Galaxy Force - Marquee

Warp Warp - Marquee

Nemesis Marquee

Lifeforce - Marquee

Splatterhouse - Marquee

Here’s a continuation of one of the more popular features I ran last year ‘The Art of the Arcade Marque‘ with a further selection of 12 primary coloured beauties. First of all a quick refresh on what an Arcade Marquee actually is, basically it’s the flat, often illuminated panel at the top of an Arcade Cabinet. The above examples date from the late 70′s through to the early 90′s, essentially this was the golden age of Arcade / Coin-op games, this era faded quickly as the power and playability of Home Console/PC gaming began to catch up and supersede the majority of the arcade experience. When you think back even the full on 3D Games of the Mid 90′s such as Sega Rally or Ridge Racer are now well into their respective teens, an eon in terms graphics and processing technology.

Fast forward to 2011 and the ‘Age of the App Icon’. With potentially 100′s of games on just your phone alone the concept of giant power hungry cabinet capable of playing just one game over and over seems pretty antiquated, leaving most cabinets to exist today as retro curiosities, often long forgotten. But though the bright neon days of the 80′s may have dimmed, retro culture plus legions of devoted fans and collectors empower that the magic still lives on. As a total ex-arcade nerd myself I’m doing my bit here to bring a bit of past graphical wizardry back to the fore.

Right then, before I start with the run down of each of the featured examples I’ll just point out a couple of valuable resources and where I’ve actually collected the artwork from. First up is KLOV or ‘Killer List Of Video Games’ essentially this is Wikipedia for Coin-Op’s, it’s amazing. Secondly I’ve also heavily referenced Emdkay.net who specialise in ‘Authentic & Reproduction Arcade Artwork, Arcade & Mame Marquees, and Home Arcade Bartop Cabinets’. If your after purchasing any of this artwork then Emdkay might be the best place to start.

Here’s the notes on the images, from top to bottom.

**
Space Odyssey (Sega/Gremlin) 1981.
An early vertical Shoot-Em’-Up that looks like it alternates and also plays horizontally, for the time probably something of a novelty. KLOV ranks is it as scare, and I confess that I’ve never heard nor seen it… The monochrome red marquee with it’s spindly space ship and black hole is fab though, so It gets a special mention here!

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9675

**
Space Invaders (Taito / Bally-Midway) 1978.
From a rarity to the game the started it all, Tomihiro Nishikado’s Space Invaders caused a temporary shortage of 100-yen coins upon it’s release in Japan and Guiness World Records still ranks it as the top arcade game ever. This marquee, from the US Bally Midway version will surely jog you memory as to what the cabinet looks like, I’ve never been too sure where exactly the Yeti type alien appears exactly in the actual game but as it’s earned Taito over $500 million dollars in the last 32 years or so, it’s hardly my place to be picking holes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Invaders

**
Super Qix (Taito) 1987
A fairly common fantasy themed puzzle game from 1987, not one I’ve seen myself but the graphic is certainly striking and slots in here’s nicely next to the other dragon themed marquees.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9933

**
King of Dragons (Capcom) 1991
This scrolling swords &s ocery beat-em-up is one I do remember playing, basically a more sophisticated Golden Axe type game which supported up to 3 players. Another lovely graphic, reminiscent of Gauntlet but sadly missing a scantily clad, amazonian type warrior babe.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8313

**
Castle of Dragon (Seta) 1989.
A side scrolling platform fighter, this is another one I’d not heard of till researching this post, and judging by the scarcity rating on KLOV, It’s not just me that missed it. In truth it looks pretty average, and I wonder if it even made it’s way to distant British Shores. Marquee’s cool though.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7292

**
Bubble Bobble (Taito) 1986
Another massive Taito classic that was ported across the board to pretty much all systems of the time. Bub & Bob (as featured here) are actually twin ‘Bubble Dragons’ there in game mission; to save there girlfriends from monsters… Is it me or does that sound somewhat familiar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Bobble

**
Outrun (Sega) 1986
Whilst 1986 saw the release of the immensely playable Bubble Bobble amongst others, nothing made jaws drop like Outrun, an Audio/Visual feast delivered with the help of pioneering sprite scaling technology that gives a real sense of speed. Despite now being 25 years old IMHO even today it’s a driving game that still looks and plays fantastic. Quick note on the marquee itself, whilst it’s obviously an instantly recognizable classic, but I’m wondering, is the perspective ever so slightly out? the truck looks a little too elongated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Run

**
Galaxy Force (Sega) 1988.
Another Sega game to employ Outrun’s sprite scaling technology was Galaxy Force, a pseudo 3d space shoot-em-up very similar to Afterburner, though far less common. This is one that used to fascinate me, not because of amazing playability (in retrospect it was more of a tech demo) but rather just because of the sheer size of the moving cabinet! have a look over at at KLOV…

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7891

**
Warp Warp (Rock-Ola Mfg Corp) 1981
One more game I was completely unfamiliar with till composing this article, Warp Warp looks as if it plays as a hybrid of the more popular game types of it’s time, though since I don’t have Mame installed I can’t confirm. The marquee is interesting in that it kinda reminds me of the work of Ian Anderson’s Designer’s Republic though it predates there formation by at least 5 years, still I wonder if Ian ever saw this?

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=10407

**
Nemesis (Konami) 1985
Nemesis was an immensly playable side scrolling shoot-em-up which featured (for it’s time) a revolutionairy weapon’s power up system, again as with Outrun it’s something that still plays great today. A further note on something that’s always slightly confused me, the game is better known ‘Gradius’ not quite sure why the name swap happened for different regions, anyone know why?

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8842

**
Life Force (Konami) 1986
More name swapping trickery here from Konami, Life Force is also known as Salamader it’s an indirect sequal to Gradius/Nemesis apperently set in ‘the same universe’. The game features one of those great lost in translation arcade moments, the second playable craft is known as “Lord British” but due to ambiguity of Japanese-to-English romanization is often referred to as “Road British”.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8427

**
Splatterhouse (Namco) 1988
Though predating by approximately 8 years ‘Splatterhourse’ is undoubtedly a spiritual precursor to the Resident Evil series, It’s a horror themed linear side scrolling beat-em-up featuring some fairly gory graphics and somewhat questionable content. When ported to home consoles the game featured a ‘parental advisory warning’ on the box art. The marque itself is rendered in a classic B-Movie esque style.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splatterhouse

Special Feature: Mondo

Mondo - Empire Strikes Back

Mondo - Holy Mountain

Mondo - The Thing

Mondo - Alien

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!

Osamu Tezuka (1)

Nov 14th, 2010 | Categories: Illustration | Low Palette | Osamu Tezuka | Sci-Fi

Hi-No-Tori

Osamu Tezuka

A belated start to November here begins with a guest contribution from London based designer and illustrator John Rowley. John got in touch recently to suggest a feature on “The godfather of anime” Osamu Tezuka and in particular his Phoenix series, which is less well known than Tezuka’s famous “Astro Boy” creation.

John supplied me with several scans taken from the various volumes, I selected the most abstract of those and posted above, really beautiful pen and ink work… here then are John’s notes:

Osamu Tezuka is considered ‘the god of manga’, an accolade he deserves for the quality of his work and the volume of it. During his career he drew over 150,000 pages. He is most famous for his work ‘Astro Boy’ outside of Japan but within Japan he is more famous for creating Jungle Taitei (Jungle Emperor) which was the basis for the Disney animation ‘The Lion King’ – so much so that many would say that Tezuka should have sued Disney. But Tezuka was very much a fan of Disney and indeed is considered the Walt Disney of Japan so he was probably flattered and certainly did not need the money. Tezuka’s manga started out very simplistic and heavily inspired by American cartoons and comics but became more and more sophisticated. He helped many aspiring manga artists and one of them was Yoshihiro Tatsumi who is widely credited for starting the Gekiga style of alternative comics in Japan.

“Gekiga is Japanese for ‘dramatic pictures’ and was a movement that seeked to address the growing (literally) audience in Japan for adult manga. Apart from having adult themes Gekiga is also defined by it’s narrative style which draws heavily on film. For example a Gekiga manga may well have no text for many frames or images, using pictures to create pace and atmosphere rather then to support the text needed for the characters to tell the story. Tezuki’s 12 volume work ‘Hi No Tori’ or ‘Phoenix’ was very dear to his heart and a hugely ambitious project:

Phoenix (火の鳥 Hi no Tori) is a manga series by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka considered Phoenix his “life’s work”; it consists of 12 books, each of which tells a separate, self-contained story and takes place in a different era. The cycle remains unfinished after Tezuka’s death.
Source Wikipedia.

Top: Front Cover Art

2nd Top: Taken from Phoenix Volume 4: Karma

3rd Top: Taken from Phoenix Volume 5: Resurrection

4th Top: ‘Phoenix – Resurrection Volume 5′ (it’s the last panel of the book)

5th Top: From Phoenix Volume 5: Ressurection

bottom: From Phoenix Volume 2: Future “When I first discovered Phoenix and was half way through the first volume I was walking home very near my flat when I saw a fragment of manga page on the street. I was surprised to see that it was one of the pages of the same volume I was reading. It had been ripped from the book and also cut in half. I hurried home wondering how this could have happened to my Manga – Phoenix was very hard to get even in London at that time as the English versions had only recently been released and in fact some of the series had not yet been released and all were printed outside the UK. I had purchased my copy from the Canadian Amazon store online. When I got home I found that my copy was unharmed. A strange coincidence but one that fits Phoenix very well with it’s themes of resurrection, time shifts, and interconnecting lives through space and time. This image is cropped from fragment I found.

***

Many thanks to John for supplying the scans and copy, check his site here http://rowleyjohn.com/ or blog here http://www.rowlification.blogspot.com/

Phoenix is available in various volumes and formats via Amazon.com check it out: http://amzn.to/c5ZiHf

← Older Entries