F&SF Magazine - "Five Thrillers" by Robert Reed

Taaadaaa...!!! Here's my new cover coming out this month on the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction for the original novelet Five Thrillers by Robert Reed (April 2008). Oh, I'm really satisfied how this one turned out...!

INSPIRATION TIPS:

While I was reading this captivating story, I came across a chapter titled The End of the World. Wow, I thought! What an occasion! When will I have another first-hand opportunity to paint the end of the world?

I attacked the blank canvas and the above illustration is very close to my sketch #1.

After a week I dropped to Gordon Van Gelder a series of sketches, all of them tempting, but maybe he was hit by the same feelings and replied: "I've gotten a few opinions and all five of your sketches are well-received, but I think sketch #1 is the one to use. As you say, how often do you get to depict the end of the world?".

I tried to converge a cinematic sense in this one, so you can see that all the borders are slightly motion blurred. To the guy asking from the last row: "Yes, this isn't the end of the world of some distant planet. We are talking about the End of the World of our own Earth". I cannot add much more before beginning to spoiler you. Run to buy the magazine and leave a comment after having read Five Thrillers...! You're welcome!

Last Man Standing 3

(click on the pics for a larger version)

The ' Big Unveiling' is going on at the ConceptArt.org website. I can finally share the artwork I've been realizing for the massive and awesome competition organized by Cody Tilson: Last Standing Man 3 (theme for the first Round: Underneath it All).

Details

The Chase by Clive Cussler (Putnam)!

Welcome to my **NEW** cover for the novel THE CHASE by Clive Cussler (hardcover edition, Putnam), coming out on November 6th everywhere in United States. The genre is pure adventure, but as you can see how I try to be always faithful to a diffuse sense of fantastic flavor...

To anyone wishing to know more details about this assignment, check out the dedicated Blog with updates and behind-the-scenes material concerning the artwork! About the Limited Edition Prints, a print run of 50 exemplars has been issued simultaneously with the publication (Cussler Store Link).

Audiobook Edition Link (Booksontape)

Large Print Book (Thorndike)

Alternative Realities - Sketch A or Sketch B?

One of the dangers for an illustrator is to fall in love with one of his/her concept arts. When you are working for a professional publishing house, it's probable you will be requested to create a few sketches or preliminary concept arts before going ahead with the commission. It's normal. They want you push the boundaries of your fantasy for them and you're going to be paid for something you love so much.

What if the chosen sketch is the one you love the less... ? It takes some experience to paint with an abstract-mode mind. It happened several times at the beginning of my career and I wished secretly that the publisher would choose the proposal 'A' instead of 'B'. This kind of situation is easy to happen with big clients.

F&SF Magazine - Alternative Concept Art
for 'Lázaro y Antonio' by Marta Randall

Q. How can this disturbing dilemma be solved ?

A. Well, once you have been hired, nothing forbids you in forwarding your proposals together with motivations that could influence the jury in a subliminal way. In addition to that, work hard, plunge in the stream and try to realize a series of concepts each one more captivating than the other, so you will not have to suffer too much!

Q. What about the discarded sketches?

A. Forget about them! Time is a harsh tyrant! At most, one day they could end up in a volume dedicated to you Art, couldn't they?

2007 Summer Postcard: Capri!

Back from an extended exploration to the Italian coasts! Wow, my eyes are still so full of colors and dreaming images!!! Above, it's is a trip with my daughter Simona to the wonderful island of Capri...

Thanks for all the mails and nice messages sent during my absence to me and Vera. I'll catch all the correspondence in a few days. The Digital Arts Studio is open again open for business! :-)

F&SF Magazine - "Lázaro y Antonio" by Marta Randall

- Composition Rules Tips

Here's my latest cover appeared on the June issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction for an original novelette by Marta Randall entitled Lázaro y Antonio. As you can see confronting the illustration with the magazine, this is a perfect example of partnership between image and type, whereas even the feared bar code doesn't cover relevant parts of the composition. As it always happens the original is much better, but the first impact is what counts...


The best illustrations are the ones which work with or without type. The artwork has to be complete and satisfy aesthetical as well as functional values. Don't think just for an instant that you can draw only the needed spaces. On the contrary, it's important to paint more than the visible surface. I'll try to explain this concept.

Take note that most of my artworks are digital. The forbidden areas in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science graphic layout are recurrent spaces: the upper and colored band, a lateral list of authors/titles and an impressive bar code on the bottom, so all my initial sketches develop along specular diagonals. In this case the character looks north-eastward. Being the artwork something composed on different digital planes - magic Photoshop stuff! - the background was painted separately on a different canvas while the character was glued on it during a subsequent phase. It means that behind the portrayed man there is a painted portion of drawing! All this comes back very useful when you need to move objects in the scene an inch ahead and it's an incredible bonus when your artistic flexibility has to meet the publisher's demands.

The illustration has received a lot of appreciations from my fans, but I think you should find and read the story that inspired my mind and let me dream for a few days another astounding and touching Universe! All the above processes can be compared to a sort of automatic writing. Once you've mastered the basic principles, you can dedicate yourself to the words and open the main door to the Art dwelling in your heart.

Photos from the Opening Day

Well, it's so strange, isn't it? I 'was' there with all the fans and the guests and I talked with them about my dreams and my paintings. I think it still looks like an interactive cartoon, anyway it's difficult not to be grabbed by the realistic atmosphere of Second Life when you see people clapping to your words or visiting the rooms where the artworks are showcased! Several artists or writers will take a chance presenting their work through this new medium. For an example, George R.R. Martin is going to present his new book Dreamsongs at the Bantam Bookshop in Second Life on May 31!

Oh, if you are looking for me, I'm the man with the smoking and the Harry Potter face! After several try-outs and a bit of help from the organizers, I was able to create something decent just a few hours before the Opening time. Wouldn't you call it a successful avatar? :-)

The Exhibit will be preserved in this location for about a week then all the structure could be moved to a better position in this universe...


Here are two articles about the event published on the newsmagazine Il Corriere della Fantascienza (in Italian language):

http://www.fantascienza.com/magazine/notizie/9395/

http://www.fantascienza.com/magazine/notizie/9417