Alpha and Omega - Interior Illos!

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
(Subterranean Press, 2009) Catalog Link

Introducing the set of b&w interior illos for the limited edition of this beautiful novella by Subterranean Press!

Alpha and Omega – Final cover!

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
(Subterranean Press, 2009) Catalog Link

Publications realized by Subterranean Press are a feast for the eyes, products for true fans! It’s just a pity when the editions disappear from the shelves and their catalog begins to flash with the word ‘sold out!’!

For this precious reprinting of the novella Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs I delivered the front cover and four interior b&w illos. The reading was tantalizing, I spent some time building up the characters… and the cover should have been different, then Patricia consulted her agent and they chose the version you already know…

What happened to the first project? Well, it finished inside the book as an interior illo and here is the color version… What do you think? The impact would have been different? Well, whatever the version, it seems even this book is… sold out!

"Angelic" b&w interior illustration #1

Angelic by Kelley Armstrong
(Subterranean Press, December 2009)

"The Gates of Hell"

Here's an interior illustration from the upcoming novella by Kelley Armstrong, the first in a set I'll be posting till December for the Readers of this blog.

Bone and Juwel Creatures / Final Illo!!!

Bone and Juwel Creatures by Elizabeth Bear
(Subterranean Press, March 2010) Catalog Link

I've just delivered this cover for the latest novella by Elizabeth Bear, a story I read twice in the same night and that projected me in a vivid and wonderful fantasy world, an alternative Universe between minarets and necromancers. Ebear writes stupendously, a hint could be just the Hugo Awards she's coming piling up year after year...

Being a particularly mean guy, on this assignment I produced two different advanced color roughs. At the end I liked them both myself and I have to admit I made really difficult to decide which one should be the cover to be completed...!

The publisher looked delighted and I was really flattered reading the comments about the cover in the writer's official blog. Yo man, check here what the eBear's fans say about the illo! :-)

IN BETWEEN / Final Cover Art!

In Between by R.A. MacAvoy
(Subterranean Press, September 2009). Catalog Link

At Subterranean Press were slightly late in their schedule, so when they shipped around the ARCs of this enchanting novella, the proof didn't showcase any Art on the cover. Leona Wisoker wrote in her Green Man Review:

I love getting books from Subterranean Press; while I tend to quibble with their cover art, I am more often than not astonished at the writing within. In this case, however, I can't comment on the cover art -- because I got an Advance Proof without any! I'm hoping that the eventual cover is terrific . . . because this book (all books, yes, but this one more than most) deserves a great cover.

Well, I received the assignment only after this awesome review so you can just imagine the responsibility i felt when such a pearl dropped in front of my eyes!

In Between is a stupendous work marking the return of R. A. MacAvoy, a very talented writer, from a long publishing hiatus. She's the author of wonderful novels like Tea with the Black Dragon, Twisting the Rope, The Book of Kells, and The Lens of the World trilogy.

Art can work itself as a powerful social network! After the publisher showed the final design to Bertie, she replied back: "I'm in complete awe of this. Who's the graphic artist?" There were several mail exchanges with the author - it was my turn to be in awe - and next week I'll be sending to her attention a complimentary print of the artwork, sans lettering... It's the minimum homage to someone inspiring so strongly my dreams...

Thanks, Bertie.

"Angelic" by Kelley Armstrong - Final Cover

Angelic by Kelley Armstrong
(Subterranean Press, December 2009)

This is my final cover for Angelic, a wonderful novelette by the bestselling-New York Times writer Kelley Armstrong, going to be published on December by Subterranean Press (USA) . The story follows an afterlife mission of the warrior-angel Eve Levine and it's just a facet of the extraordinary and complex Universe developed with the Otherworld series. Painting Eve was really fascinating and it's not a secret that at the moment I'm at work on four B&W interior illustrations (!) going to be evenly spaced through the book. Hard, hard work ahead for your Jedi artist! More previews and updates to follow along the year... enjoy now an exclusive preview of the original illustration (click to enlarge) Usually the editions by Subterranean are gorgeous - especially the limited ones - and they sell out well before hitting the market. If you wish to preorder a copy of the volume, check the dedicated page here.

Here is the Angelic synopsis from the publisher's website:

"As a half-demon master of the dark arts, Eve Levine isn’t what anyone would call angelic. That’s exactly why the Fates chose her for the job. She’s their secret weapon against the forces of evil. However after five years, Eve is tired of being the designated rebel of the angel corps, expected to break the rules, then penalized for it. When the leaderless djinn stage an uprising, Eve sees the perfect chance to get herself fired. As she plunges deeper into the demon world, though, she realizes she’s in danger of losing a lot more than her job."

A Glimpse behind the Curtains

Here's a photo album including a visual walkthrough of my illustration Underneath It All . Click on the picture - or upon the link just below -, switch off the lights, put on some good music of your choice... and let me guide you along one of my artistic paths...

The Making-of-Underneath-It-All

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

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?

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.

Expedition to DELOS 100

My illustration originally created for the story Pictures from an Expedition by Alexander Irvine and published on the cover of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, continues to live and prosper! These days has been published for the first time in Italy as a cover for the issue #100 of Delos, the news magazine published by the major Italian portal dedicated to fantastic literature!

Well, it’s not the same image indeed! I modified it adapting the size to the magazine format… and it came out something fresh completely different! I enjoyed the transformation. It seems now that the photographer holding the camera is more distant from the austronaut. As a consequence, the field of vision looks enlarged, the character more frontal and it’s possible to see much more Martian landscape in the background.

For all the fans, a faithful high-quality Limited Edition Print – 13” x 17” -, signed by the Artist is now available in the Store. I’ve been visiting the Irvine realm and the author has launched an interesting Blog. Rummaging through the posts, I saw another illustration realized for the same story by the talented Patrick Arrasmith gracing the cover of an astounding Alex collection released by Night Shade Books. Alex, that story rocks! And if I remember well there’s a follow-up in the making! ...or is it already out? :)

'Pictures from an Expedition' Bibliography

- THE MAGAZINE OF F&SF, 2003 September, USA

- SPECTRUM #11, Underwood Books, 2004 USA

- DESIGN GRAPHICS, Cover and Portfolio, 2004 AUSTRALIA and USA

- LIMITED PRINT EDITION, Manzieri Store, 2006 ITALY

- DELOS #100, 2007 ITALY