MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY ART
Attention sf/f art lovers: there's a new feast of fabulous art for you in stores now. It's called MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY ART by Hugo-nominated sf/f art critic, journalist and author Karen Haber. It's loaded cover to cover with amazing artists, genius art tips, techniques, insights, and of course, brilliant artwork. Here's the list of artists featured inside:Combined Traditional & Digital Tools (Hybrids)
Jim Burns
Shaun Tan
Dave Seeley
Avi Katz
John Picacio
Pavel Mikhailenko
Ken Wong
Brom
Greg Spalenka
Bruce Jensen
Scott M. Fischer
Todd Lockwood
Digital Tools and Techniques
Stephan Martiniere
Tomasz Maronski
Camille Kuo
Galan Pang
Marta Dahlig
Traditional Tools and Techniques
James Gurney
Kinuko Y. Craft
Charles Vess
Donato Giancola
Rebecca Guay
Dan Dos Santos
Petar Meseldzija
Terese Nielsen
Bob Eggleton
Don Maitz
Gregory Manchess
There's a lot to love, but one of my favorite things is that this book's perhaps the first sf/f art volume to cohesively document the dynamic combinations of traditional and digital methods. It doesn't treat them as an 'either/or' proposition. Some of the most fertile ground in today's art is found in those combinations and experiments.
This is a book to savor slowly page by page. Very honored to be one of the twenty-eight featured, and especially honored that my artwork was chosen for the cover. :)
posted by John Picacio at 12:12 AM
6 Comments:
It sounds like a book to savor. And what a perfect excuse (as if I need one) for a trip to the bookstore! Congrats on getting the cover. That is one of my favorite of your illustrations.
Thanks, Carl! I appreciate it. :)
Didn't see any at Barnes & Noble over here, but Borders was carrying them in the Graphic Novels section (weird placement).
Yes, bookstore placement defies logic, at some stores more than others. I'm frequently annoyed by the fact that new releases are often placed on a New Releases table and then you cannot find any copies of the new book back in the section of the bookstore where similar books are.
Agreed, Carl.
If that bothers you, then you'll LOVE this then.
Prologue: Unfortunately and sadly, we've had a rash of crime at San Antonio bookstores where thieves run in and steal handfuls of graphic novels and then resell them on Craigslist. Borders contends that they even KNOW who some of the thieves are, but that unless the SAPD can catch the thieves in the act, then there's nothing they can do to arrest and prosecute. I don't understand that, but that's what they claim.
OK -- so as you probably know, Borders is in deep financial trouble right now. And frankly, all brick-and-mortar stores are in a delicate place these days.
Therefore, it would seem reasonable that if inventory is being stolen, then you move it closer to the cashwrap where it can be better monitored or put security cameras in place where the material can be watched while people browse, right? If you're a bookstore chain going bankrupt, then you wanna make it easier for people to buy inventory from you, while protecting inventory, right?
Borders' solution: move the material BEHIND the registers where no one can browse or shop, and they now have to request books to be pulled down one by one while someone hovers over them. Way to go, Borders! That's SURE to drive sales up.
Or better yet -- I went to another Borders and asked where the GNs went. They said, "We don't carry our GNs on the floor anymore. They're stocked in the backroom where no one can get to them. You ask for a book and we go back, see if it's there, and if it is, we bring it out to you."
Seriously.
I wish I was making this up, but I'm not.....
In a time when a bookstore is a precious thing to be supported and appreciated, that's the kind of store response that hastens the arrival of the Grim Reaper.
At any rate, I hope folks will seek out this new art book because it's a real gem. :)
I ordered it from amazon. 2-day free delivery. It'll be here tomorrow.
Hope you like it! Will be curious to hear your thoughts. :)
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