The world appears to be full of skilled artists working with fantastic images. As proof, I can point to the latest, slightly thicker edition of Spectrum 18.

I was one of seven judges this year, which I consider an honored privilege. Getting a glimpse of the state of the genre’s art at large is daunting: five thousand entries displayed in a room full of tables.

The process runs like this. Each judge carries a cup full of beans, ordinary ol’ navy beans. As the juror passes down the aisles of tables, scrutinizing each and every entry, she places a bean into the cup next to the entry she likes. One bean is a yes vote. The juror can’t see who’s voted and who hasn’t because the cup is inverted, with a small hole in top to pass the bean vote through.

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I found it fascinating when I was a kid that Boy’s Life Magazine embraced science fiction.  Strong illustrations, like this one by Joe Cleary, made time travel stories my favorite.

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One of America’s greatest artists died this morning. Jeff Jones was among science fiction and fantasy’s premiere visual story-tellers. He handled oil paint and brush as if he was merely revealing the magic and beauty held within the canvas, like wiping away the white to show the color beneath.

Nothing ever felt labored in his work. His prolific output made it seem as if he had to get the stacks of ideas out of himself, through oil, watercolor, or pen and ink. As Jeff’s abilities grew, so did his sophistication, and yet I always felt the exploration in his concepts to capture a child-like playfulness, no matter how serious the subject. This leant a certain agelessness to everything. From his early Frazetta influence, he pushed the work more toward his own star and progressed to one of the genre’s most unique voices.

[Read more. Some NSFW art below the cut]

I could never resist the beauty and whimsy of this Analog cover by the inimitable John Schoenherr, illustrating a two-part story originally titled, The Demon Breed, by James H. Schmitz.

Two giant otters along with their human friend, Nile, pause high in the tangled limbs of a water world. The strength of the sweeping curve of the main otter draws the eye upward to the adorable animal’s face, placed perfectly next to the magazine’s masthead. Nile is mysterious and sits tantalisingly just off-center for a sense of scale.

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Titan Publications just released The Art of Hammer, by Marcus Hearn. The amazing thing about the book is that it made me realize how powerfully artwork can out-creep the movies they advertise. The singular vision of so many examples of art has tremendous impact.

Hammer films were the reason my closet was haunted as a kid. Just looking at the artwork on the outside of the theater, presenting attractions for the next shocker, was enough to send me home with nightmares. Perhaps my imagination was acute, but I think the artists that made these visions so frightening were having the time of their lives. They had no idea they were stirring deep primordial fears within children everywhere. Or, well, maybe they did.

[Warning: deep primordial fears ahead]

I was an early fan of Hellboy. Forget the comical name or the character himself. What grabbed me from the moment I spotted it was it’s graphic appeal. Mike Mignola designs his panels, pages, story, and dialog. They are impeccable and luscious. I want to linger on every page because my brain is always happy to fill in the blanks he leaves practically everywhere. The mark of a superior designer and draughtsman.

It’s the risks he takes with leaving things out that makes the difference. Huge explosions with barely an indication of detail, and large areas of color that he and Dave Stewart, an excellent colorist, work out together. Creatures and settings drawn from simple outlines or slightly modified cut-outs as figures. That takes commitment to leave out all the dang detail.

[Process sketches after the jump]

I used to work at a studio of illustrators. One of our catch phrases at the time was, “generally, your first impression for an illustration idea is the right one.” Logic follows that if I just put down one sketch, it would likely be better than any that followed. And of course, this isn’t real.

The impression of the idea may be correct, but the solution is rarely so. It takes exploration, and as soon as I find a great solution, five more pop into my head. Each one leads to another. They start slow, then cascade. Solutions evolve.

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Just back from SteamCon ll and I was completely underdressed. Nearly everyone there was dressed to the nines. Say, about 1909. Certainly 1869, as this year’s event was titled, “Weird Weird West.” The best kind of weird. Like Custer with goggles, or The Lone Ranger with jetpack weird.

This was my first SteamCon and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The level of whimsy, and flat out awesome seemed to hit a new genre high. It was grand, creative fun!

Next year I’ll dress the part, and party like it’s, umm, 1899.

[Below the cut, a selection of photos from SteamCon II]

Spectrum 17, the premiere annual showcasing the best of science fiction and fantasy art of the year, is out and it’s my good fortune to have painted the cover image. Especially on a nice white background. (Thanks, Arnie!) I’m a fan of white backgrounds. Probably an influence from the Saturday Evening Post and a decade of the best paperback covers in the world.

[A breakdown of the cover after the cut]

A gorgeous new book about the movie poster work of Drew Struzan The Art of Drew Struzan, has just been released by Titan Books. It’s written by David J. Schow, book and film writer, and Struzan himself. It’s visual chocolate for every lover of movie posters, and every type of working and wannabe illustrator.

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“First of all, it was October. A rare month for boys.”

Every October I ritually watch Something Wicked This Way Comes as a way of ringing in the Halloween spirit that pervades the month. It’s not the best film, but over the years, despite it’s stilted and cliched dialog delivered by two twelve-year-olds trying to act, I’ve come to adore it.

The flavor of the story is beautifully captured in the movie poster by my once teacher, once mentor, and long-time friend, David Grove. Its near magical method of loose paint flows into rich, saturated runs of color, giving the illusion that it was painted in a quick, haphazard session. Besides those passages that underly the delicately rendered focal points that bleed light and life into the entire composition, the painting and I have a bit of a special connection: it haunts me.

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In the 60’s, Boy’s Life Magazine was my window into adventure. Nothing was a bigger adventure then than going to the moon. To me, the space race was the pinnacle of what we could achieve as human beings.

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Today, Dark Horse Comics releases Mike Mignola’s latest endeavor, “The Amazing Screw-On Head,” brought to vivid life by virtuoso colorist, Dave Stewart.

Dave has been the colorist for the Hellboy series from Dark Horse for over a decade, and I’ve been a fan of his work from day one. His use of broad flat color laid into Mike Mignola’s simplified shapes and volumes adds just the right amount of graphic power to the pages to keep any lover of the comic form turning those pages late into the night.

When most colorers in the business work to give three dimensional effect to thousands of pages each week with complicated rendering, Stewart has the audacity to create depth from flat color.

Dave has to take a virtual sea of black and white ink and make volumetric sense of it. He has to give it the depth that Mike is seeing and then add his own touch to it all. The result is strikingly subtle, yet visually powerful. When looking at the structure behind it, you won’t find a formula or a secret cryptic method. You’ll find a singular strong vision developed from years of experience. Dave keeps the skills honed and sharp.

I caught up with him to ask a few questions about his latest work for The Amazing Screw-on Head.

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This was the first all-white cover that I remember seeing in the science fiction section. Yes, there had been some spy novel and thriller covers that were all white. (James Bama comes to mind. Another artist I’ll get to soon.) Even some racy murder mysteries. But none that I felt were as unforgettable as this one.

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Many SF enthusiasts may not have heard of Robert Abbett. He made his mark in mainstream illustration, but would do science fiction and fantasy art from time to time. He painted all the covers for a paperback series of Tarzan. But he first tackled Burroughs’ Martian stories.

This to me is one of the best A Princess of Mars covers ever done for the series. Painted in the mid-sixties, it captures that era of paperback style: from the handsome Napolean Solo look of John Carter, to the blue eye-shadowed, brunette Deja Thoris.

Look at the moment caught here. It’s an odd slice of painting. Who’s he battling and what’s Deja fearful of? We don’t know, but we can suspect it is large, green, has four arms, and goes by the name of Thark.

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That metal-slamming sound could be heard all over North Am in 4000 A.D. Equipped with red mini-jumpsuit, white go-go boots, and a Kung Fu grip, Magnus—Robot Fighter, was at it again, battling errant robots back to their nuts and bolts—even during dates with his smokin’ hot space vixen Leeja, the daughter of North Am’s Senator Clane.

Russ Manning’s creation of Magnus held my interest circa 1966 with his sharp focused, graphic ink strokes and deftly rendered metallic surfaces. He was a master of the comic world to me. I copied panels from his stories over and over again. I spent eighth grade dodging teachers while I sat in the back of the room copying Magnus and robots and trying to remember American history.

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Last week, eighty-four science fiction and fantasy artists gathered at Amherst College to attend the third annual Illustration Master Class, Rebecca Guay’s finely-tuned week-long workshop spearheaded by faculty artists: Rebecca, Boris Vallejo, Dan Dos Santos, Donato Giancola, Scott Fischer, Irene Gallo, Julie Bell, and myself.

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Twenty four hours ago, I gave a lecture at Amherst College during the Illustration Master Class. While showing images from famous and favorite artists who have influenced my paintings since childhood, one black and white panel glowed in the darkened auditorium from a favorite comic series of Flash Gordon.

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I love this painting by the incomparable John Berkey for a book cover entitled, The Humanoid Touch, by Jack Williamson, published in 1980.

The ship sits on an Earthly landscape and immediately gives the sense that its just landed and out pours its inhabitants, arms open, to embrace mankind. Instead of a smooth cylinder, Berkey has given it relief, texture, and design. All of those little pieces give the ship a technological advance. As in all of John’s spaceship art, the technology feels practical. I believe it made it this far in space.

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