Artistic Websites

Ballistic Publishing Releases Expose 6

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:57:00 +0000

Ballistic Published have release their latest edition of their popular and gorgeous EXPOSÉ books. EXPOSÉ 6 which was judged by an international team of leading artists features 334 inspiring images prepared by 257 artists from 43 countries, you will discover the very best work across 20 different categories. EXPOSÉ 6 includes the work of 108 unpublished artists.

All editions of EXPOSÉ 6 are available for immediate shipping.EXPOSÉ 5 is available in three editions: Hard Cover (USD$64); Soft Cover (USD$75); and Limited Edition (USD$170). The Limited Edition release includes an additional 16 pages of artist profiles and 8 Limited Edition prints. Go to the Ballistic website to flick through the book at
Ballistic Publishing.

d'artiste : Digital Painting 2

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:58:00 +0000

This latest volume in the d'artiste series from Ballistic Publishing is a sequel to the excellent Digital Painting book which featured digital artists Linda Bergkvist, Phillip Straub, John Wallin and Robert Chang. Like all books in this series, Digital Painting 2 follows a similar format and features some of the works and also tutorials from several talented artists in this field. It also features selected works at the end of each guest artists section in which the artist comments on the piece being shown. This volume features digital artists Don Seegmiller, Mélanie Delon, Daniel Dociu and Marta Dahlig. visit the product page for more information. As usual d'artiste: Digital Painting 2 is presented in Slipcased and Limited Edition versions.

Alex Maleev

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Comic artists have come a long way since the styles established in the early days of Batman, Superman and The X-men. Alex Maleev is one of a number of eastern european artists whose fine art inspired and highly graphical style of art has graced the covers and interiors of many high profile characters from Marvel, DC and other publishers. His work on titles like Daredevil and The Crow has drawn a lot of attention. His highly regarded work on Daredevil is considered to be the best work on the title since Frank Millers run in the 70's. His work was also used as Sylars Paintings in the hit television series Heroes. Check out his work at Maleev.com and The Comic Art Community.

Expose 6 Available For Pre-Order

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:50:00 +0000

Ballistic Publishing have announce that you can now preorder the newest edition of their excellent Expose series. EXPOSÉ 6 features the usual selection of excellent artwork, with 334 inspiring images prepared by 257 artists from 43 countries, it showcases the very best work across 20 different categories. As usual there are 3 editions of this book and the first 300 purchasers will be gifted with 8 prints and a CD with a specially commissioned 15 minute Video Tutorial from Linda Bergkvist. Syd Mead has been awarded the Grandmaster Award for this edition. Click here to pre-order your book.

Sketchfeed - Concept Art

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:31:00 +0000

Sketchfeed is a blog based community dedicated to covering art and artists who work in concept art and digital illustration. The blog covers the work from artists such as Jason Chan, Xavier Marquis and Andrew Jones. Pop on over to Sketchfeed.com/ and have a read.

Todd Lockwood

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:01:00 +0000

Todd Lockwood is a fine Fantasy Artist who was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. He had the Rocky Mountains as his backyard, Was a big fan of Sci-fi and fantasy flicks and TV. His early passion for Tolkien and Dungeons and Dragons were part of what shaped him into one fo the finest fantasy Artists around. He's a big dan of Role-Playing which he's been doing for over 25 years. He is also a fan of one of my favourite subjects and someone whom I respect greatly, namely Mythology and Joseph Campbell.

His artwork if bright vibrant and reminds me very much of a fantasy version Tim White's work in it's luminosity and colour sense. Check out Todds Work at his personal web-site.

Preston Gannaway

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:23:00 +0000

Photo Credit: Preston Gannaway/Concord Monitor from her Pulitzer Prize-winning photo-essay "Remember Me."

Preston Gannaway is an award winning photojournalist, who works for the Concord Monitor, in New Hampshire. I came across her work, after reading a recent post on one of my favourite sites - http://theonlinephotographer.com/. Prestons work is beautiful, challenging, insightful and inspiring. She tells stories with her images, that hold you and make you want to see more.

A lot of her images have a peek-a-boo quality without the feeling of being voyeuristic. Many of her images use off centre compositions which are framed in unusual ways by the objects and environments in which they are shot. Her Photo-essay "Remember Me" was the first to draw my attention because of the Pulitzer Prize it won, however the rest are equally of note. Visit her personal site at prestongannaway.com it'll be well worth your time.

Dave Stevens 1955 - 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:49:00 +0000

I was shocked to find out today that Dave Stevens passed away at the age of 52 on March 11th 2008, from complications due to leukemia. The creator of the Rocketeer and popular cover artist during much of the 80's and 90's, will be missed, greatly. Dave Stevens is survived by his mother, Carolyn; his sisters, Jennie and Melody; and his brother, Dan. There is a memorial page at the Dave Stevens official website.

Martin Evening Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:39:00 +0000

Marting Evening is a photographer and imageer who specialises in creating images for the fashion industry. His work is often vibrant, colourful and eyecatching. Hew also produces some of the best books for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. He is also a partner with Jeff Schewe, Andrew Rodney, Mac Holbert, Seth Resnick in Pixel Genius which makes plug-ins for Photoshop. Martin also contributes to ProDIG which he helped found with Ed Horwich. His website although simple is well worth a visit for some very beautiful images.

Creative Imaging News - Artsites New Home

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:59:00 +0000

About a year ago I launched Creative Imaging News and in that year I've been busy working on reviews, news and info dealing with creative imaging, photography and art tools and products. Artsites was constantly on my mind ... I wanted to continue with this site as there are just so many interesting and cool places out there to get inspiration ... so about a week ago I rolled artsites into CIN. Now to begin updating the blog, which I'll be doing about twice a week.

Ballistic Publishing Releases Expose 5

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:13:00 +0000

Ballistic Published have release their latest edition of their popular and gorgeous EXPOSÉ books. EXPOSÉ 5 which was judged by an international team of leading artists features 298 examples of the world’s best digital art prepared by 218 artists from 45 countries. EXPOSÉ 5 includes the work of 108 unpublished artists.

All editions of EXPOSÉ 5 are available for immediate shipping.EXPOSÉ 5 is available in three editions: Hard Cover (USD$55); Soft Cover (USD$65); and Limited Edition (USD$145). The Limited Edition release includes an additional 16 pages of artist profiles and eight Limited Edition prints, unavailable with the Hard Cover or Soft Cover editions. Go to the Ballistic website to flick through the entire book at
Ballistic Publishing.

Corel Introduces Corel® Painter™ X

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 16:59:00 +0000

Corel today announced Corel® Painter™ X, the latest incarnation of one of the best natural media centric software tools for digital artists. Painter™ X can now be preordered at Corel and Corel UK . New tools include performance improvements, new composition tools in the form of Divine Proportion and their powerful and innovative RealBristle™ Painting System that provides bristle level control over their organic painting and illustration tools. They've also made substantial improvements to the way Painter allows you to turn photos into works of art.

I've been a long time fan of Painter and looking forward to trying it out. For more information visit Corel. Corel® Painter™ X is available for $419.00 USD or UK£492.33 for the full version and as an upgrade from $219.00 USD or UK£257.33. I think the only complaint here is the relatively high price in UK £ when compared to the US Price and conversion rate.

Sam Haskins

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:35:00 +0000

Sam Haskins is a photographer whose work has graced the pages of many fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. A prize winning photographer and early imageer whose work features the human form, still lifes, travelogues, surrealist influences and graphically powerful compositions.

He was one of the first photographers to pioneer the production and publishing of photographic essays. His first book Five Girls - 1962, created quite a stir when it was published in the early 60's. His second book Cowboy Kate and Other Stories - 1964, was so well received it was awarded the Prix Nadar.

Sam has been at the forefront of the creative manipulation of photography and has been especially innovative in his use of non digital techniques. Sam is also a convert to digital and spends many hours working with Photoshop. I've been told he continues to shoot with his much loved Pentax 6x7 and scanning his negatives and transparencies with an Imacon and printing on an Epson 7800. Visit his site and blog for more information.

Marco Djurdjevic

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 20:56:00 +0000

Marco Djurdjevic is one of the current cover artists of Marvel Comics, he also works with Massive Black. His images are both powerful and highly imaginative, however he insists he that all his work is drawn entirely from his imagination. With over 10 years experience to draw from as a freelancer and concept designer, he is an example and an inspiration to many. He has produced covers recently for Blade, Daredevil, Spiderman and X-23. His personal website is currently being worked on, bookmark it, as it will definitely be worth visiting, his blog SIX MORE VODKA is active however. If you look for his work, search on google and you will find features and galleries on ConceptArt, CGTalk and Pen & Paper.

d'artiste—Concept Art, ISBN: 1-921002-33-6

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:58:00 +0000

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou, November 2006
Published by: Ballistic Publishing
Requires: N/A
MSRP: US$55.00 (softcover), US$145.00 (limited edition hardcover)

Many of the sci-fi and fantasy movies being made today, make extensive use of conceptual artists. These artists are extremely talented illustrators and industrial designers, whose understanding of light, color, form and space enable them to bring life to the concepts and visions of writers, movie directors and game creators. As any artist will tell you, one of the biggest challenges presented to them is the creation of art which represents another person's concept and vision. Concept artists created the visuals which helped to sell projects such as Star Wars, Blade Runner and The Matrix to the film studios. d'artiste: Concept Art, like other books in the series, primarily features the work of several prominent artists who work in the industry, in this case George Hull, Viktor Antonov, Andrew Jones and Nicolas Bouvier.

George Hull designed for the second and third Matrix films. Andrew Jones is creative director for the Massive Black Design Studio which he helped form after working at Industrial Light & Magic. Nicolas Bouvier worked on Alone in the Dark 4 and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Viktor Antonov conceptualized for Half Life 2, Renaissance and Skyland. The selected artists are featured with samples of their work and a few step by step examples which showcase their unique way of working. The book is capped with a guest gallery of artists whose work has been chosen and critiqued by the book's main contributors.

The range of media used and styles represented in this book is truly reflective of the range of work being created in this highly imaginative field. The skills required to create these grand visions from the imagination are very similar to those required by matte artists and illustrators. Some of the samples presented demonstrate that the artist has to be more than capable of rendering costumes, buildings, vehicles and other technologies. In many situations the artists also have to be able to make the concepts convincing enough to make believable the artificial world being created. The modern concept artist is required to be fluent in both analog and digital processes; capable of wielding a pen and mouse with equal dexterity.

Thumbing through the book you rapidly gain an appreciation of the range of talents presented therein, you'll also appreciate the love and care Ballistic Publishing has lavished on the books production. The printing and packaging all reflect the high quality that I've come to expect from this publishing house.

There is still however only one real weakness with this series of books and that is the lack of any hands on tutorials and the necessary CD containing in-progress versions of the tutorial examples. All this aside, I thoroughly enjoyed looking through and reading this excellent book. The field of concept art is one which creates visual clues for the creators of movies, games and other projects. If you're interested, you can also check out the work of Ralph McQuarrie and Syd Mead, two other famous conceptual artists who have influenced a generation of aspiring creatives.

Cons: No tutorial and content CD.

Pros: Well presented with excellent production values. The artists selected for this book are all top notch. d'artiste: Concept Art is an excellent reference book which will appeal to both amateurs and professionals. It is a must-have aimed at artists interested in the techniques and skills used to create art for movies and games. Highly recommended.

This review has been reproduced in its entirety from Kickstartnews.com

For more information about d'artiste: Concept Art visit Ballistic Publishing

Happy New Year to you all ...

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 19:02:00 +0000

As I've been a little lax in my maintentance of this blog in the last few months I thought I'd create a post with a few sites to provide you with some inspiration for the coming year.

Natalie Shau

One of my favourite Artists from DeviantArt She is originally from Lithiuania, but currently living and studying in London. You can find her dark, but often whimsical work at Natalie Shau and blueblack.

Robert Chang

Another awesome artist whose work has graced the pages of many Ballistic Publishing books and whose work sets a high standard for others to work towards. You can find his personal portal at Ethereality.

Ally Fell

Ally Fell is a 3D animator, modeller and concept artist who lives in Derbyshire in the UK. You can see his work at Darkrising.

Jaime Jones

Another excellent concept and fantasy artist whose images fuel the imagination. visit Artpad, his personal portal.

Henning Ludvigsen and Natascha Roeoesli

A talented norwegian artist who works with a games developer in Greece and a beautiful Swiss artist and photographer in her own right. A couple in real life but individually both very talented artists. Visit henningludvigsen.com and tascha.ch.

Rafi Adrian Zulkarnain

An indonesian based artist whose artwork reflects an interesting mix of cultural influences. Quite beautifully executed. Visit RAZ artWorks! for more examples.

The Fantastic Concepts of Thierry "BARONTiERi"Doizon

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:44:00 +0000

Anyone who is a fan of the work of contemporary concept artists are likely to have come across the cool work of an artist who calls himself "BARONTiERi" and whos real name is Thierry Doizon. If you head on over to his online portfolio barontieri.com you like myself will most likely spend a while perusing the 30 or so images in his gallery. You should also should take a good look at his process and goodies page, where there are some informative tutorials. His links page is also cool, with links to many artists whose works I enjoy. His work has appeared in a number of magazines, books and the Devil May Cry comic, it has also appeared in 3 of Ballistic Publishings, Expose books. If you want to read more also visit his Windows Live Spaces Blog.

Art, Design and Photography Emags

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 14:40:00 +0000

I've been finding a lot of free art, design and photography emags lately. Some of which you can download and some which are browser based. The beauty of these emagazines is that they use no paper and that they are really easy to use. I've been able to use mags in chinese without too much difficulty. Only frustration is that you need a computer to view them ... roll on umpc (Ultra Mobile PC).

Some of these mags, even emulate the whole page turning experience. I think however, that as cute as this is, it's only going to be a shortlived feature ... I soon grew tired of "turning" pages. I much prefer clicking in the corner or on a button. Check out 08SHOW, it's in chinese but should be fairly easy to follow.

Once I started exploring the site, I also came across a link to a photoshop weblog in German where there were some really cool articles. It's well worth exploring so here's the link.

Dave Stevens

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:58:00 +0000

For fans of Good Girl Art and nostalgic images Dave Stevens is undoubtedly one of the finest examples, and one of my favourite artists. His work has inspired a great many modern comic artists and illustrators. His work includes Rocketeer, Tarzan and Bettie Page. His images are evocative of the pulp comics of the 30's and 40's. His work speaks for itself, visit his website to see more of his work.

Exotique 2 Available for Preorder

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 13:57:00 +0000

Ballistic Publishing have announced the release of EXOTIQUE 2. This annual publication of the world’s most beautiful digital characters features 269 artworks by 168 artists from 38 countries. If EXOTIQUE 2 is anything like its predecessors, then it is a must have for your digital art library. EXOTIQUE 2 is published in 2 editions; a soft cover edition retailing for US$39 and a leather-bound Special Edition retailing for US$99. The first purchasers of either edition will receive 4 posters of Art from this excellent publication. For more information visit Ballistic Publishing.

The Art of Phil Noto

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 16:05:00 +0000

As a fan of comic art, there are many artists whose work I enjoy and collect. Phil Noto is a perfect example of just such an artist. He's produced covers interiors and illustrations for most major characters. His work on Danger Girl, Batman, Beautiful Killer and other characters has a very unique look. The illustrations are for some reason reminiscent of the 60’s and indeed very cool. I like his style, because, it, like many of my favourites, stands out and is immediately recognizable. His work fetches good prices in the auctions and is well worth a look. To see more of his work please visit notoart.com.

Character Designs - An Artists Resource

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:39:00 +0000

For the commercial artist, the search for resources and reference material is an unending process. Character Designs is a site I came across in one of my regular searches for resources. Hong Ly, who created the site, describes Character Designs as a "nexus for aspiring artists and professionals in the industry of design for movies, gaming, and animation." The site features interviews of professionals, galleries and plenty of reference material including; figures, textures for 3D models, and tutorials. I do like the fantasy and oriental focus of some of the character reference and photos. Drop by Character Designs today and take a look.

Barry Windsor Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 16:37:00 +0000

Like Michael Kaluta and Jeffrey Jones, Barry Windsor Smith is an artist who I was introduced to through an artbook called "The Studio." His art is very distinctive and is heavily influenced by celtic and PreRaphaelite art. His treatments of wolverine as Weapon X and Conan have remained some of the most admired works in the field of comics. For examples of his work please visit barrywindsor-smith.com.

Braid Media Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 20:20:00 +0000

Rick Berry and Darrel Anderson are digital artists whose work I have enjoyed for a long time. They both work in a style which features a strong technorganic quality. Rick Berry is an award winning artist whose illustrations have featured on the covers of many comics and fantasy and science fiction novels. His work can be found at his personal portal Rick Berry Studio and has been featured in books by Stephen King, William Gibson and Steve Perry.

Darrel Anderson is an artist whose digital work was introduced to me via the Atari where his digitally painted screen resolution images came to life. His work has always been innovative and pushed both artistic and technological boundaries. Both artists have contributed to many Movies, Role Playing Games and have even collaborated on some very interesting 3D Software called Groboto. Give yourself a treat and head on over to Braid Media Arts.

Intuos3 A5 Wide Reviewed

noreply@blogger.com (Mario Georgiou) — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 21:44:00 +0000

As an artist, working on the computer can be an especially frustrating and non-intuitive process. I know many of you have wished for a more natural interface and until you can afford to buy a Wacom Cintiq or they improve the responsiveness of Tablet PCs, I highly recommend looking at a graphics tablet like the Intuos3 A5 Wide from Wacom. I've just finished a review of this excellent unit and I found it quite impressive. If you wish to find out more, read my full review at Kickstartnews.