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Discworld
by Picasso ... an explosion of SF/F art books. 1) Chiaroscuro by Tim White (additional text:
Linda Bertram) It’s inevitable following publishing Paper Tiger’s desire to reprint out-of-print fantasy artbooks that ‘Chiaroscuro’ would be near the top of the list. Like Jim Burns’ ‘Lightship’, it’s a book I heard about but missed in the shops. The big question is does the book live up to its reputation? As a comparison to the recent artbook releases, there is a certain fascination to comparing 1988 to today in terms of presentation. Although each of the 150 works of art are named, you have to look at the index at the back if you want to identify the book if the title escapes you. These days, it’s more common practice to unite the info with the art and save endless checking. Very few of the paintings spread across the centerfold. This selection covers SF and fantasy with various bits of accompanying information like the Celtic legends source than what artist Tim White really thought about in preparing a lot of his work. Saying that, the first section shows some of the concept work before completing the final paintings. The Clive Barker fans of ‘Weaveworld’ are going to be more than happy with the cover enlargements showing the intricate weave detail. As to the art itself, although one can’t really
fault the work as cover design, I have to confess that compared
to his backgrounds, alienisque cities and aliens, his humans looked
stiff in comparison. That’s probably me being a little picky. One
can only hope that we see what Tim White has been up to in the past
12 years next. 2) The Josh Kirby Discworld Portfolio Just in case any of you Terry Pratchett fans think we’re neglecting him on this site, here’s the next best thing, a book containing the book covers. This isn’t just Discworld material but also from the Truckers books as well. All the pictures are landscaped so there’s no irritation that the crease is going to mess up you enjoying this book. Paper Tiger says this is a new format but as I didn’t see the first, I have nothing to compare it to. I can see a lot of you Pratchett fans buying two copies of this book. One to keep intact and the other to cut up and stick on the wall, which is what you do with portfolios. The only difference between this and traditional portfolios is that these are bound into a book. Josh Kirby’s art is extremely detailed with a beautiful technique and even if you haven’t read the books, you can’t help but admire his work here. The writing end of the book is basically summed up in a brief biography leading into how he got the Discworld assignment. As this is essentially a re-issue, the portfolio
ends around 1991. Presumably, there will be another volume covering
the later book covers. If you missed this one the first time around,
there aren’t any excuses this time. If your previous copy is looking
tatty, now is the time for a fresh one. Enjoy. 3) Painted Worlds by Jim Warren There is great joy in seeing books in advance of their release date from the nice Paper Tiger folk. I also have to consciously think as to which of the books would I go out and buy in the shops. Of the three reviewed here, this one has to be my real favourite. There’s something here for everyone. Oil paint artist Jim Warren shows versatility from book covers, commissions and portraiture. I hope Paper Tiger take it upon themselves to release his earlier book where there would be more of his book covers as I’d like to see what he did. It’s also apparent he has a passion for ecology with the abundance of horse and cetaceans paintings. He’s also one of the rare breed who writes his own text. I was a little concerned when he said L. Ron Hubbard was someone who inspired him and queried the artist himself. Jim Warren’s reply was for Hubbard’s non-fiction ‘Dianetics’ rather than his later Scientology. He freely admits not to being a fiction reader and more a music and movie person with no real writer favourites. That aside, the pictures are really worth looking at. Warren has a good eye for composition, colour and putting a picture together in, he describes, as a surreal way. Personally, I feel there is a strong metaphor undertone to his work and it pays to sit down and study a lot of the paintings to appreciate a lot of the sight gags within them. As you really can’t do that in a bookshop, you’ll have the perfect excuse to buy it. The most intriguing pictures for me were on pages 104-105, trying to track down all the horses and dolphins. It took a while but I did do it. Jim Warren recently e-mailed me a picture containing 7 hearts. Thank you kind sir. Visit his site as well as buy the book. There is an immense sense of fun with many of the pictures showing an artist his enjoys his work. A few of the pictures spread across the centre binding but not as bad as with previous Paper Tiger books. If I have to be overtly critical, then it would be for too many horse paintings. As much as they are interesting to look at, it does give the impression that is what he does most. Having said that, this book will be a popular addition to those who collect fantasy art collections. check out the publisher's website: www.papertiger.co.uk 4) Aliens And Alien Societies: A Writer’s Guide
To Creating Extra-Terrestrial Life-Forms by Stanley Schmidt Amazing what you can come across when looking for a different book. This is one of three books that publishers Writer’s Digest Books released around 1995. I’m tracking down the others although one is still in the process of being reprinted. As both writer and editor, I tend to have a vested interest in checking out research volumes of this nature. As a reviewer, I have to evaluate is it worth your bother looking at such a book. The general content of this book will give any aspiring writer some very useful guidelines and pitfalls when creating an alien species for stories. Some of it is likely to be very technical for the less-scientifically orientated writer and those in that category will have to decide for themselves how much use this book will be to them. I always take a great deal of interest in the bibliographies of such books and discovered I had already read many of the nonfiction list. This was also rather padded with chapters from the same books coming up frequently. It might have made more sense had the books been mentioned once and noted which specific chapters to read. As Stanley Schmidt was also editor of Analog at the time, it’s not surprising that numerous articles and stories from said magazine are also referenced. If you’ve been collecting Analog, then you’ve read them but as the years go past, I suspect it will be harder to get the inclination to locate them merely for odd bits of information. For the record, Schmidt is now the editor of ‘Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction’ in the USA. Prior to this, he has also had published several books of his own and draws upon them explaining how he created his own alien societies. Oddly enough, he doesn’t use that many examples from other SF authors. Whether this is because of permission or space is debatable. The subject matter is rather larger than the page count allows and can therefore only hint where to look. If you’re looking for a place to start, then this will look good to have on your bookshelf but I would also be looking at those Reginald Bretnor edited books in the bibliography and getting copies before everyone else realizes they are of equal worth as well. Check out website: www.writersdigest.com for more on this book. To buy now, try the SF/F coffee table and art books section. Next month: The review of ‘The Art Of Chesley Bonestell’ (pub: Paper Tiger. ISBN: 1-85585-884-3)). It’s just arrived and I can’t give it a decent read before the deadline. It looks a goodie and you’ll need mucho pennies. GF Willmetts FREE
SF MAGAZINE |
OTHER CONTENT - May 2001
Hot
pants and zoot suits - a short history of tight superhero costumes
in the movies Discworld
by Picasso ... an explosion of SF/F art books
Cool Beans or Dead Beans: can the comic barons cross onto the web? (OPINION) You
too can star in an animated SF flick. It may be a real short part
though
Art
for fantasy art's sake?
Just
how haunted is Mars?
Simon Says. 05/05/2001 |
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