science fiction

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Art Illustration

Whimsical Storybook Beasts and Birds Illustrated by Vorja Sánchez

Barcelona-based illustrator Vorja Sánchez depicts comically surreal storybook creatures that look like a cross between mutant dinosaurs and shadowy demons—but also captures the very lifelike spirit of birds and other animals. Working with a variety of mediums from pen and link to watercolor or spray paint, each piece is inspired by events in his daily life, an observation he makes while walking through the forest, or drawing from a recent stint living in Nicaragua where he organized painting classes for children and adults. Sánchez has just begun working as a full-time artist in the last few months and is currently wrapping up work on an illustrated book. You can follow more of his artwork on Facebook and Instagram.

Illustration

Digital Artist Mike Winkelmann Creates Daily Conceptual Illustrations Spanning Nearly a Decade

For over 9 years, graphic designer and digital artist Mike Winkelmann (aka Beeple) has endeavored to create a new digital illustration every single day. From abstract blobs of metallic goo to fully-realized science fiction landscapes, Winkelmann shares every creation he makes in an uninterrupated stream online via Tumblr, Facebook and elsewhere. While some pieces are more successful than others, he says the daily act of creation is less about producing consistently solid work, and more about working through ideas, quickly working through the bad ones, and learning new tools or methods. The vast majority of what he imagines simply defies explanation or genre, and themes change dramatically from image to image. Winkelmann shares more about his process and tools in this interview with iO9. (via Behance)

Art

“2001: A Space Odyssey” Viewed Through Picasso’s Dreams

Photographer Bhautik Joshi has managed to make the film 2001: A Space Odyssey into something even more terrifying, turning the 1968 Sci-Fi hit into an animation fueled by Picasso. Joshi ran the film through Google’s neural network, Deep Dream, a program that finds and enhances patterns within images through algorithmic pareidolia. This process often leads to the hallucinogenic appearance of even simple images due to the extreme over-processing that occurs in the network.

Joshi took this program a couple of steps further by teaching the system to interpret the cult favorite as a series of Picasso paintings, making it lean more expressionist than trippy. If you like Joshi’s edit of the film, check out more of his work with DeepDream (including an interpretation of Blade Runner) on his Vimeo. (via Sploid)

Illustration

Illustrator Simon Stålenhag’s Visions of a Technologically Dystopian Future

Swedish illustrator Simon Stålenhag (previously) depicts a uncomfortable collision of present and future where people much like us seem to confront a brave new technological reality. In his digital paintings children throw spears at terrifying drones, and people wander aimlessly in their yards while fully engrossed inside virtual reality helmets strapped to their heads, and sometimes there’s even a giant alien caterpillar. Each bleak snapshot is seemingly unconnected to the last but suggests a provocative story—for some reason I’m reminded of my favorite children’s picture book, Chris van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Stålenhag collected many of his own illustrations into a book titled Tales from the Loop, and many of his best images are available as prints. You can also find him on Tumblr.

Art Illustration

An Alien Planet of Candy-like Rocks and Plants by David Brodeur

As part of his Celestial Series, Chicago-based digital artist David Brodeur rendered an alien world filled with berry-like plants, glowing crystals, and candy shaped orbs that sprout from the ground. Despite their exotic designs, Brodeur relies on common colors of familiar fruits to create this Willy Wonka-esque habitat where you can’t help but want to reach out and gobble everything up. You can see more from the series on Behance, and he also posts a new digital piece each day on Instagram.

Animation

Wrapped: A Stunning Animated Time-lapse that Depicts Powerful Plants Reclaiming New York

There have been countless films set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic New York teeming with wildlife and overgrown with plants, both Planet of the Apes and I Am Legend come to mind. In this animated short titled Wrapped from Roman Kaelin, Falko Paeper and Florian Wittmann, we instead see the demise of the city as a vivid time-lapse that blends real footage, CG, and several of its own science fiction twists. The time-lapse begins with the death of a small rat that sets in motion the complete demise of the city’s human-made infrastructure that is quickly razed by super powerful vines. They share about the project:

“Wrapped” is a VFX driven short film by Roman Kälin, Falko Paeper and Florian Wittmann that combines Time Lapse Photography with CG to create a new reality. The short explores the effects of time and change focusing on the the world’s seemingly never ending cycles. The deterioration of one is the foundation for another. This fact takes on new dimensions when the unexpected forces of nature clash with the existing structures of our civilization.

Wrapped was originally released in 2014 and was screened at over 100 festivals picking up tons of accolades along the way. The film was made viewable online for the first time ever today. (via Vimeo Staff Picks)