My love of bridges continues with this incredible set by Jonchen Pach of Germany, titled Autobahn. The autobahn was constructed in Germany to unify the country, create employment and help to improve economy. It has been been used in a propaganda as a symbol of strength and solidarity, and today is the second largest freeway system in the world. Jochen's capture of the heavy geometric shapes and strong contrasting light and shadow in this series almost feels like a piece of propaganda itself! I think he's perfectly captured this bridge and in doing so has maintained the notion of the autobahn as a symbol of strength and development. Check out Jochen's website here.
Ozan Turkkan has put together an amazing series of generative algorithmic/fractal computer art (sorry if I got that wrong). I don't know much about this fringe computer art, but I think the results are amazing. Check out the whole series on Ozan's behance page and website (it's an awesome website).
I found these beautiful shots which are part of a series on Faby Martin's behance page this morning. These two were my favourites from the series. The colour, depth and light are just outstanding. As usual I was attracted to the silhouettes contrasting against a vivid background, and I love the way the light reflects off the dust revealing the sign silhouette in the the second shot. Stunning work! Check out Faby's website here.
A couple of awesome pieces here by Jesse Braun. There are some awesome abstract 3D renders emerging in the digital art world. I always think of Autechre when I see this style of art, probably because a couple of Autechre's album covers have similar styled artwork. I always interpret this style of art as a sort of fusion between nightmares and future worlds. In this piece there's a great synergy between order and chaos, through a sense of 3D objects and strong perspective and and chaotic lines and jagged edges. There are strong feelings of aggressive energy and technology. The colour in these pieces is fantastic, and the distorted/displaced effects bring a great chaotic feel to the piece. Looking forward to seeing more.
Daryl Feril made great use of colour and layering in this energetic piece. The vector work itself is great here, borderlining on a little abstract and with a great sensation of action and energy. The colours beneath the vector work give the impression of an underlying meaning (perhaps looking into her soul?) and gives the piece great depth. Daryl has done an amazing job with such a limited colour palette. Nice one Daryl! Check out Daryl's behance and deviantart pages.
I found these shots by Agelkos Photography on behance this morning. The bridge shot initially caught my attention. I always like it when photographers capture industrial infrastructure as a silhouette. The dark shapes against a light sky often emphasise the intricate detail in the various shapes, frame works, fences etc. I really like how in this image the bridge appears partly as a silhouette and partly reveals its texture and surface detail. In both of these shots the bleak, lifeless colour and atmosphere makes this scene feel slightly removed from reality. I think it's hard to imagine that once these were in a more colourful setting perhaps during more prosperous (or even sunny) times. Check out Agelkos Photography's full profile here.
Thanks to everyone who voted for my piece The Together Effect for the Desktop magazine covers competition. I was lucky enough to get my work featured with 3 other pieces, from 250 submissions.
A friend sent me this cool little clip the other day. As a Batman fan I thought this very post-worthy. I can't decide which one I like the best – I think they're all cool. Thoughts?
David Merrique has put together this awesome illustration that looks like it could be the final shot in a creepy sci-fi film. When I first looked at this piece I was aware of the overwhelming sensational of complete hopelessness. It reminded me of scenes in sci-fi films where astronauts are flung into space with no control due to some disastrous mishap, which puts them on an unstoppable trajectory away from their ship knowing that they will die alone when they eventually run out of air. Horrible stuff, or beautiful horror? It seems the chap in this piece met his fate much faster, but dying alone in the cold, dark setting of space is uncomforting enough. I really like David's style here, the use of intricate hand drawn line work gives this piece a nice organic feel, that's quite pleasant to the eye. The blood floating in zero gravity is a nice touch, the red contrasting nicely with the cold blue surroundings. Check out David's folio and website for some more great illustrations.
I thought I'd post this piece by Carlos Patiño because of its awesome ferociousness and amazing detail. I really think the black eyes were a nice touch too. This is a deliciously dark piece of art, Nice one Carlos!
I spotted this beautiful piece by Kasiq Jungwoo on behance today. His use of pattern and texture with line drawing help to make this a really unique piece. Kasiq has tagged the piece with the words "mother" and "murder", which could help to explain the look of sorrow on the girl's face. Even though they're kept to a minimum I really like Kasiq's use and choice of colour. If it wasn't for the subtle warm hues here, the near absence of colour would give this piece a very bleak tone. This is yet another piece that I can easily see hanging on my wall. Check out Kasiq's behance profile, for similar themed/styled pieces. He's got a blog that's worth a looksy as well.
I found this piece by Gary McAllister on behance this morning. I just thought it was a great capture from a great film. The shot this piece was taken from is one of many classic Dark Knight moments. Gary's done a great job at recreating this shot, the colour, depth of field and detail all look great. It makes me want to watch the movie again. I think this would look great as a large scale print up on my wall. Check out Gary's behance profile here, there weren't many pieces when I last looked but hopefully he's got more on the way.
This piece by YLF Design reminded me of something from a Lovecraft story or a nightmare. It's an interesting mix of dark, threatening shapes and bright colours. typically the colours used here would infer warm and happy emotions, but in the context this piece they feel a lot more threatening – perhaps in a similar way that toxic organisms warn of their danger through brightly coloured shapes and patterns on their skin. YLF Design have a great website, check it here.
I spotted this awesome stationery by Moshik Nadav today after I went looking for some inspiration for a stationery project I'm working on myself. I'm always impressed by artists/designers that manage to push the boundaries on common objects/themes/subject matter into something completely fresh and unique – there are so many existing stationery designs out there – possibly hundreds of thousands, or even millions? The majority of which are clones of each other and completely lifeless (IMO). I also think it's awesome when something as mundane as stationery can be transformed into something kick-ass. The structure and colour are what really impressed me with this piece, there's a strong modernist vibe and no effects, gradients or trendy "design elements". According to his folio this set is for "the research center of the Hebrew Typography" which sounds pretty awesome itself. Moshik has an impressive behance folio with great diversity in his work. Check it.
Continuing on with my current vector obsession I thought I'd post these winners by David Seguin. In a similar way to another post a week or so ago these feel like they are part of a greater story (possibly the same one). Whether they are or not, I think this element brings a lot of life to these pieces. The characters feel like they have a purpose, and look determined. What makes these pieces feel like they're part of a narrative? I think essentially because these are the equivalent of action shots in the photographic world. They aren't posed characters, but engaged in some form of activity. I've always found action photos (featuring people) a lot more interesting than posed photos, and I think the same applies here. I think Davids execution here is excellent, his use of layering and depth of field bring these pieces to a new level and elevates them beyond the everyday vector art piece. Check out his behance profile here.
I spotted this piece by Zan Von Zed on behance this morning. I'm sure I've seen her work somewhere else before. She has such a specific style, and specifically her girls have such a unique look. As an artist whose work is all over the place with no particular style, I always appreciate artists whose work all feel like they're part of the same family. Perhaps one day there will be a Luke Morgan style, perhaps there already is. Anyway I thought I'd post Zan's work because it is awesome and feels like it's from a strange land that exists between dreams and childhood memories. I'm a sucker for pirates too. I'd love to see her do some darker themed work. A lot of her work is oil on wood which give the pieces a wonderfully organic and rustic feel. Zan has a great blog with lots of tasty treats here.
I thought I'd through this piece into the mix. This is another example of a great type treatment. Despite being almost completely abstract it's still quite legible and looks kick-ass. This was designed by Alex Di Giovanni, check out his behance folio.
From what I can gather Hendrik Gericke is typically a non-digital artist. A visit to his website reveals all sorts of oil and ink goodies. It seems here though that he's merged his talents with the digital world, with amazing results! The contrast of photographic image juxtaposed with ink drawing creates a wonderfully surreal piece. What initially caught my attention was the wonderful sense of depth – which is present throughout the whole series. Check out the whole series here.
A video artist on youtube by the name of TheFroschyankee has put this amazing video together for the Boards of Canada remix of Last Walk Around Mirror Lake. The union between moving footage and music here is near perfect. According to notes on the youtube page footage is from the movie Adrenaline Rush (The Science of Risk). Location: Eikesdalen (Norway). Check out TheFroschyankee's youtube site here, there are lots more tasty treats to be found there.
Matt Millette has come up with one of those classic "I wish I'd thought of it first" projects. As a kid I was always amazed and in awe of fighter planes/pilots, and in particular those from World War 2. I think once fighter planes were able to carry long range air-to-air missiles the idea of "dog fighting" ceased to exist, as did the classic/romanticised image of "the fighter pilot" (no dissing intended for today's fighter pilots *salutes*). I think my unquenchable thirst for commando comics as a kid helped to fuel my admiration for World War 2 heroes. Anyway, Matt has put together a great, nostalgic series that focuses on identification markings on World War 2 fighter planes. His execution of this series is excellent, he's carefully reproduced the texture and ware you would expect to find on a veteran plane. I find it really interesting that something quite unique and beautiful (although overtly masculine) can be taken from a machine designed purely for death and destruction. Check out the whole series here.
I found this piece by Rob Jacobs on behance this morning. It's a submission for a magazine with the theme "hustle" check out the whole project and rationale here. I think the use of colour here is outstanding, the feeling of motion is energising, and the texture and form are unique and fresh. Nice one Rob! Check out Rob's website.
Matthias Heiderich has put together a series of shots that explore colour in the urban landscape of Berlin. What I really like about this series is the simplicity of the work and the sense of nostalgia it induces. Most of the shots are quite minimal, with a strong focus on colour and composition. The simple solid colours exude a nice retro vibe, showing a few subtle signs of their age. Check out Matthias' website.
For those that don't know I am an avid video games fan. Sometimes I think this comes through in my art work. I thought this would slot nicely into friday afternoon (time of posting). So consider this some friday fun with smooth editing and some great tunes (mash up of pendulum and a track from requiem for a dream soundtrack). Youtube page here.
Nawer Nawoner has combined graffiti art with architecture/3D modeling to create something quite unique and inspiring. Please note that these pieces are not digital, they are wall paintings, completed using spray paint, masking tape and stencil. Check out the video above to see him working on another, similar project. I don't know about y'all but this makes me want to fire up C4D, print, spray and play.
I've posted QNQ/AUJIK's project Family Crysis because I really just wanted to write about them as a whole. I couldn't find much else to post, other than these images. From what I could gather they are a group that explores divine parallels between the environment and technology through art, and in particular 3D modeling and animation. I first found them via this video on behance. Unfortunately I couldn't post it here. What initially caught my attention here is the presence of future technology in a wilderness setting. I've always found this depiction quite surreal. Typically such technology is set in an equally futuristic urban setting. To me the wilderness is symbolic of a more primal or prehistoric landscape, where technology doesn't belong. QNQ/AUJIK however, has created a unique synergy between technology and nature, where both feel comfortable in each others presence. I think this is the basis of the philosophy for the group. I've found the whole topic intriguing and I recommend you check out their website here.
EDIT: I've since been pointed to the QNQ/AUJIK vimeo page. Which includes the video below. A lot of the videos don't appear to contain a narrative but instead are abstract pieces that weld a close relationship between nature and technology. I'm liking this stuff more and more each second. It's so damn fresh! Check out the vimeo page now.
This piece by Sunny Balliette, in my mind is the definition of awesomeness. It's a little dark, a little nostalgic, has some great layering and nice type work. The contrast between the back ground textures works really well – paint strokes and vector patterns. I think she's done well in composition too, the wolf's mouth sits really nicely underneath the logotype, with the "descenders" of the "T" and "K" hanging in a very fang-like way. The space image seems a little arbitrary, but I really don't know much about the project and even if the project isn't space related who cares, it works well and ads a lot of depth to the piece. Nice one Sunny! Check out Sunny's blog here.
Guillaume Fournier has put together this amazing piece, which to me sits in a world constructed from architecture, video games, and 80s. The level of detail and complexity here is amazing, every time I look at this piece I notice something new. Guillaume's website demonstrates that he's a talented artist across many different mediums.
I came across these posters by James O'Briant on behance this morning. They are part of a series that I recommend you check out. Each poster exhibits its own unique direction but collectively they feel like they're part of the same family – due to James' great style. What I like about these posters is that they look great and James hasn't relied on lots of cliché photoshop effects to make them look good. Instead they feel refined and well thought out. I've always been a believer in the value of minimalism. I think that minimal, well designed content produces a louder/stronger voice from the design. James' work is a perfect example of this. Zero clutter combined with strong imagery and type work has resulted in a beautiful series of posters. I also thought I'd mention that I particularly like how James has played with combining 2D and 3D spaces in the first piece (as well as all of that beautiful white space). Check out James' website here.
Neko Zhang has got a great illustration style going on here. It slots in somewhere between realistic art and more comic styled art. I think the soft skin tones contrast really nicely with the heavy line work and give these pieces a really unique feel. I like how these have an almost unfinished feel to them, giving them a lighter/more fun tone. Awesome work by Neko Zhang, and a perfect addition to my current illustration/vector binge.
Pino Lamanna has posted a series of awesome/experimental logos on his behance page. As far as logos go this is the sort of work I'd be happy doing all the time. He points out that some of the work is just experimental stuff that he's done in his own time and others are for actual clients. I recommend checking out the whole set. NOW.
