Normally when I pick up a book about Sci Fi or Fantasy art, I get one of two things: curvaceous women in chain-mail bikinis or 150 pages of spaceships. So for me, Sci-Fi Art Now was quite the find.
The book starts out with an foreword by veteran sci-fi artist Chris Foss and an introduction by the author, John Freeman. Foss gives a personal history on his career, where Freeman’s perspective is as an editor, writer, and fan.
But the real story in an art book is the pictures, and Sci-Fi Art Now is really top-shelf.
First, there’s the way it’s arranged. There are seven chapters of art, each focusing on a particular type of subject; there’s a section on robots dubbed “Radical Robots and Electric Dreams,” a chapter on “High-Tech Warfare”, and of course the women of the future titled “Sirens of Sci-Fi.”
Each entry is tagged with not only the title and author’s name, but also information on how the piece was created and a blurb from the artist. Quotes vary from anecdotes on why the piece was created, its inspiration, or techniques used in its creation.
I don’t recall reading an art book that gets the artist input on the piece, and it added an extra layer for me to appreciate.
Then there’s the variety; you’ll find everything from black and white line art to fully rendered 3D, super realistic to animated or impressionistic. Some of the pieces are book covers, others from comics, promotional art, commissions, or even something the artist worked up to test a new technique.
There’s no feeling of seeing the same thing page after page, which (sadly) is my normal experience.
Finally there’s just some fantastic looking art, and each artist has a website or two to check out if you find someone in particular you want to see more of.
Definitely recommend this book for any fans of of the genre.
★★★★★ 5/5
This review is based on the hardcover edition of Sci-Fi Art Now, ISBN 9780062005571.
