The Insane Illustrations Of Xiao Botong

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Xiao Botong is the type of foreign illustrator that strikes fear in the hearts of fledgling artists- With an extensive background in fine arts followed by a seamless transition into digital arts, the 29 year old Taiwanese illustrator is a veritable juggernaut of talent. What I particularly am fond of is his very understated usage of saturation in his pieces, which show an incredible sense of restraint when it comes to coming up with palettes for his sweeping fantasy illustrations.

Artists that we've featured in the past like the incredible Zhong Fenghua with his epic Journey to the West pieces and Jian Guan come to mind  when checking out Xiao's work. They all share a similar love for historic Chinese mythology and folk art, which they translate into some absolutely stunning work that showcases the best of what modern Chinese illustration has to offer. More of Xiao's incredible work after the break. Enjoy.

The Art Of Asuka III

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Asuka III (Patipat Asavasena) is an illustrator hailing from Thailand, and probably our first glimpse at the countries 'Thainime' scene, which seems to have some very interesting characteristics of it's own. Pati's work is definitely inspired by the types of aesthetics we're accustomed to seeing from the Japanese anime, but he puts a much more painterly twist to his pieces.

Pati's pieces mostly feel like comic book covers, thanks to his choice of retaining a more western format compared to Manga, with their boxier, denser 5x7.5" format. Just like with young artists hailing from east Asian regions, it's cool to see how they interpret one of Japan's greatest exports, the anime art style into something that's their own. If you've been looking at artists from that particular region on a more granular scale, you start to notice some truly curious trends with their stylistic leanings. More of Asuka III's work after the break.

The Art Of Jacob Rebelka

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Straight out of the not so well known Polish comic scene comes the work of Jacob Rebelka, a 23 year old freelance artist and illustrator with a really awesome style to boot. Unlike most comic artists these days, Rebelka's work is still mostly grounded in analog mediums- Pencils, pens and acrylic paints, offering his work a more 'tangible' feel compared to most digital work we run into.

 You can see the texture of the paper he's working on, the smudges and mistakes that are left over following a lengthy production of a piece of art, the accidental folds and crinkles on his canvases. Instead of erasing them after scanning up his pieces, they become an integral part of his work.

While a majority of his pieces are firmly within the realm of scifi, he occasionally dabbles in fantasy work as well outside of his comic duties. Rebelka's been nominated with plenty of accolades in Poland for work on influential local comics like Oskar and Red Dwarf (Unrelated to the scifi series). More awesome pieces after the break.

The Art Of Chris B. Murray

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Chris B. Murray is a prolific Philadelphia based artist/illustrator originally hailing from upstate New York. As a fulltime freelancer he's kept himself busy contributing his illustration work to publications/orgs including the New Yorker, IAm8Bit, Machinima and many others, as well as a copious amount of shirt design work and album covers.

Murray's style has a wide range, with an affinity for both analog and digital mediums that gives some of his pieces a slightly retro illustrated vibe. With an affinity for illustrating anything from femmes to tributes for shows like Breaking Bad and videogames like Crystal Dynamic's recent Tomb Raider reboot, his versatility will probably keep a healthy stream of work coming his way for years to come.

The Colorful Art Of Mintchoco

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Mintchoco's colorful work literally bursts off the page, with some really cool saturation usage that strangely enough doesn't overwhelm the rest of her images. Inspired by some truly interesting illustrators, including Dutch children's illustrator Dick Bruna (Best known for Miffy) and pop artist Keith Haring, you can see where she gleaned bits and pieces of her style from.

With a nice mixture of original art and fanart from franchises including Metroid, The Powerpuff Girls and Pokemon, her vibrant, summery gallery of work is truly satisfying to check out. More of Mintchoco's pieces after the break.

Gallery Nucleus Teases Some Imagery From "Heroes In A Half Shell - A TMNT Tribute"

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LA's Gallery Nucleus is currently gearing up for the premiere of their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exhibit, and we've actually stumbled into a few amazing images floating around on Tumblr from the likes of AwesomeRobo faves Reyyyy and Sachin Teng.

They both created some fantastic takes on the entire TMNT squad, Krang, Master Splinter and a few others. The exhibit will feature over 60 pieces of tribute art and will launch July 12th and run till August 3rd, so if you happen to be in LA be sure to check the show out! And as a full disclaimer, this has nothing to do with the Bay produced reboot, and is sponsored by the Nickelodeon CG show. Check out Sachin's awesome pieces after the break!

The Fantastic Scifi Worlds Of Arthur Haas

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Arthur Haas started off his art career 19 years ago, originally pursuing a career as a photographer at the Art Academy of Hague before switching to painting to properly capture the imagery floating around in his head. As any artists starting off, he faced the same frustration that many up and coming artists stumble into- Being unable to translate ones vision onto a canvas due to lack of technical skill. However persistence and practice over the years paid off, and now Haas has a gallery of some truly amazing scifi work.

Focusing mainly on environmental pieces, Arthur's pieces capture expeditions to fantastic, alien worlds rich with unfamiliar imagery and shape language. While his ship designs remind me of Sparth's work, the general vibe in his pieces is generally retro, beckoning back to the amazing retro scifi illustrations by Roger Dean (Of Psygnosis fame).

Haas' work is regularly exhibited in his hometown of Amsterdam, and he regularly creates covers for scifi books and pitch work for various indie films. Check out more of his awesome scifi pieces after the break.

The Illustrations Of Tadahiro Uesugi

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At a first glance, Tadahiro Uesugi's work resembles more of the type of exploratory concept art pieces you'd see in a Pixar or Dreamworks art book. Long, elongated femmes that seem pulled straight out of a fashion designers book of ideas wandering about some truly European looking locales, either on their way to a rendezvous or simply sightseeing.

While on a first glance his pieces might seem a little light on detail, Uesugi's pieces showcase a masterful understanding of light and color all around. Over the last few years he's been privileged enough to have his work showcased internationally, as well as contributions to France's Elle fashion magazine and work on some of Laika's features, including promotional artwork for Coraline. Check out more of his fantastic work after the break.

The Art Of Hooook

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Hooook, aka 오우진 (Ohwoojin) is a South Korean illustrator with a fantastic painterly style prevalent throughout his work, mixed with a moody aesthetic that emphasizes selling an atmosphere above all else. His work is filled with mythological overtones with pieces dedicated to mermaids, minotaurs and shape shifters, although none of these pieces present these concepts in a way that's familiar.

Quite opposite, there's an dark overtone to all his work- Characters faces are buried in darkness, subjects have their backs turned to the viewer, and an unnatural light seems to occupy the spaces that these creatures inhabit. Yet those choices are what make his retreading of such familiar concepts so refreshing..Simply presenting them in a different light goes a long way. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

The Awesomely Stylized Art Of Mike Bear

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Ever see an artist do a complete 180 on their style and really hit a solid stride? I kind of get the feeling that's the case with Mike Bear, a concept artist and illustrator that I've followed for a few years now. Sometime around the middle of 2013 there was a major shift in his work, which went through a period of feeling like it was experimenting with a more common realistic style.

I still remember the day he submitted Ancient Ravenskye (Above) last July, an environmental piece which really blew me away with it's amazing usage of color. Since then it's been a stylized path throughout, and he's been absolutely killing it. Mike has worked with clients include Rockstar Games, Popcap, Electronic Arts, Hasbro, One Pixel Brush, Big Red Button Games, and Lolapps. Check out more of his work after the break!

The Colorful Characters Of Andres Ariza

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Andres Ariza goes by the artist name of 'Ariza Maquinita,' a reference to the two sides of his artist persona. On one hand, Ariza represents the quiet artist who appreciates the arts, videogames and film and draws inspiration from them. Maquinita is the machine that brings the vision and execution to the table, obsessively doodling and continuously creating new worlds and characters.

With a persona like that, you can imagine that Ariza's work has a definite wild side, and I absolutely see that. Colorful, over the top characters with a penchant for wild street fashion make up the repertoire of Ariza's stable of creations. And it's not hard to picture these characters inhabiting the likes of wild animated Nike commercials, games similar to Jet Set Radio and plastered on colorful fashion advertising-The clean vector look, crazy color palettes and designs give this group a certain, refreshing pop that nearly seems wasted in a 2D image. More of his fun designs after the break!

The Photorealistic Art Of Doug Bloodworth - Snacks, Comics And Nostalgia

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Doug Bloodworth is a definite card carrying member of the photorealism movement, but thanks to his choice of subject matter he's managed to captivate a much wider audience than your typical still life artist. Doug's work features junk food, comic books, games and toys that were prevalent in a pre-internet era, and it's painted so damn well that it typically fools viewers into thinking that it's a photo.

The inspiration to go down this path came from now deceased sculptor Duane Hanson, who was famous for his incredibly life like sculptures of everyday people. When Doug was younger he actually walked up to one of Duane's sculptures of a security guard in New York and asked him where the restroom was. The experience had a lasting effect on him that ultimately shaped his painting career.



Currently recognized as one of the premier photorealistic painters in the international community, Bloodworth continues to do what he loves, and everyone loves the unorthodox direction he's taken. Some of the content present in his work is drawn from a period before I was even born, but it's not hard to see where people get that nostalgic connection to his work from. Check out more of his amazing photorealistic pieces after the break!

The Art Of Shinku - Mechatopia

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Shinku is a Tumblr user who's been on a scifi kick since he started, and doesn't seem intent on stopping anytime soon. And the best part is, he's improving with every piece he does. Ranging from some truly creative scifi suit concepts to more environmental pieces, I get the feeling that Shinku is definitely employed in the gaming industry to some extent, but simply choosing not to share that information publicly.

Not that I blame him, being a concept artist on a popular project can lead to a lot of unwanted attention (Not a good thing if you're an introvert). Sometimes it's cool to just be anonymous and let your work speak for itself. More of Shinku's scifi goodies after the break, folks!

The Art Of Kondo

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The piece titled Ray's Dream (Pictured above) stopped me in my tracks when it popped up online. It had been a while since I'd seen anyone use negative space to such a cool effect, but Fukuoka based illustrator Kondo knocked it out of the park. Negative space refers to the space around and between a subject, and if you check out the treatment he did on this warrior's Hakama (Samurai robe), it's literally the same color as the background, but our mind fills in the blanks thanks to the implied dark sleeve and wrap covering her chest. When pulled off correctly, this effect gives illustrations a highly designed, graphic edge.

Kondo occasionally experiments with more painterly subject matter, but he mostly excels with highly limited color palettes, which result in some truly bold pieces that excel in a 'less is more' fashion. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

The Colorful Art Of Bloody Pepper

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Bloody Pepper had me fooled. We originally ran into her work on Japan's 2chan boards, and considering her style it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that she was part of the burgeoning Japanese illustration movement. Not the case. Bloody Pepper is actually a Mexican artist who's been around since 2004/2005 and has successfully assimilated into a whole slew of international art communities, where her art enjoys plenty of praise. Ranging from Pixiv to Deviantart to Tumblr, I feel like I've run into her art multiple times over the years.

How to describe her art? Eastern influenced, colorful, ornate, experimental. As we've mentioned many times before, this hybrid style that's been emerging in the US with young illustrators is a really cool mix of east meets west, a mix that I feel could be traced back to Korean concept art trends (Which had a pseudo-European influence thrown in).

I really loved looking through all her work, and if you're a Game Of Thrones fan, you'll get a kick out of her take on Arya Stark and her beloved blade, 'Needle.' Check out more of her work after the break.

The Art Of Maekake

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Bravely Default, Shadow of the Colossus, Final Fantasy Tactics..These are just a few games that have been beacons of light in the at times creatively tenuous gaming scene. Bravely Default was pretty much the unofficial Final Fantasy reboot we'd all been waiting for, and is visually probably one of my favorite titles I've had a chance to enjoy in years. So when I ran into the work of Maekake, I initially thought I'd hit the gold mine- Akihiko Yoshida's very own art gallery..Until I saw the wide variety of tribute art to the franchises I listed above.

Maekake provides a very good emulation of these different games' distinct art styles, channeling Yoshida's sketchy style and muted color palettes, Team Ico's more moody look and Tactic's ultra stylized characters- the highlight being an awesome portrait of Ramza that could pass as official concept art.

Shame that he currently only resides as a hobbyist, as I feel that he'd make an awesome concept artist if he wanted to with his versatility in stylistic emulation. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!

"Edge Of Tomorrow" Concept Art Reveals Some Surprising Details

Edge Of Tomorrow has been out for two weeks now, so it seems safe to finally pull the curtains on some concept art. It's been slowly trickling out, with some massive releases by industry concept artists Kev Jenkins and Tim Browning, who have worked on features including World War Z, 47 Ronin, Thor 2- The Dark World just to name a few. For anyone wondering, the movie was pretty decent- kind of resembling a mashup of Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers, in the best way possible.

Some of the early concept art revealed some truly curious information, including this pitch image above with a different name- All You Need Is Kill. This prompted a little research, which brought up some truly surprising information about the origins of Edge Of Tomorrow's intriguing concept.

The Art Of Fenryk

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Awesome art find! Fenryk is the alias for Efrain Farlas, an amazing artist and illustrator currently employed in the animation industry - Where she currently enjoys working as a color stylist on Steven Universe and an art director for Bee & Puppycat.

Her colorful art reflects a deep understanding of color, executing some very complex yet always harmonious color palettes in her work. Farlas' work consists mainly of awesome fanart and tribute pieces, including an absolutely amazing (And adorable) Bayonetta/Okami mashup that you can check out after the break alongside other really cool pieces.

The Art Of Ranbararu

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Ranbararu is a Japanese concept artist and illustrator hailing from the Chiba prefecture, and his work brings back memories of what I like to call the 'Good ole days' of Capcom. The days in which Street Fighter 3 - Third Strike was the hottest thing around and Capcom didn't shun some of their more creative and niche franchises like Breath Of Fire, Megaman and Rival Schools. The concept art coming out of the studio back in Capcom's heyday was really loose but always cool.

Ranbararu channels that vibe, with plenty of artwork that emulates that retro Capcom look and level of stylization that the studio had at it's prime. Speaking of which, Udon is planning to release the Art of Capcom: Complete Edition book which will contain art from that era I'm referencing (Late 90's, Early 2000's), so I'd recommend picking that up when it's released on July 23. More of Ranbararu's work after the break!

The Art Of Colie Wertz - Scifi Goodies

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A 16 year veteran of the film industry with lengthy gigs at companies including ILM, Image Movers Digital and The Orphanage, Colie Wertz has spent a good chunk of his time working on countless movies before transitioning to a more freelance oriented role.

It's not too hard to figure out where Colie Wertz has been getting a lot of inspiration from by looking through his recent work- The Wipeout vibes and Dust Brothers style typography are front and center in his awesome scifi pieces. The bold splashes of color, stylish logos and product placements emblazoned all over the ships and protagonists in this colorful world..It's all got a really familiar scifi vibe that I truly enjoyed checking out.

Technique wise it's a good mix of 2D, 3D and photo bashing techniques- All the typical tools employed by any concept designer in the feature film industry in this day and age. Check out more of his awesome work after the break!