Scale Study No1: Stellar bodies scale comparison

Have you ever wondered what is the scale relation between the planets of our solar system? Better still, have you ever wondered what is the scale relation of our sun with other distant stars? Well it's mindblowing! Check it out below!

Transformers - The Movie

This is not the cult original animated movie released in 1988 but a remake of the transformers franchise by Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. It is very stylish and strays quite a lot from the original cartoon which is a bit lame by today's standards. It is a wonderful thing that Hollywood is farming the 80s and all the comic super hero movies can't be bad. Lets hope they keep the standards high. In the case of transformers it seems ILM has done a spectacular job with the effects and the robot designs. They look very futuristic and not at all blocky and unimaginative!

Behold the Autobots!

Behold the Decepticons!

Hurrican

Hurrican has been released by Poke 53280! The long awaited Turrican clone made by fans is absolutely awesome! It is an excellent, very balanced platform game with great graphics and sound. They have paid tribute to the original in the best possible way. It brings back some memories from the old Amiga 500!
Click on the banner and enjoy!

Juan Gimenez and the Metabarons

The first appearance of the Metabarons was in 1981 in the Incal, a comic created by Alejandro Jodorowsky and illustrated by legendary Jean Giraud better known as Moebius. The figure of the last Metabaron, the Nameless, the greatest warrior the universe had ever known was a strong element of the epic story of the Incal. 20 years later Jodorowsky decided to narrate the Metabaron's background with Juan Gimenez illustrating the comic. Gimenez is an Argentinian illustrator that has also created the beautiful work known as The 4th Power. His visual style is stunningly beautiful with great attention to detail and facial expressions. It was decided to present the story of the last Metabaron by going back to the history of his family. We are given the lives and deaths of 7 generations of warriors and how the Metabarons came to be renowned in the universe before we encounter the Nameless. It is a violent trip full of passion, glory, death and unusual births. Jodorowsky weaves a universe that is stunningly complete but at the same time surreal and unexpected. Each generation of warriors becomes mightier than the last and the pinnacle of the family's power shows in Nameless. His story ends abruptly only to be continued in The Incal, where we find out about the fate of the metabaron and the whole universe. That is another story though, that of PI John Difool...

The Hyperion Cantos

Hyperion is the 1990 Hugo award winning novel by writer Dan Simmons. It is the story of seven people and their experiences with the mysterious being called the Shrike. Each one of the seven, the priest, the soldier, the poet, the scholar, the Templar, the detective and the consul provide their tales that combine into an epic and surprisingly poetic storyline. Masterfully written, original and devoid of clichés Hyperion greatly influenced the science fiction genre in the early 90s. Simmons was awarded the Hugo, a prestigious award that legends such as Isaak Asimov, William Gibson, Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick had been awarded before him. His poetic vision was just beginning to shine.

Urbanism in Star Wars

Science fiction has predicted the future of the city in many different ways. There are extremities such as the frequent utopias/distopias and more realistic - even cynical - version of what is to come. Star Wars had been a landmark in futuristic city design not as much as in inventing the concepts of the urban sprawl or the megacity but as combining these elements to a coherent vision. In 1977 we were introduced to the desert spaceport of Moss Eisley, the most wretched hive of scum and villainy... Its architecture is both primitive and technologically efficient, with mud houses, rusty constructs and fully automated launch bays containing state of the art vehicles.

Next we are transported to the beauty of the Cloud City, a clockwork society that is relying in many ways on a very delicate balance. It is a utopian society that cannot really function and so it is abandoned immediately after its corruption. The visuals are stunning although the concept had been used before in Flash Gordon and has been used again repeatedly. Still in all mythologies there should be a city in the clouds!

Lucas' vision of the perfect city continues in the city of Naboo where we are presented with an archetype of renaissance urbanism integrated in a scenic, watery environment. High technology is discreet and it is not used in the urban fabric that is both vernacular and grand. The domed architecture can be referenced in the Roman Pantheon or the Byzantine Hagia Sophia. It is city that chooses tradition and tries to overcome the consequences.

Alderaan is in many ways similar to Naboo in that it is a peaceful society that tries to incorporate its urban fabric to the mountainous expanses of the planet. In contrast though it is a highly stylized, technologically advanced city, organic in form with sleek curves that resemble natural patterns. Futuristic vehicles show no contrast in this setting, they are extensions of the architecture. People appear blissful in their perfect society completely unaware that they will eventually be blown up by the megacity called the Death Star...

Coruscant and the Death Stars are probably the prevailing models of urbanism in the Star Wars mythos. They are the megacities planets covered completely in artificial structures or mechanical planet constructs. Essentially they are the center of power and the greatly exaggerated function of the city in society. That is the industrial city of course where machine rules over nature. It is a dystopian oppressive vision that has not yet been verified as possible. Still the mechanical planet of Coruscant is impressive in scale, visual power and is more familiar to modern society than the other city models that George Lucas imagined. Its imagery are influenced by the American Metropolis and the illustrations of Hugh Ferris. So is the Megacity the shape of our future? Tendencies tend to change...

Lebbeus' post-apocalyptic structures

Lebbeus Woods is trained as an architect and engineer. His forms of architecture derive from the deconstruction of forms and the shapes that occur out of natural disaster or war. He has published a lot of books on his experimental architecture. Anarchitecture is his best known work. It is a book describing his proposed social reforms that can be achieved through architecture. In any case Woods provides stunning visuals and is one of the messiahs of cyberspace and the new era.

Psygnosis Covers

When there were no computers to draw on, artists used to draw on traditional media like paper, ink and so on... It was quite a thing to do an impressive drawing! Painters are quite the cult figure and maybe they should not be appreciated by the size of their wacom tablet... I remember a series of nostalgic airbrush covers for the Psygnosis computer games. Atmospheric!

Dedication to Peter Elson

In the mid eighties I came across some of the illustrations by Peter Elson (1947-1998). He has become one of my heroes of sci-fi illustration. He contributed greatly to the golden age of space exploration in the 80's with his illustrations in the Terran Trade Authority books. His imagination transported a lot of explorers to magical and colourful worlds! He will live forever in our hearts!

http://www.innovari.it/peter%20elson%204.htm

Homeworld nostalgia

There are no words to describe the feeling of Homeworld from relic. It's a visual torrent that is based on a mystical storyline of ancient races and exile. You can browse most of the concept art and ship designs here. http://shipyards.relicnews.com/

For all believers be it Kadeshi, Kushan, Taidanii, Vaygr, Bentushi, Turanic!