Art Showcase - Storytelling

For the following three images, two things are immediately noticeable. Those being scale and the variety in biome. I love works that portray the people inside, essentially the characters we'd be projecting onto, as these small little beings in this giant world, full of danger, beauty and more.

The 1st image is insanely cool, seeing our two characters perhaps trying to sneak by the giant arachnid creature, with one of our characters exchanging acknowledging glances with it. A situation from which we aren't sure of the events that transpired next.

The other pieces also bring their own sense of wonder, with the 2nd being them wondering through some type of dark, fungal swamp. Or the 3rd one with them running through shallow water alongside these giant birds, perhaps they could be trying to get on top of one and ride it in the sky, who knows.

The last one switches up the perspective to a more close up shot of our two characters. The two of them stopping to look out into the sunset in the distance, as they stand between ruins surrounded by water turning scarlet red due to the sunset. We also get to see our characters better. A wondering duo of a warrior and mage women. Maybe their journey has a specific goal, or perhaps they are simply wondering a world that is as mysterious to them as us, just getting by together. Either way, absolute banger pieces.

In this one we seem to have shifted to a more desolate, post-apocalyptic type of world. In this desolate white land we see before us, we can spot in the background structures that seem to be cities/towns. Seeing as the main subject here is a woman donning some type of futuristic gear, we can assume some sort of life, though endangered, is still surviving, aided by various technologies.

I like when futuristic gear is given it's own 'twist'. As in it doesn't really conform with the typical cyberpunk or super machinist aesthetics. The technology here looks advanced and clean, yet the fluttering design on the wings, the old looking weapon, the inclusion of cloth on the outfit, exclusion of footwear and the exposed machinery on the retro-looking exoskeleton on the ship all give the piece a feel similar to that of the fallout games. Mixing aspects of current, past and 'future' technological aesthetics to reach a specific look.

Also. The comment on this one mentioning Nausicaa made me watch the movie. I don't regret it. Some absolutely amazing scenes in it. I highly recommend checking it out if you like this piece.

This one is a cool design. I like the various little details and machinery all around, especially focused around the arm and torso. But, I also think the design on the helmet thingy, resembling that of a fish and it expanding to the back with what resembles the fish's gills and skeleton looks really cool and neat.

I want to comment that this artist has multiple images that seem to coexist within the same universe as the others, and all of them being really cool. This image, for instance, gives us plenty to think about. Like the nature of this interaction between the mysterious masked creature and the robed person in the back.

Taking in all the artist's other works, perhaps the robed person is part of some type of group, maybe tasked with taking care of these apparitions, if they even are that. From some images we can maybe guess that it's aliens, perhaps a futuristic government experiment whose effects have started seeping out, abnormal entities, a combination of these or maybe something entirely different. I like how many options there are and how invested you can get in the world they've drawn up.

I originally wanted to include this artist's works in the previous art showcase, but due to circumstances I couldn't there, so here they are now. I really like their work. You should check their stuff out.

This one is simple but it leaves a lot of options. We see a woman sitting on a branch of a tree. Due to the amount of fog, we cannot even judge her elevation. But despite the lack of visual clarity, she seems to be holding a stick in her hand, perhaps used for some type of hunting or foraging. The design of the subject is also interesting. Her outfit taking inspiration from (and I could be wrong) Eastern European folk clothing.

Overall the image brings a characterization to the daily life of this woman and her people and what their lives might be.

The context of the 1st image here isn't really vague in its depiction, with it depicting a terrifying encounter with some nightmare-ish creature in a dark dungeon in some souls-like video game. Apart from the super cool scenario that is at the center of this work, I like when these 'inside of a video game' pieces also pay attention to the UI design. The design on the health and stamina bar is super cool.

To continue with the video game theme from the previous one, this piece looks like some really cool, Pontiff Sulyvahn-esque design. The contrast in the designs of the knights is also cool. The white knight is smaller, wearing torn up white clothing and wielding a rapier, usually suggesting an enemy that is swift and elegant in their attacks.

While the knight in the red is bigger in size, donning chains on top of his red drapes. He also wields a much bigger shield and sword. The overall design is so cool. It just looks like a boss fight that would be as fun and delightful as much as horrifying and infuriating to play.

I love the worldbuilding context that's added with the last two images, but what caught my attention when I initially saw these were the first two images. The 2nd image specifically reminded me of Death Stranding. The first two images give me this idea of these people, who for some reason or another are placed in these small environments that are then secured and placed within a cocoon, to then be transferred to another location.

Now, these illustrations are in actuality a part of a comic anthology that has an active kickstarter, so the above commentary is all just my ramblings, but it goes to illustrate cool design. The kickstarter itself is closed and has thankfully far surpassed its initial goal, so if you're interested you can be on the lookout for it's release. Link to website

This one just FUCKS. I love essentially everything about this one. First, the scene that is depicted. We have this absolutely insane cosmic god-horse being either worshipped or summoned by some kind of lovecraftian space monk. The designs are absolutely phenomenal. I love that despite the harsh, heavy, white outer shell we see, the creature has these crevices all over its body. And in the end, we also see that on the inside it is probably made up of an innumerable amount of these long, thin worm-like tentacles, which at places form these membrane structures on the creature, something that seems to persist within the monk as well.

The shading is also absolutely phenomenal. We not only have the contrast between the light and the dark here, but the sky itself is at a contrast. The sun rising yet the land still dark, just like the dark abyss that is the sky. The use of the colors, specifically the use of the desaturated green-ish yellow in the sky and the green/red hues that persist everywhere in the painting, all help in bringing this uncanny, corrupted vibe to this depiction of cosmic horror before us.

This may be biased, maybe not. I personally really like depictions of adventures, specifically the travel aspect of these adventures. I like when the focus is brought specifically to the actual process of getting from A to B, and the many stops that may or may not happen along the way. Here we see a group of people, armed and wearing backpacks, traversing a harsh, snowy and mountainous landscape.

The reasons for their current situation remain open to interpretation, which I don't at all mind here. A great deal of what makes all of these works good is their openness. They leave you with the opportunity to daydream your own story and world around the information that's given to you.