Digital Art Rant

I have held my tongue long enough. I can't take it any more. If I see one more major sci-fi/fantasy art book cover by Steve Stone I'm going to seriously freak out. I don't understand how an art director can look at that work and think it is worthy of a cover. It's all a horribly put together photoshop mess consisting of images and photos stolen off the internet and other clip images. Lay down a couple of filters and adjust some hues and BAM, it's done.

I used to love looking at genre book covers. That's where I discovered Frazetta, Whelan, the Hidebrandts, and lots of other greats. Now it makes me sick. It's about 75% photo montage bullshit. This isn't really even a rant against digital art. I love the covers Lockwood, Stawicki, and Justin Sweet do, and they're digital, but then again those guys can draw and paint. The funny thing is, I don't even want to do book covers, so this isn't a jealous rampage. I'm just totally pissed that one aspect of my visual inspiration has been ruined by AD's who don't know shit about what looks good. How the hell do these people get and keep their jobs? It's a mystery to me.

On a completely different note, if you are looking for some visual inspiration pick up Terada Katsuya's Rakugaking. He is my hero.