Quantumscapes: The Art of Stephan Martiniere

by Stephan Martinière, Stephan Martinière

Following his previous book, Quantum Dreams, Quantumscapes is a stunning new visionary collection of sci-fi book cover paintings, commercial and film art, video game designs, and never before-seen artwork from the fantastic imagination of acclaimed artist Stephan Martiniere. 

Genres: Art

95 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Stephan Martinière is an award-winning French science fiction and fantasy artist, using his considerable skill and experience to morph from cartoonist, to concept illustrator, to art director.

As of 2008, Stephan Martiniere resides in Dallas, Texas and works at id Software on Rage.

* Complete list of his book covers.

Book covers were something that Stephan wanted to do for many years: “As a kid I was buying sci-fi books mainly because of the cover art. I was a huge fan of Chris Foss.” His first cover was for a story from Jack Williamson, 'Terraforming the Earth'.
“Doing book covers is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding thing for me”, says Stephan. “As an artist, book covers offer individual recognition. Coming from a background in movies and animation where everything is part of a huge machine, you have no idea where your work goes and how it’s being used. It’s rare when you can see it all on the screen. As an artist it’s important to be able to show people what you do and receive feedback. It validates your art and yourself as an artist. Book covers are exciting because they are “undiluted”.
CGSociety, Grand Master Award interview.

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the little description accompanying each artwork. It's good to be able to identify with the artist and the inspirations, emotions or thoughts invested in each work. In all truth, I should probably have given this 4 stars, but I was a bit disappointed in the fact that the book covers section was so small, in comparison with, for example, the section on game art. I love looking at different book covers, especially of books I've read, and comparing artist interpretations. Martiniere certainly has some excellent book covers out there, very few of which are actually showcased here. Still, this is worth a look if Sci-Fi art is your thing.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

This is the second art book of Stephan Martinere. The first being Quantum Dreams, which I reviewed a while back.

This book continues his portfolio on science fiction work. It includes prints that were created for books, film & commercial work and games. At the end of the book are a few pages on his personal work and a description of his design process.

While the book focuses heavily on futuristic cities and landscapes, a few creature designs are included.

The book might be a little thin but at least the quality is top notch.

This review was first published on parkablogs.com. There are more pictures and videos on my blog.