Meet the Artist – Evolvana

Taking illustration to the outer limits of what is epic and grandiose – meet Evolvana, a gamer and visual artist from France who will woo you with grandiose views of Middle Earth or behind the Wall. Vana  has spent a lot of time in New Zealand and Japan before returning to France during which time she also journeyed in games and books from the Thrawn trilogy and Final Fantasy to Game of Thrones and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Join us after the break as we talk about her travels, her own dark fantasy project and the do’s and don’ts of in game romance.

Fan Focus – 28 Impressions of Elizabeth From BioShock Infinite

24 artists show us their take on dark-haired Elizabeth from Irrational Games‘ BioShock Infinite. With styles ranging from mesmerizing realism to fresh and funky Art Nouveau, this gallery explores and celebrates the female lead of Creative Director Ken Levine‘s latest master-piece.

A little background (Scroll down if you just want to go straight to the gallery!)

>>>EDIT: The next Fan Focus has been announced!<<<

BioShock Infinite is probably one of the most important works of gaming this year. Regardless of whether you love or hate it, the discussions it fosters are relatively mature in terms of narration, artistic value even religion and violence in games. If a book or a movie sparks this kind of discussion of broad topics that touch upon the genre itself we would know that we are dealing with a culturally important piece of fiction. There are so many articles already written and still being written about the game and I would encourage you to check some of the ones I’ve linked here as food for thought. You are welcome to post links to your favourite reviews and opinion pieces below in the comments. We, however, are here to look at gorgeous fan art.

Desktop Fantasies – Eldt by Jordan Grimmer

It is high time for some graphical change for the box I spend all day on. This time I have chosen to go with something more tangible than a view of space: “Eldt” is a concept piece by Jordan Grimmer for an upcoming RPG called The Battle for Arcadia.

Immediately I saw this picture, I was reminded of Kashyyk and of Solace (Dragonlance). Also, at least style-wise, to some degree of Guild Wars 2. It’s there in the slightly fuzzy, suggestive feel as well as in the architecture and the inscrutable swaths of red cloth.

How cool would it be to explore this setting in a game though? I know I would be happy to pick one of those houses for my character’s personal housing!

Jordan has a personal blog with his work: Jordan Grimmer Art. It holds a tasteful collection of his work, in case you aren’t into schlepping through the greenish waters of deviantART. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.

“Eldt” is available for sale as a print from Blue Canvas at prices starting from $16.54.

If you have a favourite piece of Space Art, Sci-fi or Fantasy concept art you keep hanging on to share it with me in the comments below!