Week 2 of the Megastructures Kickstarter

So we just finished week 2 of the Megastructures kickstarter, and we passed a bunch more goals. 

We surpassed stretch goal #2 ($20,000) and so everyone who buys a book now gets a free pdf copy with their order as well. 

Then we blew past stretch goal #3 yesterday ($25,000), and so now everyone who contributes to the kickstarter will get their name in a special thanks section at the end of the book.

And we're well on our way to stretch goal #4, which will be a megastructures postcard included with every book, a random 1 of 6 possible.

Thanks to all who have pledged so far, and for those who haven't, feel free to check the book out here!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artofsoulburn/megastructures-the-visual-encyclopedia-book-project

- Neil

Megastructures Shell World 1

 

A Shellworld would be an artificial planet made up of nested spheres, like a Russian Matryoshka doll. Each sphere would be called a shell, or level, like a floor in an enormous skyscraper. Shellworlds could have a single layer, or dozens of layers.

The shells would be held up by enormous towers, which could also serve as elevators for movement between levels, and could pump out waste heat to the upper layer.

Each shell could be set up to have a completely different environment and atmosphere in order to accommodate different lifeforms on the different levels.

And if you like this sort of artwork, please check out my new book project "Megastructures: The Visual Encyclopedia" here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artofsoulburn/megastructures-the-visual-encyclopedia-book-project

Week 1 of the Megastructures Kickstarter

So a lot has happened in the week since we started the kickstarter for "Megastructures: The Visual Encyclopedia". First off, we fully funded ($10,000) in a day, which we couldn't be happier about! Then we blew past our first stretch goal ($15,000), and are well on our way towards stretch goal #2 ($20,000).

For those of you who have already pledged, thank you so much for making this possible! For those who haven't pledged, this is your chance to pre-order the book. While we will likely have a couple of extra books for conventions after the kickstarter is done, stock is going to be super limited. So basically, if you want to be sure to get a copy, join us in the kickstarter!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artofsoulburn/megastructures-the-visual-encyclopedia-book-project

Here's a bunch of never before seen artwork from the book, and a few other odds and ends you may find interesting. Thanks again to all who pledge, you completely rock!

The Megastructure Kickstarter is Live!

The Kickstarter is LIVE! The definitive visual guide to scifi Megastructures, Hardcover, 120 pages, 9"x12". Thanks for the support, and please share this with anyone who would love the book too!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artofsoulburn/megastructures-the-visual-encyclopedia-book-project

Announcing the Megastructures Kickstarter

The decision has been made, and rather than going the publisher route, we're going to self publish and kickstart the book next Tuesday, June 15th 2021!

"Megastructures: The Visual Encyclopedia" will be hardcover, 120 pages, and will be a larger format at 9"x12". It will come in both Regular and Premium Editions, and kickstarter rewards will include megastructure prints, one of a kind spaceship sketches, and many other tiers for you to check out.

The first book, "The Story of Inc" was a big kickstarter success, and we're going with basically the same team for this book. The book is fully written, illustrated, laid out and edited, so all we need are the funds to have the printer pull the lever and get it printed. Expect a ton more details next week when the kickstarter goes live, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks again for everyone's patience making our decision on how to best get you the book, and I hope you'll join us next week and help make this project a reality!

For more info, visit:

http://www.neilblevins.com/books/megastructures/megastructures.htm

Heart Of The Giant Executive Office 1

An executive office in an orbiting space station. For the "Heart Of The Giant" book project, trying to balance the right level of corporate opulence and brutalist architecture, scifi and modern elements, faceless corporation vs mad genius.

Ship Jumper Starship Hallway 3

Another hallway concept test, just for fun.

New Lesson: Knowing Your Historical Design Styles

Art History wasn't exactly my favorite class in University, I was horrible at memorizing dates. But it turns out that what I learned there was super important in my later life as a concept artist. Not only so that when the Art Director uses a term like "Baroque" I have some clue what they're talking about, but because I could take what I learned from art history and use it to define art styles for fictional universes, whether scifi or fantasy. This lesson will go over a couple of major artistic styles from our own history, showing how they define a specific look through their shape language, and then how you can use the knowledge of that look to invent your own for your own species, world or universe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1GmoXAl5NY 

Testudo Game Pitch

Over the last several years I've been working on an idea for a vertical scrolling Shoot 'em up (shmup) in the same vein as the games Truxton, Raiden, Ikaruga, R-Type or Gradius (although the last two were horizontal). Inspired by the classic form, this game would take advantage of the interactivity and game mechanics afforded by modern technology such as tablets and VR. Hoping to one day get it made, in the meantime, going to work on a gameplay teaser after my megastructures book goes to print. Here's some views of the spaceship, some posters and design images. 

Megastructures Update #7 May 2021

Welcome to the 7th official Megastructure Book Project Update, a visual encyclopedia of scifi megastructures!

May is the month of decision. We've contacted a number of publishers and have had some chats, but it's time to make the final decision on whether we'll go the traditional publishing route, or kickstart like we did with our last book and self publish. Will make the decision in a few weeks once I have the last info I need, so in June we'll make the announcement. And then we'll be moving forward again!

In the meantime, wanted to highlight some of the other artists who have contributed work to the book.

First off we have Jeremy Cook, we met back at Blur Studio in 1999, where he quickly worked his way up to a supervisor level, and then continued forward with a fantastic career at companies such as ILM, 343 and others. He was a huge help on my "The Story of Inc" book contributing tons of great artwork, and he has contributed 3 awesome paintings to this book. Check out his other artwork here: https://www.artstation.com/jeremycook

Next is Andy Proctor, who I met through a friend of a friend. He's a supervisor at ILM, does fantastic personal artwork projects, is a really great guy, and I miss our time drinking beers in SF at the Marin Brewing Company. Check out his work here: https://www.artstation.com/andyp

Col Price needs very little introduction, he's done a ton of artwork for games, tv and film, and is super prolific when it comes to his personal artwork. It was my great honor that he accepted to do some work for the book. Check him out here: https://www.artstation.com/coldesign

Ken Fairclough's work first came to my attention when he started posting his concept art for Mass Effect and Anthem. His skills at composition and lighting are just top notch, check out his great work here: https://www.artstation.com/kenfairclough

And finally Jullius Granada, who's skyhook painting on artstation grabbed my attention, so I licensed the image for the book and had him do another painting for another structure as well. Talented dude, check out his work here: https://www.artstation.com/jgranada

That's it for this update. Next update I'll reveal the final plans for the book and the path forward. Thanks for following along!