James Gurney

I think, I'll just leave the pictures to do the talking here...

But for the record Mr. Gurney was the man behind "Dinotopia" - Just in case you think, you've seen his name before...

 

Illustration "Asteroid Miner" for the novel "Out of the Sun"

(Note the "Right stuff"/blue collar attitude)...

 Unpublished work (happens to all of us...)

 Illustration "Etruscans" for National Geographic(!)

Dinotopia

(First I didn't want to put up any Dinotopia related pics, but the depth in this

picture is sooo very nice...)

And the maestro himself - now that's what I call a study!

Ok - so I couldn't keep my blabber all shut to let the pics do all the talking, so what! It's my blog!

Check out his website at www.jamesgurney.com and his blog at gurneyjourney.blogspot.com.

Battleship - Corvette Class



My newest ship - the HMS Hood - the famed battleship is now SketcheUp'ed, and I'm rather pleased with it.

I like the wrench shape of it, like a tool designed for a function an not to look good.

I want to make a battleship - a cruiser or dreadnaught class ship - based on the shape of an axe or a cleaver, but that might be a bit of a challenge to get that one exactly right...

Here's the corvette again:

David Attenborough and the BBC

I just love the BBC and David Attenborough, whose life long dedication to show the rest of us, just how amazing this planet really is, has been one of my strongest inspirations. You'll never expect one dull moment in a BBC production, starring Sir David Attenborough.
Just watch...

Freighter: Lightcutter Class

Still looks too much like my computer cabinet, but I kinda like it.

This is the Lightcutter Class Freighter, equipped with standard ion engines (Hauser ltd.), and a single, minor jump engine (Shang Zhou Engine Corp.) Quite comfortable for a smaller crew.

Freighter - Hauler Class

I'm currently working on the design of the cargo freighter, belonging to my main protagonists - but I still haven't worked it out yet. This one is somewhat in the right direction, but it does looks like something you've seen before. And I think it's a bit too big. I still like it, and that's why I decided to post it here. 

The ship I need got to have a little more personality, but nothing like the Millenium Falcon (where do Han put the cargo on that ship???) and a bit more together than Serenity (it does look like they mashed 5 ships together into one)...

And thanks to Google SketchUp...

James Horner - theme from Willow

James Roy Horner is an American composer, and the writer behind scores for movies like Avatar, Braveheart, Apollo 13, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Glory, The Mask of Zorro, The Legend of Zorro, Enemy at the Gates, The Missing, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, A Beautiful Mind, The Perfect Storm just to mention a few. 

And he did the score for Willow (1988), which I personally think is great - especially the theme of Elora Danan. I wouldn't hesitate for one moment to equal it to John Williams Star Wars Score (which of course still gives me the thrill every time I hear it) - It really is that good. 


Take a good moment and listen to it - maybe even make yourself a good cuppa before listening. I'm not pulling your leg when I tell you, you can literally see the whole movie unfold right in front of you - just by listening with your eyes closed.

Written by James Horner and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Kate Beaton

Sometimes you just strike gold without actually making the effort of looking for it.

I was ambling along on-line, minding my own business, when suddenly this amazing webcomic popped into existence on my ViewSonic - completely out of the blue! (And here's a big thanks to Neatorama for posting an illustration done by her to lead me on!) The very talented Kate Beaton, who is awesomer than awesome, is the woman behind this hilarious and well drawn comic. Go look if you don't believe me, but don't come a-blaming me, when you suddenly realize that you've spend most of your working hours reading witty comics, broadening your views and challenging your intellect with sharp satire.

Just selecting which strips and drawings to represent her work here on Astrocities has been quite a challenge, since there's so many goodies, but I think I got a fair bunch selected. Judge for yourself...


Well... they are!

This one I picked, because I once wrote an essay about the norman invasion of England - Sorry for being self centered...

Anyway, Kate Beaton origins from Nova Scotia, has a history degree and lives in Ontario and fancies to draw pictures. Her website is http://www.harkavagrant.com/.