Spectrum 12: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art

By Arnie Fenner and Cathy Fenner

Book Overview

The increasing popularity of fantasy and science fiction themes in art is celebrated in the annual Spectrum series. The premier venue for such art, each lavishly illustrated volume is an invaluable resource, eagerly awaited by art directors, illustrators, and readers alike. Drawn from books, comics, magazines, art galleries, advertisements, and portfolios, the collection represents a who's who in fantasy today. With a wider reach than any previous edition, Spectrum 12 features 350 works by artists from Germany, England, the Netherlands, Korea, Australia, Japan, Canada, France, and the United States. Divided into seven categories, including one devoted to comics and another to graphic novels, the illustrations expand the boundaries of the imagination and explore new realms of creativity. Among the artists included are Justin K. Sweet, Brad Holland, Greg Ruth, Lawrence Northey, Arthur Suydam, and H. R. Giger. A handy index provides contact information for each artist. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1887424946
• ISBN13: 9781887424943
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Underwood Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 2.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.0" x 12.0"

Customer Reviews

Spectrum....need I say more

You simply CANNOT beat Spectrum for the wide variety of art it displays and the quality. I hope to grace it's pages some day! I own this copy and #10.

Compelling and superior.

Any interested in science fiction and fantasy art will find all the masters represented here, from Michael Whelan and Brad Holland to Linda Bergkvist and Daren Bader. Each artist's works are rendered in full color and includes contact information plus notes on clients, medium, and picture size. A jury selected the 2005 Spectrum winners, surveying over 4,000 works both individually and in light of overall fantasy artist accomplishment...

The annual of fantasy art

As always, the annual Spectrum compiles hundreds of samples of the very best of 2004's fantasy art. The work is divided into categories that reflect the generally commercial origin of each work: ads, comics, books, etc. Every category displays a range of subjects and style. Lush realism predominates, including two of Royo's fantasy pinups. Other styles appear, too, including ink paintings by Vess and Kaluta, Justin Sweet's...

The Full Spectrum

Fantasy art is as inspiring as it is beautiful, and Spectrum has been doing well to keep only the best between their thick volumes. Spectrum 12, though, seems to contain a great deal more. Every page, besides where the awards are presented, has two or three painting or images, with publishing details, titles, etc. placed on the corner of the left page. The art is categorized and every page seems to follow a theme of sorts...

The Best Keeps Getting Better

The latest addition to the Spectrum series of "year's best" fantasy art books is as gorgeous as the first eleven The art is beautifully presented in full color and for some reason, #12 feels meatier, more substantial when holding it and comparing it to earlier editions. There's an interesting "year in review" that prompted me to start looking for some titles I was unaware of and there's contact information for the artists...