Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio [Hardcover]

John Picacio (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2006

This first collection by award-winning illustrator John Picacio contains 200 pages of full-color art, sketches, and thoughts about the process of creating cover art in the 21st century.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Monkeybrain (March 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932265163
• ISBN-13: 978-1932265163
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,946,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind-bogglingly gorgeous, May 25, 2006

By 

Lisa Blaschke (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio (Hardcover)

John Picacio has more god-given talent than any human being has a right to. I remember being quite impressed by his cover for the Mojo Press edition of Moorcock's "Behold the Man" (almost a full decade ago now--has it REALLY been that long!?) and Picacio's only gone on to prove that was the faintest hint of things to come. Whether he's putting together three dimensional cover layouts, making his own fresh take on SF classics such as Fred Pohl's "Gateway," Walter M. Miller Jr.'s "A Canticle for Leibowitz" or Harlan Ellison's landmark "Dangerous Visions," Picacio delivers. And that's not even considering his inspired cover art for Chris Roberson's "Here, There & Everywhere," Jess Nevin's "Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana," Rick Klaw's "Geek Confidential" or Lou Anders' "Live Without a Net." Picacio takes an unbelievably wide range of subject matter and turns out unique, beautiful and--dare I say it?--iconic imagery, all the while making it look effortless.

Picacio is, without a doubt, the first great genre illustrator of the 21st Century. If you buy only one art book this year, make it this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars visionary at work, October 20, 2006

By 

Jacob Weisman (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio (Hardcover)

In the last ten or so years John Picacio has quickly established himself as one of the finest artists working in the science fiction field. This remarkable book collects Picacio's work in stunning color (larger than the book covers on which they first appeared), along with preliminary sketches, and Picacio's own words. His work is so breathtaking, draws you in so quickly, that one balks at imagining where this young artists career may ultimately take him.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A feast for the eyes, June 7, 2007

By 

Gayle Surrette "omnivorous reader" (Brandywine, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio (Hardcover)

I have to admit, I love art books and Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio is amazing. There's something about seeing a single artist's work over time--you can see growth, change, and the breadth of work that you don't get from a now and again reminder as you see a book cover or art show. Picacio has done an impressive amount of book covers that I recognize as ones that got me to pick the book up and take a closer look.

Most of the artwork is on one page so you don't have that terrible dip in the middle as it bridges the binding. Each piece of art has a short piece about the thought and crafting that went into developing the work. There are often one or more sketches of basic ideas. It's a bit daunting to realize how closely the original concept sketch and the final piece agree. The end of the book has an interview with John Picacio by Joseph McCabe. The interview ranges over John's childhood, school years, architectural training, techniques, and life in general.

Picacio's work has a lot of texture and I'd often, as I browsed through the book after my first reading, stop and reach out a finger to brush across the texture only to find that it was the glossy paper under my fingers. Even reproduced in a book, the art remains captivating and entrancing.