Structura: The Art of Sparth [Paperback]

Sparth (Illustrator), Lou Anders (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2008

Structura: The Art of Sparth is a collection of his personal artwork. Sparth has been an active artistic director and concept designer for the gaming industry for over ten years. Currently with idsoftware in Texas, a renowned leader in the gaming world with such titles as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom I and II, and Quake I and II, Sparth has been integral in designing the games that the video game enthusiasts of today devour. In both his professional and personal work, there are no limits to Sparths creativity when it comes to translating forms and concepts with an creativity when it comes to translating forms and concepts with an experimental and original approach. Born in France and having traveled the globe extensively, he was influenced greatly by the various world cultures he encountered, and this is largely responsible for his multiple creative passions, which range from space to architecture, robotics and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A 2007 Hugo Award nominee, Lou Anders is the editorial director of Prometheus Books' science fiction imprint Pyr, as well as the anthologies Outside the Box (Wildside Press, 2001), Live Without a Net (Roc, 2003), Projections: Science Fiction in Literature & Film (MonkeyBrain, December 2004), Futureshocks (2005) and Fast Forward #1 (2007). He is the author of The Making of Star Trek: First Contact (Titan Books, 1996), and has published over 500 articles in such magazines as The Believer, Publishers Weekly, Dreamwatch, Star Trek Monthly, Star Wars Monthly, Babylon 5 Magazine, Sci Fi Universe, Doctor Who Magazine, and Manga Max.

Product Details

• Paperback: 127 pages
• Publisher: Design Studio Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933492252
• ISBN-13: 978-1933492254
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Conceptual

More About the Author

A 2010/2009/2008/2007 Hugo Award nominee, 2008 Philip K. Dick Award nominee, 2009/2008/2007 Chesley Award nominee/winner/nominee, and 2006 World Fantasy Award nominee, Lou Anders is the editorial director of Prometheus Books' science fiction and fantasy imprint Pyr, as well as the anthologies Swords & Dark Magic (Eos, June 2010), Masked (Gallery, July 2010), Fast Forward 2 (Pyr, October 2008), Sideways in Crime (Solaris, June 2008), Fast Forward 1(Pyr, February 2007), FutureShocks (Roc, January 2006), Projections: Science Fiction in Literature & Film (MonkeyBrain, December 2004), Live Without a Net (Roc, 2003), and Outside the Box (Wildside Press, 2001). In 2000, he served as the Executive Editor of Bookface.com, and before that he worked as the Los Angeles Liaison for Titan Publishing Group. He is the author of The Making of Star Trek: First Contact (Titan Books, 1996), and has published over 500 articles in such magazines as The Believer, Publishers Weekly, Dreamwatch, DeathRay, free inquiry, Star Trek Monthly, Star Wars Monthly, Babylon 5 Magazine, Sci Fi Universe, Doctor Who Magazine, and Manga Max. His articles and stories have been translated into Danish, Greek, German, Italian and French.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a sci-fi world of his own, December 20, 2008

By 

Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Structura: The Art of Sparth (Paperback)

Length:: 0:16 Mins

Nicolas Bouvier is Sparth.

He has been an art director and concept designer in the gaming industry since 1996. Born in France, he now lives in Dallas, TEXAS, working for IDsoftware.

Included in the book are concept art and matte paintings from his impressive portfolio. Some projects he has worked on includes Alone in the Dark (2001), Prince of Persia - Warrior Within (2004), Cold Fear (2005), and Assassin's Creed (2007). Art for Alone in the Dark and Cold Fear are not included.

The theme for his art is primarily futuristic science fiction and space. There are quite a few cityscape paintings with flying ships. The worlds he created as just as imaginative as Star Wars. There's no caption on the art except for the titles and dates.

This book is recommended especially to science fiction concept artists.

Sparth has a website for the book, as well as a blog. You can find additional paintings in his art galleries.

If you interested in science fiction art, you might also want to check out Quantum Dreams: The Art of Stephan Martiniere and Quantumscapes: The Art of Stephan Martiniere also.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Sparth book ever! But...., June 3, 2008

By 

Richard Green "artbot" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Structura: The Art of Sparth (Paperback)

I've been a huge fan of Sparth's work for years and have awaited the arrival of this book for almost as long. Sparth's work is warm and highly creative and his influence over a generation of digital fantasy artists is only beginning to be seen as his style is frequently imitated. It's certainly a great book and a must-own, especially for a concept art book at this price.

My only disappointment is is the format size (which is why I still give this 5 stars, as I don't think this is the fault of the artist). These works deserve a much larger format than the medium/smallish 9 x 9 inches. Also, and this probably has more to do with who owns the image licenses than anything, there is a bit of "sameness", a slight lack of variety, about some of the work that's not apparent when viewing his website.

Still, a great book by any standard and an essential addition to any fantasy/sci-fi/art lover's book collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sparth is great, September 19, 2008

By 

Thomas L. Denmark "Art Director" (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Structura: The Art of Sparth (Paperback)

If you are interested in concept art, this compact book is like a master's class in how to represent ideas with freshness, clarity, and good design. I keep it next to my computer at work for inspiration, and if you are a concept artist you should too.