Science fiction Archives

Art

Marvel at These Fabulous Retro-Futurism Illustrations

December 14, 2024 Art

We never get tired of digging through the sci-fi archives, finding fascinating tidbits from the optimistic, golden age of space fiction from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.

We’re enthralled by the audacity of the concepts. The sheer confidence and unbridled creativity of the inventions, which never came to pass. There’s something about retro-futurism that gets us excited.

Here’s a curated collection of some of our recent favorites, dating back as far as 100 years ago.

Frank R. Paul was a prolific illustrator, having created cover art for hundreds of comic books, magazines, and more.

Sleek, sculptural spaceships by Hubert Rogers.

Fabulous French illustrations by J. Polgreen from the 1950s.

Cover art by Howard V. Brown to *Astounding Stories*, September 1934

Some wildly colorful work from Japanese illustrator Shusei Nagaoka.

Russian illustrator Andrei Sokolov was also prolific during the Soviet era.

Illustration credited to Wallis Rigby, 1952.

As early as 1924 (100 years ago), artists were pondering what Martians looked like. Check out this amazing cover of Science and Invention from August 1924, illustrated by Howard V. Brown.

Cover of Popular Mechanics, artist unknown.

Images curated through the massive collection found on Dark Roasted Blend.

Architecture

Stunning Omakase Restaurant

September 15, 2020 Architecture

Looking straight out of a science-fiction movie set, this beautiful and sleek restaurant has a design stays true to its futuristic vision. Architectural Decoration Design Co. is the firm that pulled it off, and the mirrors, sleek flowered panelling, and beautifully spare seating makes for an unforgettable dining experience.

Named Omakase, it’s located in Shanghai, but pays great respect to the design and motifs of Japan. Via The Cool Hunter:

The surroundings in this new 160 square-metre restaurant are also surprising, taking the guests on a visceral journey to the romance of Sakura, the Japanese cherry blossom festival and all the romantic stories and even computer games that it has inspired.

Rain, pink cherry blossoms and the extensive and clever use of glass create a magical vibe. Everything feels airborne, weightless and transparent, just like the magical spring time of the cherry blossom festival.

Architecture

Exile From Jupiter, and Other Amazing 50s Sci-Fi

March 24, 2014 Architecture

There’s so much energy and nostalgia in these vintage British Sci-fi paperbacks. Humans hadn’t even been to space, yet artists were already deep on another planet, dreaming up fantastical scenes from the future. The world of retrofuture art is huge, check out even more excellent pulp covers at Dark Roasted Blend.

Animals

Warm and Fuzzy Steampunk

December 4, 2013 Animals

Via The Dancing Rest:

Architecture

Tattooine in Tatters

May 9, 2013 Architecture

I’ve always loved that Star Wars’ Tattooine scenes were filmed in Tunisia. It was exotic enough to fit the two-starred planet very well. The set pieces from George Lucas’ film still exist in the hot Tunisian desert, 35 years on, though they’re disintegrating slowly. Photographer Rä di Martino traveled to the desert and discovered the ruins of Luke Skywalker’s home planet, through the help of Google Earth. Via FastCo Design:

Architecture

The Dystopian Future of Alex Andreev

October 17, 2012 Architecture

Digital painter and illustrator Alex Andreev has a way with floating objects, otherworldly lands, and moments of strange emotion. His work is both very quiet and very disquieting.

A Separate Reality: New Paintings of Dystopian Worlds by Alex Andreev science fiction painting illustration digital

Via Colossal:

Trying to categorize or summarize the genre of Alex Andreev’s (previously) digital paintings is nearly impossible. Part science fiction, part dystopian future, the scenes are equally disturbing and beautiful, his characters inhabiting a world Andreev tells me is deeply influenced by Soviet-era literature, music and movies. Based in St. Petersburg, Russia he works primarily with Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint and relies only on a small selection of brushes and colors to create each illustration, meaning there are no special effects or 3d-rendering of anything. Andreev recently published an art book, A Separate Reality, which is available through Blurb.com.