Thu, Mar 28, 3:14 PM CDT

Ballistic's EXPOSÉ 10: Finest Achievement in Digital Art Publishing

Sep 25, 2012 at 12:00 am by Store Staff


file_486874.jpgBallistic Publishing's EXPOSÉ 10 in Review

Publication details:

  • EXPOSÉ 10
  • Publisher: Ballistic Publishing
  • Publishing date: October 9, 2012
  • Limited Edition: 978-1-921828-20-1
  • Hard cover Edition: 978-1-921828-19-5
  • Soft cover: 978-1-921828-18-8
  • Pages: 288 (LE/HC/SC)
  • Managing editor: Ronnie Gramazio

 

Expose_1.jpg
Jim Burns, Grand Master EXPOSÉ 10 "Homuncularium"

"I hope that this enables me to remain fresh and open-minded about 'directions' and I still promise myself every day that I still have my best work in me"
-Jim Burns, EXPOSÉ 10

For ten years now, Ballistic Publishing has been releasing a yearly collection of the finest digital art submitted to them by artists from practically every continent on the face of the planet, and now with the publication of EXPOSÉ 10, Ballistic is celebrating a decade of sharing brilliant digital art with the public. EXPOSÉ 10 is their crowning achievement with more art, more artists and arguably the most comprehensive collection of digital art ever published.

Expose_2.jpg

With 288 pages, EXPOSÉ 10 is the largest EXPOSÉ book to date, featuring 548 images by 380 artists, and first time artists to EXPOSÉ total 239. These are record-breaking numbers for Ballistic. In addition, as a way of celebrating Ballistic's anniversary, editor Ronnie Gramazio decided to focus on the global aspect of the EXPOSÉ series. The only continent not represented in EXPOSÉ 10 is Antarctica.

Mr. Gramazio has also included a world map which pinpoints the country of origin of each artist. EXPOSÉ 10 features a 10-page "honor roll" of every artist who has appeared in any issue of EXPOSÉ, along with the number of the books they appeared in. One glance at the world map shows you just how much cultural diversity there is in EXPOSÉ 10.

Expose_3.jpg
Three example categories for digital art in EXPOSÉ 10

An advisory board and jury is selected every year to decide what digital art to include in each EXPOSÉ book. This year panelists included Syd Mead, Chris Perna, Stephan Matineiere, Chris Sloan, Leigh Van Der Byl, Brom and eight other renowned digital artists. Twenty artists were chosen for the EXPOSÉ 10 Master awards in categories such as matte painting, science fiction, portrait, architecture, fantasy, concept art, environment, steampunk and more. EXPOSÉ 10 does a superb job of laying out each artist's work along with their background/history.

This year's Grand Master award went to Jim Burns, who I'm proud to say led me to read more science fiction books than I otherwise would have, because his book cover designs enthralled me. He began as a professional artist in 1972 and has influenced an entire generation of digital artists with his imagination and unique sense of style. His autobiographical sketch at the beginning of EXPOSÉ 10 is revealing and makes you want to know more about this special person.

Expose_4.jpg
"Last Kiss" by Adam Martinakis, Greece
Of course, each edition of EXPOSÉ always has quality digital art, but EXPOSÉ 10 has to be Ballistic's highest achievement. Page after page of jaw-dropping artwork enthralls us. Favorites include "Butterfly," by Magdalena Saramak from Poland, "Origami House: Porch," by Jorgen Langevad from Denmark, "The Old Man," by Zhangchendaxia Zhang from China, "Finding," by Mario Sanchez Navado from Spain and "Last Kiss," by Adam Martinakis from Greece. I was completely in awe of Jianhua He's "Intimacy," which depicts a cyborg leisurely browsing a 3D computer display in what looks to be a large, open office area. You get the feeling that it's late afternoon and the cyborg might just be drowsy. Brilliant characterization created with equally brilliant design. Easily my favorite piece in the entire book.

But my selections are entirely subjective and there are hundreds and hundreds of remarkable works of digital art in EXPOSÉ 10. Ballistic shapes each volume of EXPOSÉ to fit the type of entries submitted that year. This year they added a new category – Portrait (Illustration), due to the fact that there were so many entries in the Portrait category. I'm also delighted that they include categories for Abstract & Design and Whimsical, which are my favorites.

I can't say enough good things about EXPOSÉ 10. If you are at all interested in digital art, this is THE book to acquire for your library. EXPOSÉ 10 is filled with striking, evocative and beautifully crafted digital imagery by artists from all over the world. The care that went into color reproduction and book binding is obvious on every page.

Expose_5.jpg
"Intimacy" by Jianhua He, China

Ballistic is making EXPOSÉ 10 available in three flavors: Limited Edition (which comes with art print), Hardback, and Paperback editions. I received the paperback edition, and after a good deal of use in the last month, the binding is still flexible and tight. Publishing quality on the EXPOSÉ series of books is very high, so the books will last a very long time.

Head over to the beautiful Ballistic Publishing website where you can look through the entire book using their embedded reading application. Customers who purchase any edition of EXPOSÉ 10 will also get a free video download of artist Lua Hua walking though the creation of his fantasy artwork "Monkey King."

I congratulate Ballistic Publishing for a decade of publishing brilliant digital art. I'd also like to thank them for sending me EXPOSÉ 10 to review for renderosity.com.

For more info, please visit:


Ricky Grove [gToon], Staff Columnist with the Renderosity Front Page News. Ricky Grove is a bookstore clerk at the best bookstore in Los Angeles, the Iliad Bookshop. He's also an actor and machinima filmmaker. He lives with author, Lisa Morton, and three very individual cats. Ricky is into Hong Kong films, FPS shooters, experimental anything and reading, reading, reading. You can catch his blog here.

 

 

 


September 24, 2012

Please note: If you find the color of the text hard to read, please click on "Printer-friendly" and black text will appear on a white background.

Create your masterpieces with products from the Renderosity MarketPlace

Serenity Backgrounds

Masculinite Hair : Punk Styles

Fashion Bikini 06 for G3F

Tycoon's Office

Silena G8F
Check out What's on Sale and see the Hot New Products for more items!
Sections: Archives

Comments

or Register to post a comment



Privacy Notice

This site uses cookies to deliver the best experience. Our own cookies make user accounts and other features possible. Third-party cookies are used to display relevant ads and to analyze how Renderosity is used. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Terms of Service, including our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy.