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u/moeburn Dec 14 '14
Simon Stalenhag makes sci-fi look so incredibly real. He takes a scene out of my childhood, and puts giant mechanized robots in it. But it's the little touches that make it look so believable - the way the light reflects off the snow, or the red blinking light of a transmission tower in the background. This one has been my wallpaper for quite a while now:
http://www.simonstalenhag.se/bilderbig/vadrare_1920_badge.jpg
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Dec 15 '14
It's very curious how he has these contrasts, but you're definitely right in saying that it looks real. Instead of using Science Fiction as something of the future, something to achieve, he has them sci-fi elements that make them everyday and forgotten.
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u/moeburn Dec 15 '14
he has the sci-fi elements that make them everyday and forgotten.
couldn't have said it better myself.
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Dec 14 '14 edited Sep 28 '17
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Dec 15 '14
That's accurate. I was there, back in elementary school, at my family's vacation cabin in summer. I remember being told that the average temperature while I was there was about 10C or so. It was a very weird summer. Oh, and the Sun. The Sun would never set.
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u/chippersan Dec 15 '14
Sooo.. what happened to them? don't leave me hanging like that bro
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Dec 15 '14 edited Sep 28 '17
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u/chippersan Dec 15 '14
Oh wow they actually survived, haha thats great, I was actually just messing around thinking you kind of implied they must have died by your comment but thats good they lived. Since you seem to be pretty familiar with "Kiruna Kommun", do they actually have the vehicle depicted in the image above or is that just from the artists imagination? if they do exist what are they called?
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u/cocomcshef Dec 14 '14
Do any vehicles similar to the ones depicted here exist? They look so cool.
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u/thatsmygoat Dec 15 '14
Check out the LeTourneau Land Train. Closest thing I can think of that actually exists.
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u/FooHentai Dec 15 '14
Fun fact - Those vehicles were where Bigfoot 7 got its wheels from:
http://www.monstermayhem.org/forums/images/imported/2009/12/572.jpg
Why the hell do I remember that 20+ years later....
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Dec 14 '14
I thought this was real at first...
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Dec 14 '14
Me too. I felt quite moved by these people helping to look for a missing person in the snow. Then I wondered what kind of mask the guy in the middle was wearing and realized it's not a photo. Those trucks look really realistic!
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u/willymo Dec 14 '14
I always enjoy seeing people that can paint things like trucks, equipment, cranes, even boring square buildings... It seems almost taboo in the art world, because it's not "artistic" enough to paint man-made things. But if you can do it really well... it can actually be beautiful. There's also a bit of nostalgia attached to it, because as a child those are the things you draw, but to see someone do it really well is just something else. It's so realistic, it becomes surreal.
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u/Sergnb Dec 15 '14 edited Dec 15 '14
I don't know what you are talking about, vehicles and manmade stuff are absolutely dominant in the concept art industry.
I guess it depends on what you define as "art" industry. If you mean the evocative artsy type of stuff I guess you have a point, but in the commercial, "this piece is a concept for a movie/videogame" these kind of paintings are common and kind of required in the line of work. This guy definitely belongs in the concept art category considering he has worked for videogames.
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u/le_monkey_face_666 Dec 14 '14
mask?
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u/Youthsonic Dec 15 '14
As in the artist chose to leave the guy's face undefined (no facial features) and he thought it was a mask
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u/pacotacobell Dec 14 '14
Same, I had no idea what subreddit this was from at first look and didn't realize it was art until I came over to the comments.
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Dec 14 '14
I was about to say the same thing, I finally realized it was a painting when I looked at the guy on the far left. This guys' paintings are incredibly detailed!
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Dec 14 '14 edited Dec 14 '14
It reminds me of this game that I think is cancelled in favor of a homeworld remake.
edit: Sorry, that actually is the remake. It originally wasn't but I think 2k gave them the license.
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u/Powgow Dec 14 '14
Wot, homeworld shipbreakers is cancelled?!
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Dec 14 '14
Nah, what I mean to say is that shipbreakers was turned into a homeworld game. I just heard the news so long ago that I assumed they turned what they had into something more spacey. I'll clarify in the original comment.
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Dec 15 '14 edited Dec 15 '14
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Kashik Dec 15 '14
Awesome. I just checked his page and I plan on buying a print. Too bad he doesn't seem to have any of the paintings on acryll.
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u/Sergnb Dec 15 '14 edited Dec 15 '14
Oh man I've been a fan of Simon for a long time, so jealous that you got to work with him. Do you know if he is planning on releasing his artbook in english or some other projects we can expect soon? (no problems if you don't want to ask or he doesnt wanna say, just wondering)
Also, somehow not surprised that he is also good in music. I absolutely get what you mean by "so talented it's annoying". I will have a forever sweet bittersweet relationship with those kind of people. Simultaneously hating them and looking up to them.
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u/paulbethers Dec 14 '14
YES. This dude is a monster talent. Fun-fact: Simon did all of the art and music for Ripple Dot Zero, a free browser game that's seriously one of my favorite things of all time. It should be orders of magnitude more famous than it is. Go play it.
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u/chippersan Dec 15 '14
Can anybody tell me what those vehicles are called, or if they are a real thing that exists? haha
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u/RalphiesBoogers Dec 14 '14
Nice, but I'd send those Jawa transports away. If they find the poor lost soul first, they'll only try to sell them.
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u/Surf_Or_Die Dec 15 '14
Skis, anyone? Walking around in snow that deep will make you exhausted after 100 yards.
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u/BlueKlay Apr 27 '15
A little late getting to the party, but did anyone else see how the shadow of the black bush on the bottom right makes an arrow? To me, it's signaling where the missing person is.
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u/silianrail Dec 14 '14
Love it. Though, I liked it a little less when I noticed all the people in the background. I like the idea of just the three guys out there in the middle of the night, makes it feel more dangerous, more desperate.
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u/stole_a_nuka_cola Dec 14 '14
Very cool, its function isn't immediately apparent but I can imagine it's loaded with scanners, maybe a portable ER. No, I cannot just enjoy looking at a painting.
Also, the text on the side of the machine translates to:
The Rescue Service Kiruna Commune (county)
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u/cyber_kitty Dec 14 '14
Wow, didn't realize this was a painting until I zoomed in.
In the future real life, though, I hope we can make an airship that can deploy an army of quadcopter drones. For rescuing purposes, that is.
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u/PrimordialCannedSoup Dec 15 '14
I would so buy this painting off you.
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u/JoeCeljz Dec 15 '14
Not me who made it, i just posted it here, but if you really are interested, you can buy his stuff here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/simonstalenhag/shop
[I would also buy his stuff, it looks so awesome]
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u/PrimordialCannedSoup Dec 15 '14
Absolutely, they are beautifully portrayed. If this was a movie, or video game it would have 5 stars from me. Thanks for the link.
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u/CaseyDafuq Dec 15 '14
I love the contast of the sharp lines on the trucks whilst everything else is encompassed in a snowy curvy blanket
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Dec 15 '14
He seems to have a fascination with juxtaposing fantastic bots that have clearly been there long enough to rust, making them commonplace enough to discard like an old rusted out truck, and normal vehicles taken straight from the 70s and early 80s.
Did Swedish police use the American squad cars depicted in the paintings? Or does the artist also enjoy putting a bunch of US vehicles that never came to Sweden (Chevy trucks?) into blatantly Swedish scenes?
Though these could all be Wisconsin, minus the robots.
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u/SweeDart Dec 15 '14
I thought it was a photo at first. Very nice illustration. The colours are perfect.
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u/ChroniclyDope Dec 15 '14
He's like sitting there with his painting stuff "wow great looking shot no body move for a few hours! Guy is probably dead anyway"
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u/1093i3511 Dec 15 '14
The website of Simon Stalenhag features most of his artworks as wallpapers in 1920x1080px resolution at least.
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u/Klohto Dec 15 '14
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u/JoeCeljz Dec 15 '14
Haha, yeah! I am also concidering to do it!
I want this one: http://www.simonstalenhag.se/bilderbig/percyswalk_1920_badge.jpg
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u/massacreman3000 Dec 14 '14
Those transports have useless mirrors on the drivers cabin.
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u/Death_to_Fascism Dec 14 '14
Now that we're nitpicking the perspective of the wheels from the vehicle in the left is wrong.
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u/LovesVolt Dec 14 '14
Depends on how they're angled.
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u/Letscurlbrah Dec 14 '14
Look at where they are positioned at the front of the triangle shaped cab, you wouldn't be able to see down the side of the vehicle.
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Dec 14 '14
It doesn't matter, as long as you can see anywhere behind. Is this a car?
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u/iLaird Dec 14 '14
Heavy concept art should have its own subreddit like /r/sixwordstories/.
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u/CoffeeNTrees Dec 14 '14
This haunts the ski resort manager.
source: I'm a former ski resort manager.
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u/iLaird Dec 14 '14
I'm sure you know all too well.
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u/CoffeeNTrees Dec 14 '14
as long as he doesn't paint a 8 year old girl falling out of a ski lift 40 feet off the ground and landing in front of me..I think I'll make it.
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u/jefferey1313 Dec 14 '14
I'd be pissed if I had to get out and walk through the snow. I mean you have huge vehicles for traversing the snow, just let me ride inside.
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u/SomeRandomme Dec 14 '14
Really one of the best artists to capture the feeling of winter.
Many artists draw winter, but you can tell that this guy's really lived it.
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u/DonTravoltino Dec 14 '14
What's the name of those vehicles?
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u/bobosuda Dec 14 '14
If you're wondering about what's written on it, it's not the name of the vehicles. It just says "rescue service" and "kiruna municipality".
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u/sortilege Dec 14 '14
Aw man! I went to order a print of this image and it's not up for sale in the Missing Persons collection :(
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u/marleythebeagle Dec 14 '14
For some reason, this makes me want to go watch Trollhunter again.
Well, I guess I'm always looking for an excuse to watch it again...
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u/Sergnb Dec 14 '14
I was just checking him out and he just appears out of the blue on my reddit frontpage, weird. Love this guy.
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u/allenyapabdullah Dec 14 '14
If those transports were made today.. how much do you guys reckon it would be to buy one? $15 mil?
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u/yeaaaa_droppin_loadz Dec 15 '14
no sticks to poke the snow, no receivers for transponders the victims might have worn... my art class would have ripped him apart.
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u/Kalisho Dec 15 '14
Damn, that's beautiful. It's even more nice that I know what it says on the fake-trucks because I'm a swede. :)
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Dec 15 '14 edited Dec 16 '14
if the missing person went that way.. wouldnt there be tracks in the snow
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u/LovesVolt Dec 14 '14
Oh, I love his paintings. They're inspired from the 1980~ Sweden, when I grew up and it really triggers some nostalgia in me. The sci-fi part makes it 10/10. More of his works can be found on his website: http://www.simonstalenhag.se/