Chris Foss
Christopher Frank Foss (born 1946)[1] is a British artist and science fiction illustrator. He is best known for his science fiction book covers and the black and white illustrations for the original editions of The Joy of Sex.
Career
Early work
Born in 1946 in Guernsey, Channel Islands,[1] Foss started working there as an artist in his teens, creating signage for local companies.[2] He went to a boarding school in Dorset; his master encouraged him to train for an art scholarship.[3] While studying at Magdalene College, Cambridge, he started pursuing professional magazine commissions, including the then recently launched Penthouse magazine.[2]
Science-fiction illustrations
Books featuring Foss illustrations include the 1970s British
Not being a fan of science fiction, Foss typically did not read the books he illustrated, preferring to paint scenes entirely from his imagination.[4]
In 1975, Foss was hired by director
During this period Chris Foss illustrated the sleeve of the album Clear Air Turbulence for the Ian Gillan Band.
Painter Glenn Brown controversially appropriated individual space scene paintings by Foss[2][5] and in the one case copying and altering it (Exercise One (for Ian Curtis), 1995) and in the other, leaving it entirely unchanged (Dark Angel (for Ian Curtis), 2002).
Chris Foss created much of the colour concept art for Sweetpea Entertainment's Traveller franchise, as produced by Imperium Games.[6]: 332 He produced 12 pages of artwork for the new Traveller edition's first supplement, Starships (1996).[6]: 332 He also illustrated a number of covers for Imperium's Traveller.[6]: 333
The Joy of Sex
In contrast, Foss's numerous illustrations for the sex manual The Joy of Sex are done in a soft, natural style.[citation needed] The illustrations were based on photographs taken by Chris in his studio in Fulham, London.[citation needed]
Film work
- 1977 Jodorowsky version of Dune, spaceship and vehicle design.[7]
- 1978 Superman by Richard Donner. Planet Krypton and set design (not used)[7]
- 1979 Alien by Ridley Scott. Spaceship design (not used)[7]
- 1980 Flash Gordon by Mike Hodges. Redesign of Gordon's rocket cycle[8]
- 1995 Heaven or Bust (German Sc-fi comedy) Spaceship design[8]
- 2000 A.I. Artificial Intelligence under Stanley Kubrick, until Kubrick's death in 1999[7]
- 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy under James Gunn, who brought him on board to design the film's various spacecraft.[9][10]
Bibliography
- Foss, Chris. 21st Century Foss. Dragon's Dream, 1978. ISBN 0-906196-09-4.
- Foss, Chris. Hardware: The Definitive SF Works of Chris Foss. Titan Publishing, 2011. ISBN 0-85768-559-7
References
- ^ a b Foss, Chris (2011). "Chris Foss: Biography". Chrisfossart.com. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ a b c Parkin, Simon (20 February 2014). "The $5.7 Million Magazine Illustration". The New Yorker. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ "Chris Foss Bio". Chrisfossart.com. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ Sumit Paul-Choudhury (7 September 2011). "Chris Foss: The Joy of Starships". New Scientist.
- ^ "CultureLab: Chris Foss: The Joy of Starships". Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
- ^ YouTube
- ^ YouTube
- ^ Woerner, Meredith (20 May 2014). "Chris Foss Designed Spaceships For Guardians of the Galaxy!". Io9.gizmodo.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Foss, Chris. "Chris Foss – Artist". Chrisfossart.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.