Artists | The Download Munkey

Art Friday : The Weird and Wonderful World of Afu Chan aka aznmextofu

October 30th, 2009

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Afu Chan or aznmextofu @ deviantART has a knack for conjuring up some of the most wildly fantastic artwork that I’ve ever laid my eyes on – quite reminds me of several of my dreams in the past, only much weirder, more violent and most definitely much more fascinating and intriguing

One of my favourites is Fishbones Attack – a tie wearing horseman lets loose a blast from his shotgun on the rolling gunmen-infested deck of a ship with giant fish (tuna?) leaping into the air in the background. Also notice the nice little detail where the rear hoof of our horseman’s black charger has stomped on the left hand of one of the fallen gunmen. And that unfortunate guy’s probably isn’t dead yet because his face has just turned very red All very odd which makes Afu’s stuff so interesting.

Something’s about to turn real ugly soon as these two girls stand by patiently with weapons loaded and ready to ROCK!

Street Fight 07 – a martial arts movie-like scene set in the streets with the ragdoll-like agility of Matrix.

A day out in Zombie City

Street Fighter II done in Afu’s distinctive style.

The Lugaidh Brothers and Sisters – a band of unconventional pugilists with totally unkungfu-ish sounding names From left to right : Frank, Stephanie, Cindy, Paul, Monica, David and the guy up front is Lugaidh himself. The word Nepenthes is also the genus name for the carnivorous pitcher plants.

Swordfights in the sky – City of Violence – ever seen a punch so powerful that it breaks a passing airliner into two – Bruce Lee’s famous one inch punch doesn’t even come close

More chaos in Fight Back to School,

… in a forest with Daruma dolls hanging from the trees (Heaven & Earth),

… and in a church with walls pockmarked with bullet holes (Battle Royal 08). The funny thing is no one seems to have managed to hit and shatter any of the stained glass windows yet

Check out more of Afu Chan’s fantastic artwork at deviantART.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:

Warrior Epic Concept Art and Wallpapers
Kai (Ukitakumuki) – Concept Art for Nuclear Dawn and More!
Zeno Clash Concepts & Screenshots
Kal Online Wallpapers
My Favourite Dominance War III Wallpapers

Wallpapers Wednesday : Dominance War IV

October 28th, 2009

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A small selection of my favourite wallpapers from this year’s Dominance War IV art competition. The general theme for most of the entries takes on a decidedly darker and more morbid feel than previous years’ works with a host of imaginative infernal or mechanical implements of death and destruction being entered for Dominance War IV.

There’s a total of 29 wallpapers in all but I’ll just feature my favourite five – you can check out the rest at the Dominance War website. The selection below also exhibits a personal bias towards 2D concept art – hence the total absence of any of the wallpapers featuring the 3D entries – they’re not bad of course, just that I prefer 2D

I’ve attempted to provide links to the Dominance War IV entry page and personal website for the artist of each of the featured wallpapers below for those interested in exploring further

Tu Bui @ 2buiart.com (DW IV page)

Fedor Losev @ feddark.deviantart.com (DW IV page)

Huang Guang Jian @ hgjart.com (DW IV page)

Chung Yee Ling @ syncmax.deviantart.com (DW IV page)

Simon Dominic @ www.painterly.co.uk (DW IV page)

Download these and other Dominance War IV wallpapers. The champions and other entries for Dominance War IV can also be viewed here.

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LeoArtz.com – In Art We Trust
Artzmania – Free Arts E-Mag

Tags: Art Artists Recommended Wallpapers

Art Friday : Steve Argyle’s Wallpapers Galore!

October 16th, 2009

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What better way to introduce a yet unfeatured artist here at The Download Munkey than to overload your senses with lots of delicious eye candy Let’s just say all this is a brillant masterstroke by artist Steve Argyle to win the hearts of new minions (as he affectionately refers to the subscribers of his mailing list like me).

With his recent release of 65 wallpapers featuring 55+ different pieces of Steve’s awesome work for the likes of Legend of the Five Rings, Magic : The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, I’m pretty sure hordes of new minions will be eagerly flocking to his website and mailing list

A preview of some of my favourite wallpapers.

Chuda Ruri of the Snake Clan from the Legend of the Five Rings.

A gigantic samurai gets his moustache cleaned in Return of the Shogun.

The Kaiu Wall which guards the Crab Clan from the beasts beyond.

Nightlife in Scorpion City.

Don’t like samurai? How about some Star Wars instead? Perhaps Darth Vader suits your taste better

There’s more in the Star Wars section including an awesome Rohlan Dyre commissioned for the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, a Star Wars RPG supplement.

Maybe, sci-fi’s not your cup of tea? Good old fantasy should do the trick then, like this lithe Naya Battlemage from the Shards of Alara expansion set for Magic : The Gathering.

Age of Tyranny (above) and Dwarf Barbarian from Dungeons & Dragons.

This small selection of artwork is just the tip of the iceberg – there’s plenty more eye candy at Steve Argyle’s official site. And if 1600×1200 wallpapers are not enough, you always have the option to purchase prints of your favourite artworks

Check out Steve Argyle’s official website or head down right to the wallpaper collection.

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Tags: Art Artists Recommended Samurai Wallpapers

Art Friday : The Art of Space Hulk

October 02nd, 2009

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Everytime when Games Workshop (or one of its licensees like Fantasy Flight Games or THQ) puts out a new edition / expansion or even a totally brand new game, there’s always bound to be a glorious selection of artwork for the eyes to feast upon. The recent re-release of Space Hulk is no exception despite the fact that it is no new game – the first edition came out 20 years ago in 1989. Nonetheless, it’s bloody nice of Game Workshop to commission fresh new artwork by the likes of Adrian Smith (yum!), Alex Boyd, Dave Gallagher and Paul Dainton specially for this third edition of Space Hulk which is up on the Games Workshop website for your viewing pleasure

Since my favourite artist when it comes to Games Workshop is none other than the mighty Adrian Smith, no prizes for guessing which piece I prefer the most

Above is the box art featuring three Terminators from the Blood Angels Space Marines Chapter purging a space hulk of Genestealers with stormbolter, power sword and thunder hammer. The trio aren’t just any random Space Marine Terminators though – they’re artistic impressions of three actual Terminator miniatures from the Space Hulk boxed set.

From left : Brother Goriel with Stormbolter and a Genestealer trophy in the other hand, Sergeant Lorenzo with power sword – the Blood Angel’s most experienced 1st Company Sergeant and Sergeant Gideon with thunder hammer and storm shield. Click the links to see 360° views of the miniatures as painted by Games Workshop’s in-house ‘Eavy Metal team.

Alex Boyd’s artwork graces the cover of the Rulebook and Mission Book.

Being a rather recent convert to the wartorn Warhammer 40,000 universe, I find those old-school Space Marine Terminators in the last two artworks a bit weird – I can almost imagine the agony of the Space Marine being hunched up in one of those uncomfortable-looking Tactical Dreadnought suits while fighting against vicious Genestealers – see the Deathwing Terminators on the far left of the piece above by Christopher Baker.

While you’re there enjoying the artwork, don’t forget to click the tiny green Next button to grab two awesome Space Hulk wallpapers. Naturally, I prefer the one featuring the three Blood Angels Terminator heroes – I never ever pass up a opportunity to collect the artwork of Adrian Smith

Check out Art of Space Hulk and the Space Hulk wallpapers.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Favourite Illustrators of Warhammer 40,000 (I) – Adrian Smith
Warhammer 40,000 Wallpapers from Firebase Magazine
Favourite Illustrators of Warhammer 40,000 (VI) – Kevin Chin (King Mong)
Favourite Illustrators of Warhammer 40,000 (IV) – Andrea Uderzo
Lord Solar Macharius & The Macharian Crusade

Tags: Art Artists Games Workshop Recommended Tabletop Games Wallpapers

Art Friday : Ben Stokes – Video Director, Visual Artist & Musician

September 18th, 2009

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A look at some of Ben Stokes’ creative outputs, who’s probably better known as Dimensional Holofonic Sound or D.H.S to techno fans. His track House of God or one of its many remixes has been played by DJs for two decades now, check out its music video at Youtube, also directed and animated by Ben Stokes himself. Or listen to the track itself at Junodownload.

Also check out the music video for Steel Pulse and Damien Marley’s No More Weapons directed, shot and animated by Ben Stokes. Look for the video labelled Music Videos Part 1 at the Video section of his official website at holofonic.com or at YouTube – you definitely can’t miss the reggae vibes or the animated silhouettes of soldiers moving onscreen (reminds me of the Massive Entertainment animated production logo in the game World at Conflict).

My favourite work from Ben Stokes is definitely the ultra funky Drum Attack video released in 2003 consisting of multiple video clips of drummers doing their thing and expertly chopped and spliced together into a delicious two and half minute mini-mix, not unlike how hip hop DJs mix in different records at lightning speed like DJ Spinbad (or Aquasky for that matter, who crammed in 150+ records for a 5 minute mini-set for Annie Mac’s show on BBC Radio One in Jan 2006).

Karate chops! Wait, have those got anything to do with drumming?

Ends with a visual of Clyde Stubblefield who played the drums for James Brown’s Funky Drummer.

The quality of the Drum Attack video posted at Youtube is rather crappy so you might want to check out a clearer version at the website for Ben Stokes’ label Tino Corp or the Video section of holofonic.com where a longer 3 minute version of Drum Attack awaits in the Other Works video (fast forward to 2:34 mins).

Enjoy!

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Be Your Own One Man Band