Fred Schiller

I'm trying to earn enough to go to summer camp. No jobs are too big or small and a know a lot of words!

2012-02-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

The 21st Century as Imagined in 1910. I guess this stuff should start happening any day now...

2012-02-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

I love travel posters and here's a bunch of old ones I've never seen before.

2012-02-10T00:36:00.000-08:00

This is great. It's only February and I've already done my Christmas shopping. Everybody gets one!

2012-02-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

Titanically talented Tim Doyle's Unreal Estate prints. They're wonderfully illustrated and lots of fun to look at!

2012-02-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

To purchase copies of Tim's prints and to see the pencil versions, click here!

Ryan Heinerding's promotional posters for the Avengers movie. Fun stuff!

2012-02-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

The fabulous fantasy and sci-fi paintings of Jasper Sandner. Beautiful beyond compare!

2012-02-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

I recently dusted and organized my toy collection and took some photos before the dust devils return.

2012-02-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

If you like your sci-fi and fantasy artwork hot and heavy then Francesco Lorenzetti is your man!

2012-02-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

Christopher Lee (a.k.a. The Beast) knocks it out of the park with these posters for the original Star Wars movies.

2012-02-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

Click here to visit his store to purchase prints of these fab posters!

And if you can draw or paint matchbook covers depicting the lives of matchbook cover artists as cool and sexy, you're REALLY in demand!

2012-02-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

Hey! Look who got his tube back! Everything's better when you have your tube!

2012-02-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

It's possible to turn even the most tragic event into a personal victory for you!

2012-02-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

It's the Chibi-Fi Iron Man movie armory by the very talented Eozen!

2012-02-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

FREE BABY CHICKS! Did you not see that sign? Someone is giving away free baby chicks! How could you possibly not be stopping?

2012-02-06T03:26:00.000-08:00

What are you guys doing? Making a movie? I was in a NatGeo thing a while back but I got edited out. Is that film or digital? Technology, right? Is that a Snickers bar in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Seriously, is it? Can I have a bite? I promise not to bite. Seriously, I want some, now.

2012-02-06T03:22:00.000-08:00

THE TRUTH CAN BE TOLD!! Those rich Wall Street fat cats aren't fat cats after all. They're dapper capybaras!

2012-02-06T03:17:00.001-08:00

Oh, I am not a big baby and you quit calling me that. The Twilight movies are sad and you're supposed to cry!

2012-02-06T03:12:00.000-08:00

This crop is just about ready for picking. Remember to wear your gloves.

2012-02-06T03:07:00.001-08:00

Live gives you lemons = Lemonade. Life gives you a rock = Drag it precariously from the trunk of your car until you fall out and said rock smashes into you.

2012-02-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

In the end, the alien invasion successfully enslaved mankind. While while we were looking to the stars for the alien overlords, we should have been looking below our feet--in church basements and VFW halls.

2012-02-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

Rockets and spaceships. I could never decide with I like better, so here's a bunch of both!

2012-02-06T02:51:00.000-08:00

Artist unknown

Andy Rohr

borowskii

Joe Johnson & Ralph McQuarrie

Builders Studio

Bradley Schenck

Chris Viel

Danny Coyne

Danny Haas

mr dynamite

gorath

tundra_timmy

shelbs2

Michael Murdock

ToBiOh

neverlandjewelry

peanuts23

BigFatTexta

k1k0r0

ayumuyuki

ilkela

u63r

kelsm

Unknown

choppre

isip_bata

ayumuyuki

curtiscflush

Spyder10984

roflwaffle07

turbofanatic

Artist unknown

Speakerline

Suryadi Mcqueen

Artist unknown

bear99

A wonderful piece on writing science fiction and fantasy by Charlie Jane Anders at iO9!

2012-02-06T01:33:00.000-08:00

10 Writing "Rules" We Wish More Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Would Break

Science fiction and fantasy are genres where almost anything can happen — as long as the author can make it seem plausible, and as long as it's part of a good story. But that doesn't mean there are no rules. If anything, the fact that these genres are so wide open mean that there are tons of rules out there, some unspoken and some written in black and white.

And sometimes, breaking the rules is the only way to tell a really fascinating story. Here are 10 rules of SF and fantasy that more authors should consider breaking from time to time.

Note: We're not saying you must break any of the rules below. You can craft a brilliant work of fiction while still following all of the rules below. And most of these rules exist for a reason — because if you break them without knowing what you're doing, you can screw up horrendously. Some of the rules below represent things that may have been done to death in the past, so it's best to make sure you have a fresh spin. But at the same time, too many rules can be a creativity-killer, and sometimes it's good to bust out some illegal moves.

1) No third-person omniscient.
Third-person omniscient used to be the default mode for a lot of novelists — a lot of the classics of literary fiction as well as science fiction are written in third person omniscient. This means, in a nutshell, that the narrator can see what's going through any character's head, and can flit around as the story requires. But in recent years, fiction writers have opted for first person or limited third — in which only one person at a time gets to be a viewpoint character. The thing is, though, when you have tight third person with multiple viewpoint characters, it often feels like an omniscient narrator who's choosing to play games.

And actual third-person omniscient can be fantastic — you need look no further than Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which freely lets you know what Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and assorted other characters are thinking at any given moment. Or countless classic SF writers, for that matter. But I also want to put in a plea: anyone who's serious about writing genre fiction should read Henry Fielding, who makes third-person omniscient into an art form. In novels like Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones, Fielding draws these brilliant tableaux where he pauses to show what everyone's thinking, and how much at cross-purposes everyone is. It helps him be a keen observer of people, and also creates these beautifully funny set pieces.

2) No prologues
This is one I've been hearing for years — some agents and editors say they stop reading immediately if they see that a book has a prologue. But prologues have their uses, especially if you want to set a mood or establish some crucial backstory before you start introducing your main characters. Like most of the other things on this list, prologues can be done well, or they can be done horrendously. Luckily, we don't have to reach far to think of an example of prologues done well — George R.R. Martin starts every one of theSong of Ice and Fire books with one, and it's clear why these prologues are there. They help set up the conflicts of each book, via the experiences of a throw-away character. (Literally, in fact.)

3) Avoid infodumps
Like its cousin, "show don't tell," this injunction can be a great idea but can also get you into trouble. Sometimes an infodump can be a horrendous load of backstory or technical schematics, rammed down your poor reader's throat. But at other times, authors can go to huge, insane lengths to avoid having to come out and explain something. Like having contrived conversations, or weird "teachable moments" to convey a basic bit of worldbuilding to the reader, with the effect that the story grinds to a halt. We posted a collection of 20 well-done infodumpsa while back, just to prove it can be done well. Perdido Street Station art by Les Daniels.

And you may have noticed that whenever literary writers tackle science fiction or fantasy, they include tons of infodumps? Maybe this is one of those instances where they're not as familiar with the genre conventions, and thus fall into habits that many "real" SF and fantasy authors would avoid — but in this instance, they may just be right. Sometimes you just have to explain something, as painlessly as you can.

4) Fantasy novels have to be series instead of standalones
We love a good epic trilogy (or decalogy) as much as the next fantasy addict. But sometimes a nice done-in-one story is also exceedingly welcome. And this is one area where science fiction seems to have a slight advantage over fantasy — both genres have tons of sprawling series, but science fiction at least sometimes spawns one-off novels. And there's something to be said for getting a satisfying story in one volume, without a cliffhanger or any loose ends afterwards. And sometimes, characters can actually be developed more fully if the author doesn't have to hold anything back for future books. A character who gets a full arc in one book can be a richer character.

5) No portal fantasy
The "portal fantasy" is a mainstay in both science fiction and fantasy, even though it's mostly used in the latter. (You could argue that Hitchhiker's Guide is a "portal fantasy.") In this type of book, someone from our world discovers a pathway to another world, where he or she is our relatable everyhuman explorer, and we discover this new world through his or her eyes. It's a tried and true notion, and Lev Grossman gets a lot of mileage out of it in The Magicians — both Brakebills and Fillory, in different ways, are strange worlds that Quentin visits from the "real" world, and there's a lot of portaling. But we've heard many people say that "portal fantasy" is over, and so is the neophyte who learns about the magical world over the course of a book. Now, everybody wants stories where the main character is already steeped in the magical (or science-fictional) world as the story begins.

But as we argued a while back, there's still a lot of awesomeness lurking in the concept of an ordinary person traveling to a strange world. There are so many ways to tell that story, and so many metaphors buried in the notion of someone being thrust into a weird new world. Isn't that what we all do when we start exploring genre fiction? I think to some extent, this is something that die-hard genre fans have seen too much of, but these sorts of stories could still have a lot of appeal to mainstream and newbie readers.

6) No FTL
Yes, our current understanding of physics tends to frown upon faster-than-light space travel — no matter what a few weird neutrinos may or may not have done. And there's definitely a place for totally rigid, scientifically plausible fiction in which the very real difficulties of exploring our own solar system are explored. But then again, there's something undeniably awesome about being able to jump to hyperspace, or warp speed, or whatever. And maybe a little bit less realism is needed sometimes, to amp up the excitement of space travel. Most of us grew up on big, bold space operas in which interstellar travel was unrealistically, thrillingly fast — and that's still the portrayal of space that resonates with many people. Plus, FTL makes all sorts of other stuff possible, including space warfare and lots more first contact.

7) Women can't write "hard" science fiction.
This is one "rule" that most people are at least sensible enough never to say out loud — but it often seems as though "hard SF" refers to novels and stories written by mostly white dudes. And women often seem to be shunted more into soft science fiction or fantasy. And then you get these discussions where peopledebate whether a particular woman author really counts as "hard science fiction." To some extent, this comes from preconceptions about the types of people who read hard SF, and that indirectly influences expectations about who's going to be writing in that genre. But especially once you broaden your sciences to include biology or computer science, you start finding lots and lots of hard SF written by woman authors.

8) Magic has to be just a minor part of a fantasy world
This is one I've heard a lot lately — probably because of the success of George R.R. Martin's novels, in which magic starts out as a quiet rumor at the fringes of Westeros, something most people don't really believe in. It's only once you get to the later books that magic really starts to become something that most of the characters are aware of. And this is an absolutely brilliant approach to fantasy writing, and a breath of fresh air — but it's not the way all fantasy novels should be written from here on out. There shouldn't be a law saying that magic should be kept to the margins of a fantasy world, any more than you'd say a space opera shouldn't have too many spaceships. Magic should be limited, sure — but it can have limits and still be central to the characters' worlds.

9) No present tense
At least, I've heard some people say this is a big no-no. It can be a bit disconcerting when the narrator is telling you about stuff as though it's happening now. But present tense can also really work to make the story feel more immediate. And it can feel more arty, since a lot of vaguely literary writing is in the present tense. But also, if you want to see present tense working to create a dark, intense mood, check out Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim novels. Image by The Green Giant.

10) No "unsympathetic" characters
It's certainly true that if you're going to have a main character who's a total bastard, you're going to have work harder to win over the reader — a likable character is just obviously easier for readers to get on board with. But at the same time, feeling constrained to make your protagonist — or all your major characters — as sympathetic as possible can put a straitjacket on your writing. You're stuck trying to create characters who will seem sympathetic to all your readers, no matter what cultural context or attitudes they bring to the story. And you're putting severe limits on what sort of actions your characters can take. The bottom line is that "sympathetic" isn't the same thing as "compelling" — a character can be unsympathetic but utterly fascinating and spellbinding. Like a lot of the things on this list, this is all in the execution — if you're going to go with a protagonist who's fundamentally unsympathetic or unrelatable, you're going to have to do an amazing job of making the reader care about him or her in spite of everything. Steel Remains art by Vincent Chong, via Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

Soda cans is the freezer is a dangerous game best left to the skilled.

2012-02-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

Avid sportsman, Phil McHale, is so busy enjoying his paddle boat that he's oblivious to the low-flying UFO that's checking out his poop deck!

2012-02-05T01:03:00.000-08:00

That's life for you. Sometimes you win and sometimes you fail.

2012-02-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

I appreciate the offer, but I'm currently chatting with Racing Stripes in Russia. I'm very popular these days.

2012-02-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

We're nice to them because they protect us after midnight.

2012-02-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

Because playing shooting games all day long is exactly why the cell phone was invented. Can you still actually make telephone calls on them?

2012-02-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

Enough fooling around. Get up now and feed me. If you reach for that snooze button one more time you'll pull back a stub.

2012-02-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

It's cleaning day. Here are some stray images scattered across my hard drive.

2012-02-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of fun movie posters I've never seen before.

2012-02-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

This is a Polish or perhaps Russian poster for Hitchcock's Vertigo.

I don't know if this is an original or re-release poster for Dr. No. I just know I like it!

If you're the type of person who like s little bit of everything, you've come to the right spot! Here's a little bit of everything!

2012-02-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

Wait a second! This isn't right! That idiot at the filling station is going
to get a stern talking to!

Hold on! You can farm with dynamite now? Count me in!

Is this a trick question? Why am I blindfolded?
Why did I need to remove my trousers? HEY!!

You're right, Sarge. Things could get worse.
We left the sandwiches on the airplane!

If the smelly rats don't get you, the flying neck kick will for sure!

Some use knives or guns, but real men settle their differences with a good
old fashioned ax fight!

Time is precious. All postcards should be this efficient!

On days when the crime rate was up, some newspapers used to come with a complimentary weapon.

Yes, professor. This one has a healthy heart too. Can we take a break for a while?
My testicles are beginning to burn again. I need to go soak them.

The device is working perfectly, sir. We have no idea whatsoever what it's doing, but it
seems to be doing it flawlessly!

Perhaps because it required the customer to sit motionless for up to three days, Prof. Hooverblat's
automated hair cutting machine was a dismal failure. He was later able to adapt it to spay and
neuter cats and dogs.

Marge Voostoven, a.k.a. The Human Tugboat, was able to pull enormous freighters into dock
using only the power of her mind. After ten years on the job she was able to save enough money
to open a yarn store in Wisconsin.

In the future, scientists will perfect mind-altering drugs that will make people believe they are
seeing enormous farm produce.

I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I suspect all these stories are connected. Well, except for the one about the traffic problem.

Spears? No one said anything about spears. I'm a bleeder. See you guy
back at the boat.

Another one? What's the deal? I thought these things only hung out in
oceans and seas and stuff!

You're a sick little girl, Nancy. Leave Sluggo alone.

Okay, okay. If you're going to get all dramatic on me.

Lester Holts would have made a successful private investigator if not for his leaky bladder problem.

You can do that all day long, Bradley, but you're wasting your time.
I'm not switching desks with you. I like being by the window.

Sure, I subscribe to it, but I only read it for the gags and giggles.

One more rejection like this and I give up writing. Oh, who am I kidding!

Case #5591 from the "WHAT COULD GO WRONG?" files.

Well, technically it does have a view. But still...

I'm such a fool! Why didn't I go out with Fred Schiller when he asked?
Now he has a successful blog and owns a profitable coin laundry. Sigh...

Switch to Facebook Timeline? Ha! Never!!

How do I keep getting into these fixes? Mom's right, I bring it on myself.

I'm no expert, Wally. But I think you've become a dessert topping.

Things were much more atmospheric back before color came along and ruined everything.

"Heroes, Villains and Monsters" is a fun group of paintings by Alex Gross. He turns found vintage photos into magic!

2012-01-31T12:30:00.000-08:00

To see more of Alex's work or to order prints, click here!

The hour is late and I am weary, but there's always time for an unceremonious image dump. Right? Right!

2012-01-31T00:56:00.000-08:00

Mister DJ, spin me some Archies!

I wonder if I can get prescription lenses for my Iron Man glasses?

Give it up, kid. You mom ain't got the skillz.

I still like both of them. I'm like that.

Now I wish they'd draw me a bath.

Jeffrey Catherine Jones, you are missed.

Hey! Quit snooping around on my computer!

I found him, but he's all sticky and can't get out!

We seem to be a tad early for the big opening--or any opening.

Creepy yet fascinating. The Giger curse.

New HoverMice! Ask for them by name!

There aren't many things a hug can't cure.

10 minutes ago: A perfect addition to my collection. It'll be worth a fortune one day.
Now: Nom nom nom nom!

Your deductive reasoning is simply amazing, Batman!

There's only one left in stock, so hurry. Or don't. Me, I'm running away!

Just sittin' on the dock of the bay...

The doctor will see you now. Hey, where are you going?

I once caught a fish that was THIS big!

2012-01-31T00:31:00.000-08:00

Some oddness from the talented Zsolt Bodoni.

2012-01-30T17:41:00.000-08:00

I don't smoke. I don't drink. I do like robots and I don't think that's so bad.

2012-01-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

Regretfully none of these images had artist's names attached.
If I knew them I would gladly give credit where it's due.
All I can say is "Good Job!" to all parties involved.

Some thirst quenching Coca-Cola ads by the great Pete Hawley.

2012-01-29T02:21:00.000-08:00

'The Traveler' is available as a print or t-shirt from a company called Help Ink that contributes heavily to some great causes. Look below the image for a link.

2012-01-25T15:30:00.000-08:00

Visit HelpInk.com by clicking here!

This is not the cereal I was looking for--but it's good!

2012-01-24T16:13:00.001-08:00

Too many floors are made of lava these days--especially little kid's--and Spider-Man's.

2012-01-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

The mighty Kong by the equally mighty Arthur Adams.

2012-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

CLICK TO GET THE BIG PICTURE!

I've been getting threatening letters from cute animal fans (go figure) so no robots or cool art today. Now I'd appreciate the return of my garden gnome, please.

2012-01-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

Always bring your purse when it's raining, in case you need to take a cab home.

When you're an only child you make do for friends.

Contrary to popular belief, turtles love bath day.

Pssssst! Hey kid! Have you head if we're getting pureed tuna again?

I meant to do this, of course.

It's kind of like puppy love, only with elephants.

Use one for big itches and the other for delicate areas.

Get up right this second. You're going to school today and that's that!

It's a good to be a cute animal. I've got an agent and a deal with Disney!

I fold up easily for convenient carrying and storage!

Don't worry. That whole 'Dog Eat Dog' thing is just an expression. You're safe.

Why yes, I am a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel. To be honest, I've never
seen one before either.

No, it's a KIDDIE pool, not KITTY. You'll be perfectly safe there.

Nearly all species of animals enjoy a good Knock-Knock joke.

Ungh! You get down and let me try. I'm taller than you!

I may not go very fast but I look good doing it.

Pugsly wishes he had paid closer attention the last time Star Wars was
on television. He could really use the force right about now.

From this point on, you may address me as Simba.

Whoo loves you, baby?

Shhhhhh.....

...be quiet...

....it's nap time!

For others, it's bath time.

Some are curious about the world...

...while others are pretty scared of it.

They give so much and ask for so little in return. Ten minutes will make him happy
for the rest of the day.

Faster dad! Just like last time. Come on, let's go real fast!

It's a pity something so cute has to grow up into something so tasty.

Slurp! Yeah, Kung Fu Fat Boy or whatever to you. Slurp! Happy *BURP* New Year!

Thanks to the folks at BuzzFeed for
sharing the wealth!

Check out a few of the absolutely amazing Alternate Universe Movie Posters by Sean Hartter!

2012-01-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

To see lots more of Sean's great work, visit him at:
http://hartter.blogspot.com/2009/11/misc.html

A load for fun art from Andrea Rhodes and Saul Ruiz. I like the stuff they do!

2012-01-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

Artwork from Abdon Jose Romero Diaz. Lots of fun and pretty to look at. Who can beat that?

2012-01-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

What are you? AC or DC? Packaging art by Spencer Bigum!

2012-01-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves robots, right? Of course they do! Here's a bunch of robots from the sizzling talent at Deviant. Enjoy!

2012-01-19T18:35:00.000-08:00

diegosimone

aaronsimscompany

Malaveldt

lordvenom05-d370y93

G_I__ROBOT_by_DeclanShalvey

G_I__Robot_by_mbreitweiser

GC_Robot_by_pacman23

GI_ROBOT_by_PopGunPulp

giant_robot_by_cuson

giant_robot_by_ptitvinc

hand_made_steel_robot_by_sinoera-d4mu3ll

Mad_robot_by_JediMSieer

red_robot_concept_by_Tyrus88

retro_robot_by_pirlipat-d3hsvj9

Retro_robot_by_quintela

Robot onishade

robot_10_by_kanartist

ROBOT_12_by_BillReinhold

robot_bodyguard_by_llRobinll

robot_boys_by_takeru_san-d3rhus1

Robot_by_alijalali

Robot_by_fabioragonha

robot_by_peerro

robot_by_soongpa-d3ioomc

Robot_by_Xhui9

Robot_by_ZeroPointPolygon

Robot_Fist_by_mattandrews

Robot_Industrialis_by_Dian3

Robot_is_dead_by_Waldemar_Kazak

Robot_Love_by_zeo_x

robot_repair_service_by_rtil

robot_rising_by_dreaz

Robot_Rollcall_by_comfycushion87

Robot_Violinist_by_savagesparrow