The Amazing Visions of Stephan Martiniere

Okay, maybe you have never heard of Stephan Martiniere before. But surely you have admired his work while playing a game, watching a movie or passing time at a theme park. As an illustrator, concept artist and design consultant, Stephan Martiniere has been involved in the creation of some of the most popular games, movies and theme parks like Myst 5, Star Wars Episode 2 & 3, I Robot, The Fifth Element, Battlefield Earth as well as fairground rides for Universal Studios, Paramount and MCA.

In no time, the French artist has created a portfolio without equal. Like no other, Martiniere manages to transfer imagination's boundaries into pictures that open doors to other worlds and different times. His skills show us civilizations that we would never have known otherwise – a talent that opened doors for him at a very young age. Doors that would usually be reserved for much older illustrators. With this talent, he has created a market for himself that seems to have no limits. No matter which medium or industry, his talent enables him to create unique things in all creative positions and to find a creative solution to each and every problem. A large-scale visual problem solver.

 Art Scene International is taking you on a trip to the world of Stephan Martiniere!

 Art Scene:

Stephan, at present you are Creative Visual Director at Midway Games. However, considering your speed, this might have changed by the time this magazine is published...

Stephan:

Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, who knows but I don't think so. I feel comfortable here at Midway Chicago, where I am head of the concept group. I am surrounded by a very good team and we are working on several new projects for which we develop concepts and visual manuals.

Art Scene:

However, you do have several sidelines, right? Keyword Barbarella...

Stephan:

You are well informed! Yes, I do work on other projects like book covers or conceptual designs for movies. As you mentioned, my current projects are "Barbarella" by Robert Rodriguez and "Knowing" by Alex Proyas.

Art Scene:

Not bad. But probably not very exciting for you, compared to the development of your career. Could you please pass it in review shortly for our readers?

Stephan:

A short biography? Okay. As a kid, I was an enthusiastic fan of Asterix or Tintin. Later, I transferred to the fan base of Marvel and DC Comics and from that time on, I knew exactly what I wanted to be. However, I had no idea how widely spread the world I had chosen to immerse myself in really was. So when I attended art school – the "Ecole Supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperre" (Duperre Superior School of Applied Arts) in Paris, I already knew that illustration was the subject I favored.

 Read the whole article in the current issue of Art Scene International.