Welcome to Nikolai Lockertsen's dystopian universe

It's not often that I'm moved by digital art, but it's difficult not to be impressed with the work of Norwegian illustrator Nikolai Lockertsen. Perhaps it's the way he creates such speculative post-apocalyptic worlds. They're gritty, explicit, and I'm definitely sucked into the visual narrative.

Nikolai has worked in the film industry since the late 90's. In addition to film-related works, he also does book illustrations and stage designs. He's a pioneer in iPad art, and almost all the images featured in this post were done using Procreate.

You can see more of Nikolai's work at his personal site and ArtStation page.

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Weirdly Charming

If you’re a fan of art that makes you do a double-take, you need to check out Richard Brener . Based in the UK, Richard is an internationally collected artist who works primarily with ink, fineliners, and gouache. When you first see his pieces, they actually look pretty playful. Then you realize the entire canvas is packed with thousands of tiny, ghost-like shapes he calls "champs." They’re all squeezed together like commuters on a rush-hour train, and the level of detail is honestly mind-blowing. Richard spends hundreds of hours drawing these little guys over and over. It’s obsessive, very intentional, and a little bit wild. The cool part is that the longer you stare, the more the vibe shifts. Check out more photos below:

Enigmatic Shapes and Psychedelic Patterns

To say that I love Sanagi 's work is an understatement. Looking at her art feels sort of therapeutic, and I find her drawings refreshingly intricate. They're trippy, psychedelic, and resemble something that you might see under a microscope. Not much is Googleable about Sanagi, but that's fine. There aren't many artists these days that still pull off the whole mysterious vibe, so I commend her for that. By the way... they're all hand-drawn with pen and ink.

This satirical video explains how to make modern art

Modern art enthusiasts are a special breed of people. But here's what I learned after watching this clip: Even with the most limited artistic skills, you can still make something totally worthy of that coveted MoMA wall. [h/t: Pleated Jeans ]

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