Jeff Vandermeer - Tumblr Posts

SUCH a good movie, adapted from one of my favorite authors. I loved being able to study the gifs of this moment - thanks to pixelrey!

Annihilation (2018) Dir. Alex Garland

yeah, you’re not rid of me

i’ll make you lick my injuries

i’m gonna twist your head off, see

this sucks so bad i need to (remembers suicide jokes only make my mental health worse) join an expedition into Area X

This book is blowing my mind

[sources: x / x ]

"Almost Familiar" (Annihilation)

Digital collage made in GIMP with stock images from Pexels.com. Based on a scene in the book "Annihilation", part of the "Southern Reach" triology-soon-to-be-tetralogy by Jeff Vandermeer.

I was kinda thrilled that making collages enabled me to re-create this specific scene from the book, even if this piece looks and feels just as eerie to me as reading the scene did. This was more of a quick one, but I still like it very much.

I have made a few other collages that dip into the same uncanny metamorphosis-type entities and imagery as this one that I will hopefully post soon as well.

[sources : x / x ]

"Annihilation - The Bear (version 1)"

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by the bear(-creature) from the movie adaptation of "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

This is less of a 1:1 interpretation of the bear, and more of an abstract, experimental, artistic representation of it. After I made the dolphin, I remembered the bear from the movie and thought about recreating it, and was actually quite surprised (in a good way) when I managed to do so.

The pic is meant to be half-realistic, half artistic; the skull kinda looks like it was drawn over the bear, and kinda as if the skull really portrudes from the bear's head. I really enjoyed the 'shared eye' as well, it came out looking really well.

I have a second picture of the bear that I will post in the future; it looks very similar but is not completely identical. Overall, this concept was a lot of fun to try and adapt, and I learned a few new things along the way.

(Fun fact, the bear actually has a name. It's 'Homerton'.) (2nd fun fact, I am almost sure that the art for Tom Rhodes' 'Don't Fear The Reaper' cover features the same skull I used.)

[sources : x / x ]

"Annihilation - The Bear (version 1)"

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by the bear(-creature) from the movie adaptation of "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

This is less of a 1:1 interpretation of the bear, and more of an abstract, experimental, artistic representation of it. After I made the dolphin, I remembered the bear from the movie and thought about recreating it, and was actually quite surprised (in a good way) when I managed to do so.

The pic is meant to be half-realistic, half artistic; the skull kinda looks like it was drawn over the bear, and kinda as if the skull really portrudes from the bear's head. I really enjoyed the 'shared eye' as well, it came out looking really well.

I have a second picture of the bear that I will post in the future; it looks very similar but is not completely identical. Overall, this concept was a lot of fun to try and adapt, and I learned a few new things along the way.

(Fun fact, the bear actually has a name. It's 'Homerton'.) (2nd fun fact, I am almost sure that the art for Tom Rhodes' 'Don't Fear The Reaper' cover features the same skull I used.)

[sources: x / x / x / x / x / x ]

"Annihilation" - aesthetic/moodboard (based on a mix of movie and book version)

An aesthetic/moodboard made in GIMP based on the Southern Reach books and movie by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with free stock images from pexels.com.

Further thoughts below the cut:

One of the earliest aesthetics/moodboards I made when I got back into GIMP, and before I even really got back into 'Annihilation' again, going purely off of memory to make this one. Not the best I have made imo, but still part of my art journey, so I am posting it.

Also, I kinda like simplicity, how 'ordinary' everything looks, while the book and movie themselves contain weird and uncanny imagery.

Either way, I liked making this, which is the most important thing. And it sparked my attempts to make creature collages later on, like the dolphin with the human eye.

[sources: x / x / x / x / x / x ]

"Annihilation" - aesthetic/moodboard (based on a mix of movie and book version)

An aesthetic/moodboard made in GIMP based on the Southern Reach books and movie by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with free stock images from pexels.com.

Further thoughts below the cut:

One of the earliest aesthetics/moodboards I made when I got back into GIMP, and before I even really got back into 'Annihilation' again, going purely off of memory to make this one. Not the best I have made imo, but still part of my art journey, so I am posting it.

Also, I kinda like simplicity, how 'ordinary' everything looks, while the book and movie themselves contain weird and uncanny imagery.

Either way, I liked making this, which is the most important thing. And it sparked my attempts to make creature collages later on, like the dolphin with the human eye.

[sources: x / x ]

"Annihilation - The Bear (version 2)"

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by the bear(-creature) from the movie adaptation of "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

This is, in fact, not the same image I posted before; the photo for the bear is a different one. Very similar though. I wanted to do a more close-up version of the creature and experimented a bit by adding color to the eye. I really like how eerie it looks, and how well the images fit.

"Annihilation - The Deer"

[sources: x / x ]

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by the deer-creature(s) from the movie adaptation of "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

I originally didn't plan on posting this separately and only using it in a 'Annihilation' moodboard/aesthetic (that I haven't posted yet), but then looked through my files and decided to clean it up a bit and actually give it its own post.

Again, this is partly meant to look artistic, part realistic - the branches are from a stock photo but edited so they look almost hand-drawn, and almost as if they are sprouting from the deer's head. The branches make the deer look very alien but regal, just like the ones from the movie did.

Still not quite sure what to make with the text(s) on these pieces however. I'm not sure topography and choosing fonts is gonna be one of my strengths. But the pic looked a bit unfinished without some text imo.

"Annihilation - The Deer"

[sources: x / x ]

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by the deer-creature(s) from the movie adaptation of "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

I originally didn't plan on posting this separately and only using it in a 'Annihilation' moodboard/aesthetic (that I haven't posted yet), but then looked through my files and decided to clean it up a bit and actually give it its own post.

Again, this is partly meant to look artistic, part realistic - the branches are from a stock photo but edited so they look almost hand-drawn, and almost as if they are sprouting from the deer's head. The branches make the deer look very alien but regal, just like the ones from the movie did.

Still not quite sure what to make with the text(s) on these pieces however. I'm not sure topography and choosing fonts is gonna be one of my strengths. But the pic looked a bit unfinished without some text imo.

"The Biologist"

[sources: x / x / x ]

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by The Biologist from "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

"The Biologist"

[sources: x / x / x ]

Digital collage made in GIMP. Inspired by The Biologist from "Annihilation" by Jeff Vandermeer. Made with stock images from pexels.com.

YES YES YES BITCH YES omg i finished authority like two days ago and i am EEEHRHEHEPING became so obsessed it is so GOOD its so UNNERVING AND UNCOMFORTABLE but also so poetic and well thought out and so well strctured

when i tell you the moment i realized the hypnosis was why the mid book structure of authority was so hard to follow I LOST MY ROCKER THAT IS SUCH A COOL IDEA LITERALLY THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR BUT THE CLUES THE EVERYTTHINF MWUAHH

i was ranting abt this to my mom its infectous! Im becoming my own area x with the air around me, like u cant breathe next to me without finding out the awesome trilogy ive been reading

Super!!!

My bf was watching Annihilation last night and made the mistake of asking me story details about The Southern Reach Trilogy books like "so what happens to this character?" And "Why did X happen?" And I went on a long ND rant explaining all of the wild intricacies of the plot and theme dynamics and... we had a very late night to say the least.

I will never stop gushing about this book series. If you love weird fiction, environmentalism, and subtle horror, I high recommend the series 10/10.

Annihilation was such an experience. the book was beautiful in the most powerful meaning of that word. It was beautiful.

It was so unnerving too. I have a fear of body horror as well as mold/fungus/sprouting/growth unease, i cant stand being near a fuzzy fruiting body. It icks me, and yet it was so worth it to endure for the book. It was so well crafted, it was such an amazing experience. I think it was the deepest way a piece of literature has touched me yet. Its a love letter to nature with an apology of how we ruined it embedded in it’s center.

The movie was awesome but the book is so so much better. Its everything you could possibly want. I cried when i finished it because i knew that i would never be able to experience it for the first time again (of course if i werent to sustain some concerning brain damage but still tho just how hard do u have to knock me over the head to knock this piece of work that rewired my soul out my being?? I think ever if i were to loose all recollection of reading the book there would still be pathways that my neurons formed around it, id still know a part of it somehow. u would have go thru some real sci fi shit to remove all the growth my cells have gone through after finishing consuming such a media) . Its just shmactaculous, truly honestly surreal

I wanna talk and talk about this and im stooped that theres such a small following around this!! like kumon theres a bigger fandom for my immortal and not this jaw dropping-knee buckling-mouthwatering-brain altering-heart smackening piece of work??! please if youre even a smidge bit interested go check out Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

(either the movie or the book, cause if theres any intent the movie will become a highway to the book trilogy (absolutely not speaking from experience))

Also if you could i actively suggest avoiding the movie before reading the first book, theres a few spoils and it sets your mind to where you think the story will go and it will ruin a lot of the craftsmanship which goes into the setting and creating the story, plus the movie has like 20% of the content the book has, its very watered down and as good as it is it can never compare to the book

favorite reads of 2022: annihilation by jeff vandermeer

"we were neither what we had been nor what we would become once we reached our destination."