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Hello friends!
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Lately, the times we live in seem more and more like my favorite science fiction genre, cyberpunk. This issue lists some of my favorite cyberpunk media and has tips for achieving the cyberpunk aesthetic in your own work.
Read on, meat puppets 👨🎤
The Definitive Cyberpunk
Even if you're not familiar with the cyberpunk genre, you've likely seen it in popular culture. Anything set in the dystopian near future, with sub-optimal quality of life and high tech is cyberpunk. Here's a crash course on some of my favorites.
Neuromancer
William Gibson's (@greatdismal) 1984 debut novel established cyberpunk as a genre. It's the first book in his masterful Sprawl Trilogy. Gibson invented the term "cyberspace", predicting the future internet. The opening line to the book is my favorite of all time. "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."
Blade Runner
Ridley Scott's 1982 film, based on the Phillip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, features life-like androids called replicants and sets the tone for almost every science fiction movie released since. There's a dark, neon-infused, Asian-inspired urban landscape, a gritty hero, and high-tech everywhere.
Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson introduces his readers to the metaverse, a virtual world with avatars and daemons, all terms coined by the author, and commonly used today. And this book has the greatest main character name ever, Hiro Protagonist. If you like hacking and samurai swords, this book's for you.
Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex
Long before the release of the live-action feature film, Kenji Kamiyama wrote and directed the anime television series based on Masamune Shirow's popular manga. The art is spectacular, and the tech is phenomenal. In the mid 21st century, most humans are cybernetically enhanced and plugged into a global network, so they can communicate instantly through thought alone. The main villain, the "Puppet Master" is able to hack into anyone's cyber-brain to have them do his bidding.
Cyberpunk Today
Today, people are wearing masks in public and communicating regularly through their wireless AirPods. Google Glass was a thing. Our climate is deteriorating. People sheltering at home are spending growing amounts of their time in virtual reality.
Just yesterday, Facebook shared their vision of remote work using augmented and virtual reality. Take a look at this mix of virtual and real office space.
We are living in the future.
The Cyberpunk Aesthetic
Want to achieve the cyberpunk aesthetic in your next project? Think dark, urban, futuristic spaces sprinkled with bright colored cyan and magenta neon. Here are some examples, tools, and tutorials to capture your inner cyberpunk.
Million Dollar Metropolis
A Cyberpunk City in Minecraft
Neoncam
How to Create a Very Easy Cyberpunk Effect in Photoshop
Create a Cyberpunk / Vaporwave Look in Photoshop
Five Tips for Creating Cyberpunk Artwork
Keep making, and thanks for reading! 🙌
Hit reply to tell me what you're making. I'm looking for anyone interested in talking about their own side-projects and maker journey, so speak up if you'd like to appear in Serial Maker. I'd also love to know what you thought of this issue, and what you want to hear about in the future. And don't forget to continue the conversation on Discord!
Until next week,
Craig