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A couple of weeks ago I cleaned out a storage closet here in the studio used primarily for holding shipping supplies. Back in the farthest corner, I came across a box full of old framed art prints by Michael Parkes and Brian Froud that had once adorned our apartment (from way back when Ang and I were living in Florida). Amongst these old prints, I found some of my early spec work that had I created in hopes of bridging my illustration portfolio from role-playing games to children’s books.
Most of this work was created late in 1994 and throughout 1995. I had been illustrating for Dungeons & Dragons and Planescape for a couple of years at that point, and was visualizing how my art would look in books for children. Though my style and technical skills were becoming more apparent in these images, they all lack any real sense of exhibiting action or portraying sincere moment. At that point, all I was striving for was creating finished scenes in a style emulated from my favorite artists.
Interestingly, I (temporarily) moved away from pen & ink for many of these samples and used a combination of colored pencils over acrylic paints. (I had yet to discover the acryla gouache that I use almost exclusively for my painted illustration nowadays). This early technique was certainly influenced by the style of illustration that dominated during the mid-1990′s. Artists like Gary Kelley, Carter Goodrich and Chris Van Allsburg primarily used pencils (or pastel in the case of Gary’s work) which gave their images a grainy texture.
On top of that, I was (obviously) looking at Brian Froud and Arthur Rackham’s fantastic work. However, there is a lot of composition and figure placement inspired by Maxfield Parrish. Though these artist’s stylistic influence is strong in these pieces, their process was also affecting mine. I began using model reference, just like Parrish would have done, for this image of a traveling elf listening to directions from a dragon…
…in fact, the elf’s pose is taken from my old college life-drawing book,
6 Comments on 1995: Bridging the Gap, last added: 11/11/2011
I hope everyone in my neck of the woods is safely recovering from the early winter storm that decided a fun trick for Halloween would be ten feet of snow covering the ground. For us residents in western Massachusetts, Halloween will be celebrated tomorrow night…yeah, it was that bad here.
However cold I was from our lack of heat, my heart was warmed when six year-old Nico, from New York City, sent me a snapshot of his awesome trick-or-treating attire. Not only does he have great taste in literature, but his parents are good with helping make an out-of-this-world costume. Holy Macaroni!
This reminded me that I’ve received other snapshots over the years of other DiTerlizzi-inspired homemade costumes and how flattered and blown away I am when I see these.
So, if you send me a snapshot of you (your little one) dressed up as a character from one of my books for me to share here on the blog, I’ll send you some signed swag. It can be from ANY year, it doesn’t have to be from 2011. Please send your pics here: [email protected] and DON’T FORGET to include your mailing address.
Happy belated-Halloween!
I hope everyone had a fabulous Fourth of July. I took a weekend off from WondLa 2 and enjoyed some food, fireworks and finding fireflies. Also, I uploaded all sorts of DiTerlizzi-themed downloads to the site. If you read about each title under the BOOKS section, you’ll now find lots of cool FREE stuff, like audio samples from my various audio books (read by the likes of Mark Hamill, Alan Cumming, Andrew McCarthy and the lovely Teri Hatcher), as well as a plethora of coloring pages and activity sheets for use at home or in the classroom.
I have some favorites, of course, such as make-your-own “Ted’s Birthday Hat” (where you have to write the name of your imaginary friend on it).
(click image for a hi-res file)
…and some holiday images, which I created specifically for crafting flat ornaments to decorate your home, presents or Christmas tree. (In fact, I should create some new images this year…perhaps Kenny, Grahame and company?)
(click image for a hi-res file)
…there is even a “Color-n-Make” set of puppets from The Spider & The Fly where you can create jointed paper dolls of Mr. Spider, Ms. Fly and the ghost bugs!
(click image for a hi-res file)
…and, since there was no appropriate place for these, here is a set of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons player-character sheets designed and decorated by yours truly for use on your next adventure (click for that hi-res image). Have fun!
8 Comments on Download some DiTerlizzi!, last added: 7/7/2011
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Love his books!!! But it sure will be cool to meet him!”
Hello Tony,
I’m an illustrator who came across two amazing things today, your blog post being one the second, a chapter I stumbled upon in a book about Norman Rockwell’s creative and technical procedures. It might sound corny, but getting the information from both of you at the same time seemed resonate for me and my creative muse.
Although I’ve heard of many books and series’ you’ve created I’ve only been aware of your specific body of work for a month or so. I was immediately drawn to it because of your realistic depiction of your imagination. You do successfully what I am striving to achieve in my own work; to paint realistically from imagination. I discovered your website last night and must have signed up for updates (don’t remember) but this update came this morning.
I’m re-establishing my focus as a book illustrator after a few years of other ventures. With that in-lies the daunting task of updating my portfolio and then landing an agent. Your information will help me. I appreciate the time you took to share your journey. I will keep checking back. Best of luck with your upcoming projects.
Thanks!
-Kary Lee
Kary – I’m really interested to know what this Rockwell book is! Dish!
Is it My Adventures as an Illustrator, Kary? That book is awesome. Rockwell seemed like a cool guy.
Hi Tony– Thank you for the post!
I am a student studying illustration and often times I am frustrated when I see where I am and where I want to be professionally. It is always such a nice boost of inspiration when I get to see the work of artists that I love and admire such as yourself explain that all it takes is hard work and time to get you where you need to be. Thank you once again for being one of my favorite illustrators who makes the time to write posts like these that teach me great lessons.
Melissa C.
HI TONY,
I COULDN’T HELP BUT NOTICE THAT THERE ARE TWO DRAWINGS FROM ALICE IN WONDERLAND. THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER (LOVE THE OYSTERS) AND TWEEDLEDEE AND TWEEDLEDUM. WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT DOING YOUR OWN VERSION OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND OR DID YOU JUST WANT TO DRAW IT.
-NOAH D
I’ve continually toyed with the idea of illustrating my rendition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but never seem to get around to it…one day, perhaps. That might be a good blog post, though, I’ve lots of sketches from over the years.