Illustration.org

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? My name is Dave Dorman and I am an Eisner Award-winning illustrator, better known as the #1 Star Wars Artist (as voted on by the fans) and equally known for my art for Alien, Alien v. Predator, Predator, Batman, Magic: The Gathering, etc.

What are your responsibilities as a <job title>? My responsibilities are to bring an art director’s vision to life through my illustration, to make the fans happy and to help create sales of products via my artwork on book covers and packaging.

How did you get started in your industry? I first attended St. Mary’s College in Maryland to study art for a year. I was unhappy with what I learned there, so I transferred to the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. After one year, they felt they taught me all that they could. I wanted to learn color and they were only doing black and white, so I went off on my own, interviewed artists at comic book conventions about technique, and just continued working on my own. I made my first professional sale in 1982 – a Heavy Metal magazine cover. That launched my career.

Are you doing what you’ve always wanted to do? When I injured my knee my senior year, I realized a football scholarship was out of the question, as I refused the surgery, so that left art as the career for me. What advice can you give to young artists interested in your line of work? Be certain you understand the business side just as well as you understand art – learn to read and understand contracts.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I will never grow up – I still feel like a teenager mentally.

Who were/are you inspired by? Frank Frazetta, Enki Bilal.

Where do you think your industry is headed for in 5 years? 10 years? I think we’re ultimately headed toward digital comic books on a Kindle.

Is there a project/assignment that you worked on that is especially memorable? (tell us about it?)  Every assignment I do is memorable in some way. Most recently, I was honored to do the first painted cover ever for GEEK Monthly Magazine. It is of a 1980s Transformer in the foreground with a modern-day Transformer in the background. I submitted the art to the editor, Jeff Bond, and all of the sudden, my 4.5-year-old son says, “Daddy, where’s the picture on the Transformer’s arm?” It was then that I realized I’d forgotten the logo that’s supposed to be on the left arm of the 1980s version Transformer. I had to admit rather sheepishly to Jeff Bond that my 4 1/2 year old son is now in charge of quality control!

Do you have a daily routine? I get up at 7 a.m. and check emails and do some prep work until around 8:30 a.m. – I run errands and am back at the drawing board at 9:30 a.m. I break for errands around 1 p.m. and am back at the board by 3 p.m. I work until 5 p.m., make dinner, and am back at the board from 7 p.m. to around 2 a.m.

What do you do to inspire yourself to work? (How do you trick yourself into working when you don’t feel like it?)  Music is a huge source of inspiration to me, and I have quite a huge collection of CDs. I play John Williams when I’m painting Star Wars or Indiana Jones, for example.

What are your hobbies? I am a voracious reader of sci-fi, horror and fantasy, I’m a collector of art books and I enjoy checking out the great galleries here in Chicago.

How do you relax after a tough day at work? Painting is relaxing for me. I also like to catch up on all of the great shows I’ve Tivo’d.

What are some of your favorite movies? “Once Upon a Time in the West” is my favorite – I also love “Amelie.”

What awards and honors have you received? I’ve received an Eisner Award for my work on Alien: Tribes.

What’s the most important thing in your life right now? My wife and my son.

What do you think you’ll be doing in 5 years? 10 years? I’ll be listening to music and painting.

What is your working space like? Neat? Messy? Cluttered, but not dirty.

Do you collect anything? I collect memorabilia from the sci-fi, horror and fantasy markets as well as art books from those markets.

What gets your creativity going? My son – he thinks in such an innocent and interesting way that it really makes me think like a kid again – unharnessed.

Who are some of your favorite creative people? Stephan Martiniere, Donato Giancola, Charlie Athanas, Brom, Moebius, just too many to mention.

What is the most memorable moment of your life so far? When my son was born.

Do you have a list of things to do before you die/when you retire? I’d like to go back to Hawaii and surf again like I did when I lived there as a kid.

Is there anything in your life that you would like to change? I’d have my “Wasted Lands” project already in production for film or TV.

Do you regret any choices that you’ve made in the past? Just my first marriage.

Is there an ideal place where you’d like to work? Anywhere with a lot of light, overlooking the ocean.

What kind of people do you enjoy socializing with? Associating yourself with? I like to associate with people who understand art, and those who make me laugh. Charlie Athanas is that rare combination of both.

Is there an ideal place where you’d want to live? Hawaii’s north shore.

Do you travel for work? Do you enjoy travelling? I do travel for work and aside from the security hassles, I love seeing new scenery. It’s creatively stimulating. I especially love Europe.

Are you up to date with current events? How do you think it’ll affect your industry? I do follow the news – I think the economy will definitely affect my industry. Art sales are already down.

What did you have to go through to get to where you are now? A lot of time spent alone learning my craft. That was my sacrifice – I didn’t have a social life for a decade, but I had great parents who supported me while I suffered for my art.

Where do you get your ideas from? I get them from everyday life.

Do you ever get artists’ block? Is it just an excuse? I went through a period for about six months where I felt like I had artist’s block, but I was still working despite it.

What inspires you? The fiction I read, which is very visual, the movies and TV shows I follow, the off-handed remarks my son makes.

What would your dream project be? I already have my dream project – it’s my intellectual property, “The Wasted Lands.”

What do you love about your job? Hate about it? I love that every day is different. I hate it when someone tries to hire me for the type of art I clearly do not do.

What mediums do you wish you had more time to explore? Why? I recently attended Reverie ’09 in Texas with the Massive Black folks and it was the first time I’d ever done digital art. I thought it was a lot of fun and I hope to do more of it.

What is your favorite medium to work in? Oils.

Whose work do you respect in your industry? Where do I begin? I respect Chris Moeller, Mike Mignola, Stephan Martiniere, Donato Giancola, Brom, Mark Nelson, I could go on and on forever.

If you never went into art, what do you think you’d be doing instead? I’d be directing film.

What do you do when you’re not doing art? I’m reading comics or watching movies and TV.

Who are some of your favorite directors? What is it about their work that you appreciate? Sergio Leone – he had the eye of an artist.

Do you have a blog? Do you enjoy keeping it updated? I have a blog, but I’m totally undisciplined about keeping it updated.

What’s your opinion on the internet and global artist communities? I think they’re a wonderful exchange of ideas.

Do you have a favorite subject for your art? I love to incorporate trains into my art. I like the juxtaposition of the warm flesh of a person before the cold steel of a train.

Do you feel that your voice is clear in your artwork? Yes. People always know it’s me.

How long did it take you to get to where you wanted to be? I’m still not there, and I’ve been doing this for 25 years!

Are you part of any artistic communities? I belong to The Devil’s Candy Store, as well as the Chicago Commercial Artists Forum.

Do you feel that it’s important to be a part of a larger community? Yes, for the exchange of ideas.

What would make you feel accomplished in your goals? Fame? Reputation? Reputation – always having a steady stream of work without having to ask for it.

What do you want to do next? Direct films.

How do you go about selling yourself and your work? I attend conventions and I contact art directors via phone and emai.

How do you feel about the business side of art? I feel it’s more important than the art side – there are a lot of crappy artists out there who are multi-millionaires because they understand the business side better than the greater artists.

Who would you want to collaborate with? What would you guys work on? Charlie Athanas, Scott Hampton, John vanFleet, George Pratt, and Chris Moeller. I think we’d create one heck of an intellectual property.

If you could trade places for a day, whose shoes would you want to fill? Why? I’d trade places with Kevin Smith, just so I could direct films.

If you could change one thing about your workplace, what would it be? It would be uncluttered and about 20 x the size of what it is now with a lot more windows, overlooking the ocean.

What would be your ideal working situation? Being paid a LOT of money to just work on “The Wasted Lands” and in my free time, my gallery art.

Do you have your own studio? Do you share a studio with others? I have my own studio in my home. My Florida home had the ideal studio – I really miss it.

What are the benefits of having a studio? Drawbacks? There are no drawbacks that I can think of.

Do you enjoy sharing your ideas? Why/why not? Yes, because I enjoy the feedback I get from people.

Do you enjoy working with other people? Why/why not? It’s stimulating to me to bounce ideas amongst equally creative minds.

Describe/name your ideal coworkers/team. Charlie Athanas, Scott Hampton, John vanFleet, George Pratt, and Chris Moeller.

What are your favorite games/movies/videos/bands? What about them appeals to you? I used to play Star Wars Galaxy online a lot, but that ended once I had my son. My favorite bands include Yes, Genesis, Jonatha Brooke, and a lot of other women singer songwriters.

Do your favorite things influence your work? How so? Yes – Jonatha Brooke wrote a song called “Always” and I named a lead female character “Always” in my ”The Wasted Lands” property after that song.

What are you looking forward to the most? San Diego Comic-Con!

What’s your favorite time period for costumes/inspiration/design/art? The Steam Punk look is my favorite.

What are a few of your favorite blogs? ConceptArt.org, BurningCity.com, TheDevilsCandyStore.com, WildClaw Theatre’s blog.

Are you on any social networking sites? Portfolio sites? I’m on ConceptArt.org

What do you do on your free time? What would you do if you had free time? I rarely have any, but when I do, I’m usually socializing with other artists.

Do you attend gallery openings? How do you feel about gallery art and its changes? I do, and I really love to go. Gallery art is where I see myself going in my retirement. I love to paint the large format oil on canvas pieces.

Is storytelling important in your work? Why/why not? If my art doesn’t tell a story in the mind of the viewer, I haven’t succeeded in my art.

What past projects did you work on? What are you working on now that you can tell us about? I’m doing “Angel” covers for IDW and they are a lot of fun, and “Star Wars” covers for Dark Horse.

Describe your personal tastes. I like Steam Punk a lot.  I also liked the architecture in Belgium.

Have you noticed a pattern in your tastes? What are they? I like a lot of detail.

Is there something you consistently do in your work? Is it noticeable from piece to piece? I paint in oil, but many people don’t realize it’s oil.

Do you feel that you have your own style? Would you say it’s instantly recognizable as yours? Yes.

Do you think that individual style/voice is important to have? Yes – your work should be distinctively your own.

How did you go about developing your style? It all began with my father. Together, we won model building contests when I was a kid. My father had this inordinate eye for detail. He made historically accurate interiors for RC planes when he retired from the Air Force and he won awards and recognition for his work. He taught me to see the tiniest of details that added up to creating an amazing image.

What advice can you give students about developing a style? Don’t copy someone – make it your own.

Whose style influenced your work the most? Frank Frazetta.

Who do you look up to? I look up to my dad and my mom, who sadly, are no longer with us.

What is your greatest hope/dream? That my property, “The Wasted Lands” gets optioned and then made by a major studio.

What is your greatest accomplishment? My son.

What is your greatest failure? Not marrying my current wife the first time around.

What question do you wish people would ask when you get interviewed? How does it feel to have won your first Oscar?