| Dave Dorman | |
|---|---|
 Dave Dorman with his Captain America v. Darth Vader painting 2011 | |
| Born | 1958 (age 66–67) Michigan, U.S. |
| Area | Writer,Penciller, Artist,Inker,Colourist |
Notable works | Star Wars: The Art of Dave Dorman,Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman |
| Awards | Eisner Award, 1993 Inkpot Award, 2010[1] |
| davedorman | |
Dave Dorman (born 1958 inMichigan[2]) is a science fiction,horror andfantasyillustrator best known for hisStar Wars artwork.
Dorman's parents are Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jack N. Dorman and Phyllis Dorman. Both parents are deceased. Dorman is married to award-winning TV/video producer, writer andpublicist Denise (McDonald) Dorman of WriteBrain Media. He has a son, Jack, who was born in 2004.[2]
Dorman's father Jack Dorman was renowned for his work and awards in the field ofradio-controlled airplanes. Jack Dorman created historically accurate interiors for the planes and was an expert at model building. Dorman attributes his attention to detail to his father and credits both parents with giving him emotional and financial support early in his career. Together, Dorman and his father won numerous awards for their model building projects.
Dorman attendedSt. Mary's Seminary and University inMaryland andThe Kubert School inNew Jersey. Dorman also taught a week-long seminar at the art department ofSavannah College of Art and Design in the mid-1990s. The head of the art department at the time wasDurwin Talon. Dorman has been asked to teach workshops at Flashpoint Academy and the American Academy of Art, both in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a co-founder of Comix Academy, along with Durwin Talon, Scott Hampton and Christopher Moeller and John van Fleet. This is a master class in comic book illustration.
Dorman attended a graphic arts program at St. Mary's College in Maryland, but left after a year because it did not have an illustration component. Next, he attended The Kubert School in New Jersey, but left after one year because their curriculum only taught black and white illustration and Dorman wanted to be a cover artist.[2] As an illustrator, he describes himself as self-taught.[3]
Dorman began his professional career in 1979, and has done illustration for comic book companiesMarvel,DC, andDark Horse,[4] but his break came in 1983, when his artwork first appeared on the cover ofHeavy Metal magazine.[3][5]Hasbro commissioned Dorman to paint over 100 pieces realistic artwork for its 3-inch series ofG.I. Joeaction figures in the mid-1980s.[6] In 1994, Dorman was commissioned to do the artwork for a series of 90trading cards for theUltraverse comic book setting.[7] In 1996, Hasbro asked Dorman to create more artwork for its 12-inch G.I. Joe collector series.[6]
Although he has produced art based on such characters asIndiana Jones,Batman, andSuperman, he became most well known for hisStar Wars artwork.[4]The Star Wars Art of Dave Dorman was published in 1996 byRandom House/FPG. Dorman won a poll of the readers ofThe Official Best of Star Wars Magazine in 1998, as "Best Star Wars Artist".[3] Dorman won anEisner Award in 1993 for his paintings in the bookAliens: Tribes.[2] In 2010 he won the prestigiousInkpot Award[8] atSan Diego Comic-Con, where he was a featured guest that year.[9] During that show, he also launched his new career retrospective book,ROLLING THUNDER: The Art of Dave Dorman, which is published by IDW Publishing and Desperado Publishing.
Dorman began hisroleplaying game (RPG) work beginning withPacesetter Ltd in 1985, and began freelancing forTSR in 1987, producing cover art forDungeons & Dragons books asGargoyle and the originalDraconomicon, among others. Dorman also did artwork for the gamesShadowrun (FASA),Torg (West End Games, or WEG),Champions (Hero Games),Mayfair Games' "Role Aids",Rifts (Palladium Books), andBlood of Heroes. Dorman also produced all the art for some of West End Games'Star Wars role-playing game supplements in the 1990s.[10] He did some illustrations for theMicronauts toy line in the early 2000s.[11]
Dorman has been known for more than 20 years because of his photo-realistic style of oil painting. Dorman'sStar Wars: The Art of Dave Dorman cocktail table art book was the top-selling art book in 1996 forBallantine Books and became the textbook of choice for illustration courses atNorthern Illinois University inDeKalb, Illinois.[12] He was also voted "The #1Star Wars Artist of All Time" byStar Wars Galaxy Magazine in 1996.[citation needed]Star Wars creatorGeorge Lucas is a fan of Dorman's work and has purchased dozens of Dorman's original oil paintings.[2] Dorman held a license withLucasfilm for many years to do limited edition prints.[2]
Dorman's own proprietary work,Wasted Lands, written by science fiction authorDel Stone Jr., is currently making the rounds in Hollywood for a film adaptation. Thisaction/adventure film is heavily influenced by Dorman's appreciation of directors likeJean-Pierre Jeunet (Whom he met on theAlien: Resurrection film set),Akira Kurosawa and Leone, as well as writersJoe Lansdale,Stephen King andF. Paul Wilson. Dorman is in development with Hollywood actorDan Roebuck (River's Edge,Lost,Desperate Housewives) for a fictional children's book authored by Roebuck. Dorman is also in development with Dave Elliott'sAtomeka Press for aWasted Lands publishing project.
Dorman has been featured in interviews for the Dennis Miller Radio Show, Mancow's Morning Madhouse,Sci Fi Channel,Turner Network Television'sSouthern Living Presents magazine program, andWEAR-TV inPensacola, anABC affiliate. Dorman is an avid supporter ofTom Roush'sPensacola Film Festival and theBaytowne Film Festival and he creates the artwork for their annual event posters.
Dorman can be found annually at hisComic-Con booth in San Diego with his contemporaries,Scott Hampton,Christopher Moeller, andJohn Van Fleet. In 2010, Dorman was a "special guest" at San Diego Comic-Con. Dorman exhibited for the firstC2E2 in Chicago in April 2010. Dorman also regularly attends theWizard World Chicago,HeroesCon, and Detroit'sMotor City Comic Con, and is often the featured guest artist at numerousMagic: The Gathering tournaments. Dorman's own company, Rolling Thunder, publishes art books and limited edition litho prints.
In 2010,IDW Publishing, now partnered withDesperado Publishing, is putting out the new book "Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman." A special edition issue will launch at San Diego Comic-Con, where Dorman is a "special guest." Dorman estimates this book shows about half of his artwork, many of it personal work and pieces never before seen by the general public. In the book, Dorman speaks candidly and personally for the first time about his mid-life crisis and how he survived it. In 2009, Dorman was a judge for the SPECTRUM Annual, the fantasy world's bible for illustrators. In 2009, Dorman also made history by creating entirely digital art, for his first time, during Reverie '09, sponsored by MassiveBlack.com and ConceptArt.org.
Also in 2010, Dorman launched the podcast "Wednesday is Comic Book Day" with his wife, Denise Dorman – a mash-up of comic book industry insider news, pop culture news and interviews. The podcast is a free download on iTunes and is available via Farpoint Media, the producers of the show.
Dorman has been the guest of honor atSan Diego Comic-Con three times. It was there that he earned theEisner Award in 1993 for his art work onAlien: Tribes.[13]
He has been a longtime resident ofShalimar, Florida[3] and ofMill Creek, Illinois. He moved toGeneva, Illinois in 2005.[2] In 2006, Dorman offered to create an original 3' x 6' oil painting worth US$50,000 for anyone that would buy his home in Shalimar Pointe, Florida.[13] As of mid-2011, Dorman had attendedComic-Con twenty-seven years in a row.[14]
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