The Search for: The LEGO Diorama Artist of Lord Vader’s Persuasion of the Outer Rim

Dear Friends,

I was surprised and thrilled to see this amazing LEGO recreation of my Star Wars art, Lord Vader’s Persuasion of the Outer Rim. I would love to get a high-res image of this to print out and hang in my studio next to my print, and to also present this artist with a Lord Vader’s Persuasion print (if he or she doesn’t already have one). Can YOU help me find this artist? 

The LEGO diorama recreation of LORD VADER’S PERSUASION of the OUTER RIM

My Facebook page has been blowing up with comments about this new piece, and we’re all having fun with this. It’s a huge honor to see my work recreated, just as it was when this fan Tomi Demolka had my Lord Vader’s Persuasion art tattooed onto his back:

A dedicated fan getting Lord Vader’s Persuasion permanently illustrated on his back

Thanks everyone, for any help you can provide in helping me track down this artist and personally thank him or her. My next show is Denver Comic-Con in May, and I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Dave.

 

Star Wars Toy Based On My Dark Empire 2 Cover Art and Vehicle Design

Dear Friends,

In my garage cleaning frenzy, I’ve discovered a lot of fun items and toys (many of which I’m going to be selling online, so I will keep you posted), but this particular one fascinated my wife, who had no idea I fully rendered this Star Wars vehicle for Lucasfilm for the Dark Empire 2 cover based on an interior design by Cam Kennedy. A fan at Celebration Europe came up to me and gave me 2 of the actual toys created from my creature design & comic book cover art, so here are some images of them:

My Star Wars comic book cover, the vehicle I designed, and the toy based on it

The cover I’m holding is actually a European edition that was also discovered during my garage cleaning frenzy – I’m unsure which language this is in.

And here’s a side view of the toy:

If you are the fan from Celebration Europe who gave me these wonderful toys, please speak up so I can give you proper credit publicly – I thank you so much.

–Dave

Join Dave Dorman and Chicago Comic Book Artists at REEL ART in Berwyn on March 22nd

Dear Friends,

I will be at REEL ART in Berwyn on March 22nd from Noon until 3 p.m. Meet some really amazing artists whom I am proud to call my friends and colleagues: Hilary Barta, Randy Broecker, Dougherty & Nieves, Gary Gianni, Scott Gustafson, Doug Klauba, Aaron Miller and Alex Wald.

Here is a flyer announcing the event:

GI Joe: The Real American Hero! – A New Limited Edition Art Book by Dave Dorman

Dear Friends,

Between the mid 1980s through the early ’90s, I had the great pleasure of working with Hasbro toys producing art for in-house use in helping create the design of GI Joe action figures. This work was for production only and not intended for reproduction, promotion or packaging. I have had many fans over the years ask about this art. Because there is so much continued interest to this day to see these unpublished pieces, I have taken your wishes into consideration and have decided to publish some of these in this small book:

New Dave Dorman Art Book:
G.I. Joe: American Hero

Click here to go to the webpage to order:

http://www.davedorman.com/americanhero.shtml

While there have been a few articles in collector’s magazines and online interviews about this work, and a few scattered publications of a couple of pieces, this will be the first real collection of my Hasbro work from this period. 

 

The art featured in the book is full-color paintings produced to make the GI Joe toy figures look as though they would in real life. I will also feature some of the pencil preliminary work that went into my painting preparation. The art covers both Joe and Cobra and some variations of uniforms not produced. 

Dave Dorman G.I. Joe Art

 

The book is 6″ x 9″ full color with card stock cover, 24 pages including cover.  The edition size is limited to 250 copies. The price is $20 (plus $5 shipping worldwide) All copies are signed by the artist–me–Dave Dorman. I have kept film of these works in my archives, as I do with all of my artworks, and so the reproduction of the art is the best you will find. 

Dave Dorman G.I. Joe Pencil Art

 

I have included the cover and a few interior pieces of art to tease you of what is to come. If you are a GI Joe collector or fan, or just a fan of my work, you will find this book a fun retrospective on a wonderfully creative time in my career. 

G.I. Joe Art by Dave Dorman

 

I have created a page on my website to order this book directly from me. There will be no other way to get this collection as I am publishing for my fans only. Click here to go to the webpage to order:

 

http://www.davedorman.com/americanhero.shtml

 

Dave Dorman Art Progressives: Recreating Classic Dave Dorman G.I. Joe Art

Dear Friends,

Most of my fans know that during the mid-’80s to the early ’90s, I worked with Hasbro producing G.I. Joe artwork for their Research and Development Department. This art was done as presentation for the Board of Directors to determine whether any particular character would move forward to future production. My task was to paint the characters designed as 3 1/2″ toys to look like real fighting G.I. Joe characters. None of this work was meant for publication, however, over the years, fans and collectors have seen some of this art via the Web or fan club communications. (One of the future projects I am hoping to get off of the ground is a collection of all of this unseen artwork into a G.I. Joe/Hasbro art volume. I will keep you up to date on information as this project progresses.)

I have many fans contact me directly about the art I did during this period. Recently one of those fans asked if I’d be interested in recreating some of those pieces for his private collection. This is not something that I normally do, but this particular fan showed so much enthusiasm that I thought that it might be fun to see how I would approach these paintings almost 20 years later. I took on his commission for the three recreations and now I present to you one of them as an art progressive:

Pencil on Illustration Board Recreating the Character to Be Painted

Progressive #2:

The original landscape for this painting had a textured rock pattern that I applied with very thick gesso. I repeated that technique on this new board as well.

Progressive #3:

Here I start laying in some of the b/g colors, starting with the explosion in the mid left.

Progressive #4:

The b/g is almost complete at this point with the main figure clean so that when I add color to the figure, it will be unencumbered by underpainting.

Progressive #5:

After the b/g dries, I now lay in the underpainting for the basic colors of the figure.

Progressive #6:

Continuing similar to the previous photo, I lay in the rest of the colors for this figure.

Progressive #7:

With the basic tones being laid down in oils, I now begin the detail work with acrylics, starting with the head and moving downward.

Progressive #8:

Work continues with the acrylics, adding more detail to the body and his equipment.

Progressive #9:

At this point, I've completed some of the finer shadowing details and refinements with various shades of gray markers. You'll note final details on the ground and some color corrections for the background. The above is the finished piece.

This piece was 16″ x 20″ oil, acrylic and marker on gessoed illustration board. It is the exactly the same size as the original Hasbro artwork. If you have comments or questions about this piece, please feel free to post them here.

Many of my G.I. Joe fans have asked me about commission work or recreations. This is the first one I have ever done, and I did enjoy bringing back good memories of working with the artists and creators at Hasbro. I would certainly be happy to do more of this type of work if any of you are interested. Please feel free to email me directly at  dormanart@yahoo.com or message me via Facebook

As always, I thank you for your time and interest in my work.

Dave

It’s Dave-the-Happy-Geek Week

Dear Friends,

I’ve had one of my more interesting weeks in a long time with three really fun surprises in the mail–two being Star Wars-related. The first was a wonderful hoodie from 501st member Daniel Quay, TR-8285 and fan Andrew Marzka of Happy Valley Custom T’s in Pennsylvania. (Andrew’s business phone is (814) 571-2992 if anyone wants great hoodies or t-shirts.) They are concerned I’m not staying warm enough in Chicago, and they are right about that! Here it is:

501st Hoodie from Daniel Quay and Andrew Marzka, Happy Valley Custom T's

I also received my “Save the Lars Homestead” watch in the mail this week with its pure Tunisian Tatooine sand embedded within and the beautiful engraving on the back. My fellow Star Wars junkies are stoked about the watch and the good news is, you can still order them here: http://s395343987.initial-website.com/

Save the Lars Homestead Commemorative Timepiece

Engraving on Back of the Watch

And then there was my bust from Sideshow Collectibles. I ordered this at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2011, and here we are 6 months later and I had almost forgotten about it. Almost, but not quite. What a great surprise! My wife’s friends have insisted she not display it in our foyer, so we’re still finding the right place for it.

My New Zombie Crusade Bust from Sideshow Collectibles

Even better, I just got a Tweet from @MaxToyCo friend Mark Nagata informing me that a box of toys is en route. Could this geek’s week possibly get any better?!? I hope your week is filled with geek touchstones as well.

Dave.

 

Blogger Dave Dorman Now Offering Product Reviews

Dear Friends,

In accordance with FTC blogger review rules, I am now making myself available to review products. Please know that regardless of who sends me an item, and regardless of its monetary value, I will give my readers an HONEST PRODUCT REVIEW. Product managers, please let me know in writing if it is time sensitive for me to review your product and provide me with a clear deadline. As you know, for a freelance artist, paying work always comes first, so if I get deluged with items, the types of products I will give priority to for reviews will include the following:

• Electronics (Tablets, videogame platforms, drawing tablets, PCs, you name it)
• Art Products (illustration boards, canvas, pencils, paints–oils and acrylics–brushes, inks, digital art products and software, etc.)
• Videogames
• Software
• Art Books
• Comic Books
• Sculptures
• Action Figures
• Toys
• Board Games
• Music (my preferences run to female singer/songwriters, world music, instrumental music, and Peter Gabriel/Genesis/YES-style music)
• TV Shows/Movies (I can’t get enough foreign films, so bring ’em on!)
• Apps (I have an iPhone 4)
• Fiction Books (tastes run to action-adventure, horror and sci-fi, e.g. Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale)
• Organizational Products (think Container Store-type products)
• Anything related to Pop Culture
• Cooking tools and spices

Any products that I can’t or won’t keep, I will donate to the needy families of my charity, USACares.org, or to fellow artists in need. To participate in a Dave Dorman Product Review, please send your items to:

Dave Dorman, Product Reviewer

P.O. Box 417

Carpentersville, IL 60110

If you have any questions, please feel free to email my publicist, denise@writebrainmedia.com.

As always, thanks for reading,

Dave

• http://Facebook.com/davedormanartist
• Twitter: @DaveDorman
• Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

 

DAVE DORMAN STAR WARS CRIMSON EMPIRE PRELIMS FOR SALE: OWN A PIECE OF POP CULTURE HISTORY

Dear Friends,

Thanks to all who attended the HorrorSociety.com-sponsored horror art show MALEFICIUM last night at Kosart Effects Studios & Gallery in Westmont, IL and hung out with my wife Denise and me. From today through mid December, you can book a viewing by appointment only, so contact J. Anthony Kosar if you want to spend quality time surrounded in rooms full of art by me, Tony Akins, Charlie Athanas Kyle Bice, Brian Busch, Melissa “MissMonster” Curphy, Samantha DeCarlo, Ray Frenden, Aron Gagliardo, Ashton Gallagher, Tom Herzberg, Doug Klauba, Kenn Kooi, J. Anthony Kosar (the Boaris Frankenswine life-sized pig he did is off the hook!) Rich Kryczka, Joseph Larkin, Joe Lester, Darick Maasen, Matthew McCarty, Menton Matthews III, Aaron Miller, Bill Reinhold, Chad Savage, Jason Seiler, Tim Shumate, Ben Templesmith, Jill Thompson and Bill Ystrom. There is SO MUCH gorgeous horror art, horror action figures and sculptures, it’s almost too much to take it all in, but all of the hipsters and cool kids are seeing it, so you should, too. There are prints for sale of the art as well and we hope you take advantage of this limited time opportunity.

I wanted to mention that the auction ends today for my Star Wars Crimson Empire pencil prelim, the artwork which is now on the cover of the Dark Horse Comics issue in your local comic book store. Here’s the link to place your bid and own a piece of pop culture history: http://bit.ly/tWZvlQ 

Dave Dorman's Star Wars Crimson Empire Cover Art Prelim, Now on eBay

My CAT WOMAN erotic girl art is also still up for sale on eBay, auction ending tonight as well – to view that, see my last blog posting or click here to place your bid! http://bit.ly/w09S8L

Today I’ll be painting all day, with the occasional break to see what you’re all up to on Facebook and Twitter, finally carving our pumpkin (we’re thinking an Angry Birds face design), and then watching “WALKING DEAD” tonight on AMC. FYI, I may be switching my personal Facebook account over to a FB Fan Page, which makes no difference to those of you connected to me, but I guess I lose a few pictures or something. No biggie. I have them all saved on my computer. It’s getting to the point where the 20 new friends per day are going to exceed my 5,000 limit for friends and once that happens, I don’t want to be hanging out on two different pages. If you want to connect with me on all of my social networks, here’s my 411:

Dave Dorman on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Dave Dorman on FaceBook: http://fb.com/davedormanartist

Dave Dorman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/davedorman

As always, I thank you for reading, commenting and taking an interest in my work. It’s what keeps me going and keeps me painting.

Dave.

DAVE DORMAN CATWOMAN ART eBAY AUCTION

Dear Friends,

Here’s a piece I did the other day that is on eBay for sale right now. The auction ends soon, so be sure to bid if you’re going to! Here’s the link! http://bit.ly/w09S8L

Cat Woman by Dave Dorman

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes & Dave Dorman News

Dear Friends,

Thanks to all of you who have emailed or Tweeted or called today with birthday wishes. I stopped having birthdays at 39, but someone at AARP must’ve lost the memo. A special thank you to my G.I. Joe enthusiast/collector friend Joao, who even sent a special gift that arrived today that my whole family will enjoy. Joao came up from Florida to visit me last month and added some fun pieces to his G.I. Joe art collection:

My Friend, G.I. Joe Collector Joao Paredes

Last week I did a demonstration at Blick Art Supply in Wheaton, IL (a special thanks to Kevin Sandstrom for arranging this for me) during which I started a Boba Fett painting. I decided to do continue with the live painting demo during the Detroit show last weekend and the fans really liked seeing me work, so that was gratifying. Here is the painting I did (below), already purchased by a collector:

Star Wars' Boba Fett by Dave Dorman 9-2011

I was very happy to get my copy of STAR WARS: COMICS by Abrams Publishing this week. Here’s a picture of me with my new book:

Dave Dorman Star Wars Art on Cover of New Abrams Publishing Book

I want to remind everyone that next weekend, October 8-9, I will be at the Dallas Star Wars Fan Days Show and I hope to see many of you there. My friend Jose from Puerto Rico will even be attending, so it’s really pulling people from all over and should be a great show.

On Monday, October 10th, I will be attending the fund-raiser for my favorite horror theater group, WildClaw Theatre. If you can join me there, that would be great. Here’s a link: http://bit.ly/qESwCT  If you can afford to support amazing horror performances, please contribute to them.

WildClaw Theater is still asking for people to turn in their 10-minute horror plays for DEATHSCRIBE 2011, their annual international competition. If you’ve never attended this event, it’s a must-see. Chicago actors perform each winning play live on stage like an old timey radio show, with a foley artist, etc. It’s one of the most entertaining events I attend  and I look forward to it every year. A special thanks to my friend Charlie Athanas for introducing me to WildClaw Theater.

It was Charlie Athanas who gave me the heads up that my KLOUT.com score was at 70 this past week, which was higher than Trent Reznor’s or Olivia Munn’s. Mind you, I have no illusions that I’m a bigger household name than either of those pop culture luminaries, but it just goes to show you the power of social media. It is all due to the tenacious hard work of my wife’s PR firm, WriteBrain Media, who handles all of my social media and PR for me.

For those of you who read Imagine FX magazine, it’s one of my favorite magazines and I’m honored to be in there again for the newest issue during a quick chat with Editor Claire Howlett at San Diego Comic-Con this last summer:

Dave Dorman in 9-2011 Imagine FX Magazine

I thank all of you reading this for your time and interest in my work. If you want to connect with me aside from this blog, here’s how:

Facebook.com/davedormanartist

Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Twitter.com/davedorman

My Creator-Owned Series: http://wastedlands.com

My Wife & Publicist: denise@writebrainmedia.com

Email: dormanart@yahoo.com

Have a great week. I’ll be posting some fun art from my son this week, so forgive the indulgence. He’s just 6, to set your expectations, but he’s crazy good for his age.

Dave.