Dave Dorman’s First-Ever Battlestar Galactica Fine Art Print Launches at SDCC

Dear Friends,

I’m pleased to announce that ANOVOS, famed for their wonderful costume and gear recreations for Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, asked me to do their first fine art print, which is also my first-ever Battlestar Galactica art from the newest series (2004-2009). Here is just a pencil study I did of Edward James Olmos/Admiral Adama, to give you a sneak peek at a small portion of the art. Most of your favorite characters will be in this piece – a hangar scene – and I hope that you enjoy the work when we unveil it next Wednesday night at San Diego Comic-Con (heretofore referenced as SDCC).

I Am Doing Three SDCC Exclusives this Year:

As always, I’m in Booth #4500, which is an end cap booth facing the lobby between the two F Doors. We are in that first row that runs parallel with the lobby. Joining us this year is Blackwatch Comics, which is ABC’s General Hospital actor and amazing writer Michael Easton (writer, “The Green Woman” for DC/Vertigo) and artist Christopher Shy of Studio Ronin fame. Their SOUL STEALER: The Collector’s Edition is launching at the show – an award-winning goth fantasy trilogy in a gorgeous Taschen-style book. Be sure to check them out. They are also offering sneak peeks at a cool historical fiction novel called “The North End of the World” about one of my favorite photographers, Edward S. Curtis, who documented all of the Native American Indians’ customs and images in photography.

I will have a new limited edition Sketchbook of my pencil illustration art for sale, limited to 250 copies, signed by me. I started this tradition last year and sold out, so I realized this was a worthwhile thing to do and affordable for the fans at just $10 per book.

My first-ever father-son collaboration on a Kaiju (Japanese Monster) toy for Max Toy Company will preview at SDCC (just the art, not the finished pieces) for founder Mark Nagata, a rock star in his own right when it comes to toys.

I will be joining the panel for HEAVY METAL on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. in Room #8. As you may have read in my autobiography, my very first published piece of work in my career was a HEAVY METAL cover, so naturally, I want to help them celebrate their 35th anniversary. This is my 30th anniversary in the business this year.

My Captain America art will be in the MARVEL Comics Pop-Up book launching at SDCC.

I will be happy to sign my Crimson Empire and Darth Maul Dark Horse Comics covers for anyone who would like an autograph. Autographs are ALWAYS FREE. I will be doing a signing in their booth, so check out their website for the dates/times.

Okay, I think that’s everything for now. If you’re a blogger, reporter or journalist wanting to connect with me at the show, please set up your schedule with my PR firm WriteBrain Media – denise@writebrainmedia.com or call 630.845.4694. If you haven’t already, please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page – I’m very active on there – it’s http://Facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage. Unfortunately, I’m over my limit for people I can friend on my personal page, so I flit back and forth between the two pages these days.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

Dave Dorman’s New Star Wars Celebration VI Art: ATST’s and EWOKS! Your Questions Answered!

Dear Friends,

After StarWars.com posted my new art for the Star Wars Celebration VI Limited Edition fine art print, “Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor,” many of you had praise and an equal number of you had questions for me, so this blog is addressing your questions about the art. I did this piece to incorporate the elements that I enjoy – the ATST’s, the Ewoks, the Biker Scouts, who are the hot rodders of the Imperial Guard – in a scene that has never been, but nonetheless plays out in my own theater of the mind. Note: Please be sure to check out my other artist friends producing prints who are also listed the Celebration VI Gallery at StarWars.com.

Star Wars Celebration VI Art by Dave Dorman, Unfinished.

Before moving ahead, I just wanted to clarify that the image I’m showing you here is unfinished. I still have more work to do – a few added elements and tonal changes and color corrections. I will post the actual final version after I return from San Diego Comic-Con.

#1. Why is Darth Vader surrounded by Imperial Guards? First off, this was a compositional decision. I needed to draw your eye’s attention to Vader, and the bold red of the Imperial Guards against the cool earth tones of the rest of the piece ensures that he commands your attention. If he were just sandwiched among Storm Troopers, you wouldn’t readily notice Vader. Secondly, Vader is overseeing the Emperor’s construction of the second Death Star, so the Imperial Guards are ensuring and reporting back that nothing is amiss on the Moon of Endor.

#2. What’s with the ATST’s? The Moon of Endor is a forested planet, so naturally, deforesting needed to be part of the construction for the Base Camp. In my mind’s eye, the ATST’s made perfect sense as the laborers in this scenario, due to their strength and adaptability. After all, the “AT” in ATST does stand for “All Terrain,” so I replaced their heavy gun array with claws.

#3. Why the Ewoks? Over the years, I’ve had literally hundreds of fans request that I paint Ewoks, so this piece is my tip of the hat to those fans. Obviously the Ewoks are resisting the intrusion from the Empire, so they are creating chaos and getting arrested in this scene.

#3. What is the cost of the print? Like many of you, I have been hit hard by this horrendous economy, so rather than the typical $100 cost for my previous Celebration limited edition prints, this year I have lowered the cost to $80. I wanted to ensure that you have money to spend on other items at SWCVI as well. I’m a fan, too, and I know I would like it if my dollar stretched further.

#4. How can I pre-order this print? Lucasfilm has changed their contract, so please watch for me to post pre-order information on this blog and my Facebook Fan Page, which is http://facebook.com/DaveDormanFanPage. At this time I’m not prepared to take pre-orders, so please do not email now. However, after I return from San Diego around July 20^th, I will make a posting of all of the information needed to preorder this print. As stated previously, the edition is limited to 250 copies, so those who have purchased prints from me before and would like a matching number, I will also be able to take that information when ordering begins.

I will be posting a separate blog about my San Diego Comic-Con news, probably tomorrow, so stay tuned. I apologize for the radio silence, but I’ve been slammed with deadlines. I’ve been posting the work I’m doing on my Facebook Fan Page, so you’re probably aware that I just did a Pathfinder cover for Dynamic Forces and I’m doing the Darth Maul covers for Dark Horse Comics. Probably the biggest surprise is my first-ever limited edition Battlestar Galactica (2004 series) fine art print that we’ll be unveiling at San Diego Comic-Con with ANOVOS. I also have a Kaiju Japanese Monster design to unveil there – my first-ever collaboration with my son Jack for Max Toy Company and Mark Nagata. It’s been a busy but fun and creatively rewarding summer so far!

I have added a lot of public appearances to my schedule, so I will go over those in my next blog as well. For those of you near Northern Illinois, I will be appearing at Comic Book Mania – a small but growing convention at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, Illinois this coming Saturday, July 7^th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Joining me will be my artist friends Doug Klauba and Cory Carani, among many other talents appearing there.

A Toy Design First: Dave Dorman and Son Collaborating with Max Toy Company on Monster Toy Design

San Francisco, CA and Chicago, IL– April 11, 2012—Max Toy Company CEO Mark Nagata is pleased to announce his first-ever collaboration with Eisner and Inkpot Award-winning artist Dave Dorman, and Dave Dorman’s seven-year-old son Jack Dorman. This also marks the first time Max Toy Co. has collaborated with a father-and-son team, but according to Nagata, “Dave’s son Jack has already exhibited some uncanny art chops, so this unique team will make for a way cool monster design. Add Dave’s passion for Japanese monsters and his design sense to the mix, and I know this toy will be a best seller.” Nagata, who named his own company after his own son, understands the power of the father-son creative connection.

Dorman, no stranger to toy design, worked with Hasbro for seven years creating G.I. Joe character designs, and also designed the six best-selling Alien: Resurrection action figures toy line for Kenner. Both lines can be seen in Dorman’s autobiography, Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman (IDW Publishing/Desperado Publishing).

Said Dorman, “I am honored to be working with Mark. I’ve been a fan of his toys for a long time and attended his Toy Karma exhibit at Rotofugi here in Chicago. I am equally excited to be working with my son Jack on this project, whose early passion for Domos has evolved into a fascination with Kaiju, in no small part thanks to Max Toy Company’s wonderful Japanese monster toys. This will be one of the most fun and memorable projects I’ve had the good fortune to do.”

Toy progress and teasers will be announced on http://MaxToyCo.com, and Nagata will show teasers during San Diego Comic-Con from the Rotofugi and Dragatomi booths. For more information, please visit http://maxtoyco.com or http://davedorman.com.

About Dave Dorman  

A legendary, beloved figure in the comic book industry often characterized as “one of the nicest guys in comics,” Eisner and Inkpot Award-winning artist Dave Dorman was voted the #1 Star Wars Artist of All Time by the fans ; George Lucas owns more than 90 of Dave Dorman’s original oil paintings. Dorman has created art for every major publisher and licensed character within the worlds of science fiction, fantasy and horror, including but not limited to Batman, Conan the Barbarian, Planet of the Apes, King Kong, Spiderman, Buckaroo Banzai, Captain America, G.I. Joe, Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Lord of the Rings, Alien, Predator, Alien v. Predator, World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and many more.

Dorman has been a featured guest many times at San Diego Comic-Con where he exhibits yearly in Booth #4500 and he is exhibiting this weekend at C2E2 Table I-10. Dorman is also an exhibitor at Star Wars Celebration shows. Dorman’s own I.P., Steampunk motorcycle western The Wasted Lands, is relaunching in 2012. Dorman’s biography and career retrospective book, ROLLING THUNDER: THE ART OF DAVE DORMAN (IDW/Desperado Publishing) is available on Amazon. Dorman’s pencil illustration and traditional oil painting tutorials are available through Hollywood’s The Gnomon Workshop.

Dave Dorman Social Media:

• Website: http://www.davedorman.com/ and http://planetillogica.com/davedorman
• Blog: https://davedorman.wordpress.com
• Twitter: @DaveDorman
• Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman
• Facebook.com/DaveDormanArtist

About Max Toy Company / Mark Nagata

Over the years Mark Nagata has collected thousands of toys and a fair amount of titles. The man behind San Francisco-based Max Toy Company is widely known as: Toy Collector.  Illustrator.  Magazine Founder/Publisher.  Toy Designer.  Artist.  Author.  Husband. Father.  But the one description that might fit best is an unofficial one – Kaiju Toy and Art Ambassador. 

In the Japanese-inspired art and toy area, as well as throughout the larger toy collecting community, Mark is welcomed and recognized for his personal passion and commitment to supporting artists all around the world and the unique works they create. Mark’s devotion to presenting collectors with a selection of original figures inspired by classic Japanese toys from the 1960s and ’70s as well as new versions of licensed Japanese characters is at the heart of Max Toy Company.  Named for his son, Max Toys specializes in custom and limited editions of “kaiju” (Japanese monsters) toys and artwork.

Through Max Toys, Mark, who trained at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and honed his skills as a freelance commercial illustrator, has taken great pains to widen the reach of his two passions – toys and art.  He has helped curate successful art shows throughout the U.S., as well as in Japan and Spain. His artwork and toy designs have been included in numerous books and magazines and his hand-painted custom toys have even been sold through prestigious art houses Philip De Pury and Christie’s in New York and London. The San Francisco resident and his art can also be spotted in the first volume of the “ToyPunks” DVD and the “Toys R Us” DVD, while the video for Owl City’s number one song “Fireflies” features Mark’s popular Kaiju Eyezon character.  In 2010, Mark served as guest lecturer on kaiju and the toy-making process at the Morikami Museum in Florida. While young readers still enjoy his colorful style that graces more than 40 cover paintings for R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps book series – Give Yourself Goosebumps, adults are now snatching up Mark’s toy and artwork with a collector’s zeal, helping to spread the kaiju toy movement worldwide.

Mark Nagata’s Social Media:

• Website:  http://maxtoyco.com
• Toy Karma Blog: http://toykarma.blogspot.com/
• Twitter: @maxtoyco

MEDIA CONTACT:

Denise Dorman/WriteBrain Media

P: 630.845.4695 | M: 630.215.5623 | E: denise@writebrainmedia.com| Tw: @WriteBrainMedia

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