Dave Dorman’s Walking Dead Daryl Dixon Art

So I had a lot of positive reaction to the pencil piece of Daryl Dixon from “Walking Dead” that Denise posted last week. That drawing was already spoken for, and Denise said, “Dave, you should do a PAINTING of Daryl…he’s hunky!” So I rolled my eyes, like those who know me have seen me do on many occasion, and eventually thought about it. I have wanted to do some “Walking Dead” art for a while and not found time for a big piece, but a smaller portrait style…hmmmm.

Walking Dead portrait of Daryl Dixon by Artist Dave Dorman

 

I worked on this in some free time the past few days and had a lot of fun with it. It is oil on gessoed wood block, 8″ x 10″. I have priced it $400 if any is interested in purchasing. The first to send me an email directly at dormanart@yahoo.com will get it. I will send a Paypal invoice. (I have been having problems with the Paypal buttons on my webpages so this is the best way i can think of to handle art purchases for now).

Thanks again for stopping in and looking, and as always, for your support of my work!

Dave

Dave Dorman’s Lantern City Variant Cover Named One of the Top Covers for May 2015

Dear Friends,

Denise found that Behind the Panels had mentioned my Lantern City variant cover for Boom! Studios as one of the Top Covers for May 2015, so I am sharing that with you here. If you haven’t heard of Lantern City, do check it out – it’s Bruce Boxleitner’s very cool, gorgeously rendered world – a Steampunk action adventure tale. Here is the variant cover art for you. Let me know what you think of it.

Lantern City Cover Art

Dave Dorman News: Where You’ll Find Me and/or My Art

Dear Friends,

I had a GREAT time at the DISCOVERY MUSEUM in Milwaukee with my 501st friends last weekend teaching people how I do what I do. (And yes, I AM available to give this lecture, teach demos, and do Q&As for your large group or students – for inquiries please contact my wife/publicist denise@writebrainmedia.com). Here’s an image from my lecture:

Me teaching how I created this art at DISCOVERY MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE

Tomorrow through Sunday: I will be at Detroit Fanfare, and I will be a presenter for the Shel Dorf Awards, so hopefully I’ll catch up with many of you at either event. Here’s a link for more information:  http://detroitfanfare.com/

Saturday November 2nd:  I will be teaching an art demo at BLICK ART SUPPLY in Wheaton, IL. This makes up for the one I had to miss earlier this fall.

This day also marks the grand opening of my friend J. Anthony Kosar’s MALEFICIUM DARK ART Exhibiton: http://www.kosartgallery.com/2013-maleficium-dark-art-exhibition.html – the grand opening is 1 p.m. – 10 p.m. on the 2nd, but the exhibit is available to tour by appointment only from 11/2 – 11/30.  You may recognize Anthony as he was a winner on last season’s SYFY show, FACE OFF. His f/x makeup is incredible, and if you are interested in learning from him, he teaches classes! Check him out1

Saturday November 3rd: Happy Diwali to my many Indian friends, and we celebrate my son’s 9th Birthday!

For a few weeks in November and possibly into December, things will be a little nutty here as I’m having a new studio built over the garage, so if I delay in getting back to you on something urgent, ping my wife/publicist at denise@writebrainmedia.com or call her at (630) 845-4694.

If you want to catch my daily comments/musings/mutterings, you can catch me here:

http://facebook.com/davedormansstudio

http://facebook.com/davedormanwastedlands

Twitter: @DaveDorman

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Dave

I Need Your Opinion – Dave Dorman Experience 2013?

Dear Friends,

I’ve gotten more than a few Facebook messages on this matter, and I’d like to check in with you who follow my blog. I’m considering doing another “Dave Dorman Experience” this year during C2E2, but I want to make sure there’s still interest. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this tiny event, here’s what it entails:

• A limousine picks you up at a designated location at C2E2 and drives you to my house.
• A private chef prepares a gourmet dinner, served to you, my guests.
• I give a brief studio tour and my various collections & paintings.
• I create a fresh piece of art for my guests, starting with the preliminary and going through to the final painting. (Last year I did a Boba Fett piece.)
• We draw straws to see who goes home with either one. 
• I offer access to my private vault of prints, prelims and available paintings for sale. (This is great for collectors.)
• This year, I hope to have customized shirts for everyone as a keepsake.
• The limousine returns you to your hotel in Chicago.

Let me know if this is something you’d like to see me do again this year. We had a lot of fun with the fans who joined us last year! Please email my wife & publicist at denise@writebrainmedia.com if you’d like additional information.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Dave 

 

Dave Dorman Limited Edition BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Prints Available Now

Dear Friends,

Here is the link to the new Battlestar Galactica print published by ANOVOS, “Hangar Deck Scramble,” which I painted for a limited edition fine art lithograph for San Diego Comic-Con. The lithograph is limited to 250 signed and numbered, so please place your order soon by clicking here: http://www.davedorman.com/bsgprint.shtml — those who order directly from me will receive a FREE drawing. The cost on these prints is $110 plus shipping. 

“Hangar Deck Scramble” fine art lithograph, painted by Dave Dorman, published by ANOVOS, LLC.

Additionally, I will be appearing at Cyphan this weekend at the Hyatt in Rosemont , IL (next door to the convention center where Wizard World is held). This is a fun, young, fan-run con that I really want to see succeed. Cyphan is in its third year now, and embraces science fiction, horror and fantasy.

On a side note, I send my condolences to the victims and their survivors from the Aurora, Colorado tragedy. I am especially proud of the fan community for pulling together and supporting these people emotionally and financially. I know that writer Steve Niles posted a charity that is helping these people called GivingFirst.org and here is the link: https://givingfirst.org/index.php?section=content&action=dynamic&cmsID=36, and Comics Price Guide is selling t-shirts for $20 to help them as well. Yes, I bought one. I hope you do, too. Here is the link to the t-shirts: http://www.comicspriceguide.com/shirt.aspx

I think Christian Bale and his wife should be commended for comforting the survivors and their families. He’s a terrific actor and he’s proven he’s a stand-up human being.

My writer friend John Ostrander and I were interviewed by a Richmond, VA CBS affiliate TV station Monday regarding a Batman story John wrote long ago. I did the cover art. That interview is here: http://wtvr.com/2012/07/24/holmberg-the-story-behind-batman-and-robins-fight-for-gun-control-in-va/

I did an interview with Comics Price Guide during Comic-Con, and you can see that at http://facebook.com/davedormanfanpage.

Thanks as always for reading and I will be checking back in soon.

Dave.

Twitter: @DaveDorman

A Special Thanks to THE DAVE DORMAN EXPERIENCE Winners

Dear Friends,

Despite the frustrating start to my C2E2 Saturday (my car died) I finally got to McCormick Place by 2 p.m., and was only on the floor for about 30 minutes before I had to turn around and connect #TheDaveDormanExperience winners with the limo we arranged to transport them to and from my private residence. My apologies to any fans I missed meeting on Saturday.

Here is an image (courtesy of my caterer Julie Feece) of the winners: Valentin Perales of Houston, TX, Mike Bawden of Bettendorf, IA, me, the driver from H & M Limo, Scott Toth of Clinton Township, MI and Christian Bawden, a student at the Cleveland Art Institute. We were missing winner Dennis Rosado from San Francisco who missed his flight, so I will make it up to him at another date convenient to him.

Here’s a photo of the wonderful meal we shared together in my dining room:

Here’s Valentin watching my live painting demo:

At the end of the night, everyone got an Artist’s Proof of their favorite Star Wars litho and the chance to win the pencil preliminary of the Boba Fett painting I did, plus the actual painting, which I did in acrylic to get it done in time. The prelim winner was Valentin Perales of Texas, and the painting winner was Scott Toth of Michigan! Congrats to both!

We had such a good time, we plan to do this again, so if you have any interest, keep an eye on my blog for details. We could easily do another private event during Wizard World in August of this year.

I want to point out to everyone that my longtime friend and colleague, Marvel/DC comic book and videogame artist Dave DeVries, creator of The Monster Engine was featured on national morning news show CBS This Morning today. Here’s the link to see the feature: http://cbsn.ws/JcGIfI. Kudos to them and producer Andy Merlis (he’s @BrooklynARM on Twitter) for not only producing such a wonderful piece, but for having the bravery to cover “geek” material we don’t typically see on network news. Kudos also to my wife who worked hard to help line produce this piece. If you’re in New York City any time from May 3 – May 31, be sure to check out Dave DeVries’ one-man gallery The Monster Engine show at Sacred Gallery. Here’s the promo for that:

My own one-man gallery show, Pi ala Mode will run through April 29th at Chicago’s Rotofugi Gallery (Lincoln & Diversey Avenues in Chicago). As always, I thank you for reading, and I hope you’re having a great day.

Dave.

Dave Dorman’s The 5 Essential Truths of Art Directing

Dear Friends,

After a lecture at Chicago’s Columbia College this past Thursday night for Dave P.’s character visualization art class, my wife Denise asked me to write an article on boiling down art direction to five essential truths. Below is what I came up with.  I sit on both sides of the desk, doing the art for art directors, and doing the actual art direction, so I have very definite opinions based on my 30 years of experience. I even taught a class for the Florida 4th District Advertising Federation on How to Art Direct the Art Director. All of you artists and art directors following me, let me know if you agree, disagree or have tips you would like to add to this list?

Dave Dorman’s 5 Essential Truths for Art Direction

#1. You MUST review the artist’s comprehensive portfolio. Don’t judge an artist by just one piece in their portfolio. Look closely at all of the elements.  Ask them to show you the pieces that aren’t online. Does anything contained within match your needs for your project? What are the strengths of the artist? What are their weaknesses? Do they or can they paint in the style you need? Ask yourself, “Is this artist capable of giving me the art I need for this particular project?”

Real-World Example: Someone looking at my portfolio might think I only do muscled super heroes or hyper realism, but truth be told, I did a lot of manga early in my career for Robotech covers, I did toy design for Hasbro,  and I did very loose children’s illustration for Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings trading cards.

#2. Always provide a thorough review of the project with the artist. Ensure they understand your needs for the art and that they are comfortable in delivering the goods. An artist who does killer character design may be strong in creature art, but weak in landscape or architectural backgrounds.

Real World Example: Just because I did a detailed background on one painting doesn’t mean that I want to put that amount of work into every single painting I do. Personally, I hate painting architecture. If an art director wanted me to do a Stephan Martiniere cityscape, I would be up front in declining and saying, “No thanks. Here’s Stephan’s phone #.”

#3. A good art director should never ask the artist if they paint traditionally or digitally. First off, the art director’s eye should be trained to see the difference. There are effects you cannot get with digital, and there are effects you cannot get with traditional. Secondly, the final art is the final art, delivered digitally, no matter what tool(s) you used to get the final product. Any Star Wars painting I do with light sabers, I am taking into Photoshop to get that perfect glow on the light saber, although the original piece is oil on illustration board or a combo of oil and acrylic. Mind you, I could whip out my old air brush and get that same effect, but why go through the hassle when I can do it in PhotoShop?

Here's a painting with traditional and Photoshop Combined

With the plethora of art directors now being of the age that they came through their art education via digital art and very rarely–if ever–touching traditional media to produce their final art, I have seen a definite bias in those art directors to choose artists who work in the directors’ preferred medium: digital. The art should speak for itself regardless of the medium in which it’s created. I believe that if the art director is contacting the artist to do a project, then they are judging the artist by the art they see, whether it’s digital or traditional.

Real World Example: I had an art director call me once, absolutely raving about my Alien art. She had a big project for me, and I was eager to do the project, because it was right in my wheelhouse. Then she asked dreaded question: Do you paint digitally? I don’t, and the project instantaneously evaporated, despite the fact that my look and feel was a perfect match for her project. I believe this art director is short-sighted and I hope she has wizened up since then.

Graphic Novel Cover of Aliens: Hive by Dave Dorman

#4. Never, EVER assume an artist is outside of your budget. If you like someone’s art, speak with them FIRST about your budget before you strike them off of your list. Any freelancer can attest, we have months when we make a king’s ransom, and we have months when we go hungry. There’s rarely consistency unless you’re working on a videogame project, and even then, that consistent money can go away after a year or two.

Real World Example: As a traditional artist, I will often take on projects for little to no money, because I know I’m working on a licensed piece and I will have an actual painting that I can sell to collectors for top dollar once the project is completed. Obviously, digital artists are at a major disadvantage here! I once did a cover for the now-defunct but uber-cool GEEK Monthly magazine, for their San Diego Comic-Con issue. I was the first-ever painted cover they’d published. They were afraid to ask me to do a cover because they assumed they’d never be able to afford me. I did the piece for free. My piece was a modern day Transformer alongside a 1980s Transformer. I did it for free because I knew it was great publicity for the audience I wanted to reach, and then there was the value of the physical painting. I turned around and donated the painting to my favorite charity, USACares.org, to help raise funds for their not-for-profit, helping financially challenged active military families.

GEEK Monthly Cover I Did for FREE

Side note: I wish someone would revive a magazine like GEEK Monthly. It was brilliant, I never missed an issue and I miss it.

#5. As an Art Director, it’s your duty in fairness to your artist to have your project details organized properly. 

Real World Example: I once painted a beautiful sci-fi comic book cover, based on a major license you would all know. AFTER I delivered the piece, they broke the news to me that they didn’t have likeness rights. You can imagine my disappointment. I think the fans were less than satisfied with the piece, probably thinking to themselves that it was lame without the likenesses.

Another Real World Example: I painted a beautiful sci-fi cover for a major license you would all know, but they were in the midst of filming the movie, and they were afraid to provide me with photo reference of an actor I had never seen before, for fear it would “leak out.” First of all, that would never happen on my watch, and it was frustrating for me that they trusted me enough to paint their licensed characters, but not enough to provide me with proper reference. They literally provided me with a postage stamp-sized photo reference and I could not get the facial features right without decent reference.  Eventually they capitulated, but it took a lot of back and forth.

So…let me know your thoughts. I am interested to hear your frustrations with artists and art directors and your “master list.”

In other news, I think I will be converting my Facebook Group Page for The Wasted Lands to a Facebook Fan Page soon, so please watch for that. For those of you unfamiliar with it, The Wasted Lands is my own I.P. (Intellectual Property) – an alternate universe, adrenaline-pumping motorcycle western action adventure with Steampunk aesthetics. If you like it, let me know. Given the rate of growth of my personal page on Facebook, I will likely transition it over to a Fan Page soon as I’m going to hit the limit soon to people I can friend.

I recorded a 2-hour interview last night with Alpha Nerd podcast out of Australia, so I will be posting that link here as soon as I have it.

Well, I’m off to watch Godzilla v. Mothra with my son. It’s so much fun having a mini-me!

As always, thanks for reading,

Dave.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/davedormanartist

Twitter: @DaveDorman

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Website: http://davedorman.com and http://wastedlands.com

Publicity Firm: http://writebrainmedia.com | @writebrainmedia

 

Dave Dorman in Chicago Tribune Today

Dear Friends,

Thanks to all of you who came by my table yesterday at WindyCon. It’s very rewarding to get feedback from all of you on my work and it keeps me excited about the work I’m doing.

Today journalist Sarah Frink wrote an article on me in today’s Chicago Tribune about the odd jobs I held while trying to break into the business and learn my craft. Here’s the link to the article: http://trib.in/v8lxHz 

Of course, if you already read my memoir/art book, “Rolling Thunder, The Art of Dave Dorman,” by IDW Publishing/Desperado Publishing last year, you already know most of this story.  The book is now marked down to $20 for the regular version and $50 for the signed, limited edition version. These make great holiday gifts for that special person in your life who loves comic book art, sci-fi, fantasy and horror art, plus I included a lot of my personal fine art work in the book as well. Be sure to check it out if you don’t already own a copy!

I hope all of you are having a great Sunday. I’m back to the old drawing board today. If you want to connect with me on my social networks, here are my profiles:

http://facebook.com.davedormanartist | http://twitter.com/davedorman | http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Thanks for reading,

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

Dave Dorman Interview with Sandtroopers.com at Star Wars Fan Days

Dear Friends,

My good friend Chris Spice runs Sandtroopers.com and he was kind enough to interview me this past weekend at Star Wars Fan Days in Dallas and then go through some of my art. The only correction is he mentions my site at the end, which is actually DaveDorman.com, not RollingThunder.com. Without further adieu, here’s that interview. I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1AyVuPt2mQ

SPOILER ALERT: I’m Finalizing Details on the Dave Dorman Exclusive New Online Art School

I hope to have more news to share shortly about my new Dave Dorman Exclusive – a new Online Art School  in six week segments for a small group of serious, dedicated art pros.  I’m planning to teach artists how to improve their composition style, how to art direct, how to improve their pencil illustrations, oil and acrylic painting skills and “real world” art skills you won’t learn in a “traditional” art school, and much more. Every week, I will do a live demo and issue my students an assignment; each student will get a live critique of their assignment via LiveMeeting or Skype. There’s much, much more to the school, but these are the highlights.

If you are an ART GALLERY, ART MAGAZINE, or ART SUPPLIES RETAILER or MFR., please contact denise@writebrainmedia.com about the few sponsorship opportunities we still have open.

For those of you FRINGE fans (like me), it took me a minute to figure it out, but Broyles is still alive on the “other side” because Peter didn’t exist to be in the situation that killed Broyles. I hope that helps anyone else who was temporarily befuddled. The storyline is excellent but for one flaw – without Peter, I don’t believe his father would have been motivated to leave the insane asylum with Olivia. Peter was the big motivator. I’m interested to hear your ideas, so please feel welcome to join the discussion.

As always, I thank you for reading. I’m an “open networker” on LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman and I’m on Facebook.com/davedormanartist and @DaveDorman on Twitter and #DaveDorman is my hashtag. You are very welcome to join me wherever I am.

Dave