Behind the Cover: Boris Zlotsky

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Born in Kiev in 1955, at 35 years old Boris Zlotsky left the Soviet Union and reach the U.S. in February of 1990, going through Austria and Italy. His early artistic talent was evident at an earlier age than American kids enter grade school. That ability to draw in three dimensions prompted his mother to put him in a special school that taught artists. He was all of nine years old, and it was not what he wanted. He wanted to play music.He left when he was 13, but while he pursued his interest in music, he continued to draw, recreating movie scenes on paper. By the time he finished the Soviet version of high school at 17, Zlotsky realized two things. He’d lost his interest in music, and he had to earn a living. With his talent, it seems like a no-brain choice. Zlotsky finished a four-year program for artists in three years. With the diploma, Zlotsky became a commercial artist with basically one client — the government. There was no advertising industry in the Soviet Union because there was no competition among different products. In 1990, he came to the U.S. and found an entirely different reception. His first job in the U.S. retouching photographs was vastly different. Zlotsky spent three years doing retouching, often teaching himself how to use the airbrush and devising ways to improve his work. At the same time, he continued to work on a portfolio and look for freelance work. Finally, as photo retouching became a fading industry, Zlotsky got work doing a catalog for a small company that supplied commercial food equipment like ovens and refrigerators. But the company didn’t need a full time artist for its catalog, and he spent days hitting agencies for work before deciding to find an agent instead.

His first job that came from the agent was a cover for a book published by Avon. He still works for them, mainly fantasy and science fiction. Unfortunately, book covers — though perhaps Zlotsky’s favorite commercial work — are not the most lucrative. He also does work for companies like Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé, Yoplait, Sony, Panasonic, General Motors, Philip Morris, Dreamworks, Budweiser, Hasbro, New York Magazine, AT&T, Coors, Campbell, Readers Digest, Lanard Toys, Lipton, Hayward Baker, Lifetime TV, Post, Kraft Foods, Southern Comfort, Milton Bradley, Harper Collins, Avon Books, Svedka Vodka, United Nations, Hershey & Bush Gardens.





 
Midnight in Ruby Bayou by Elizabeth Lowell



http://www.boriszlotsky.com/