Behind the Cover: Dan Dos Santos

[reviews_and_ramblings]

"At an early age it was pretty apparent that drawing was what I was good at.

I had all the necessary skills; hands, eyes, and an incredibly compulsive personality that assured I would spend days on a single drawing until I thought it was perfect.

Growing up, I spent nearly all of my spare time drawing my favorite cartoon characters with my older sister. We would draw them on rolls of butcher paper, sometimes up to 4 feet tall, challenging ourselves with the long task of coloring the entire image. Three years my elder, my sister instigated a healthy, and sometimes obsessive, sense of competition. Forcing me to color better, faster and more "in the lines" than any person should.


Bone Crossed


Blood Bound


Iron Kissed


Cry Wolf


Hunting Ground

By my teenage years I had moved onto comic books, a passion I still hold dear. I spent every cent of my allowance on those artists I admired so much. I would redraw all of my favorite panels, often times creating my own comic books. By this point, I was certain that I was going to be an artist when I grew up. My parents, however, took a little more convincing.

My local high school sponsored a program called "Careers in Art". The program placed students in a weekly internship with a design company or working professional. It was through this program that I met my long time mentor. Through him I learned the basics of illustration, and thus decided to choose that as my major when I would enter college.

After convincing my parents to help me pay for art school, I attended the School of Visual Arts from 1996-2000. Having only done one painting prior, it was there that I honed those skills and came to love the traditional art of oil painting. Once again, I thrived on the competition, some of the best the country had to offer. I graduated in the top of my class with a B.F.A. degree in Illustration, and received that years "Special Achievement" award in my major.

After graduation, with some scholarship money in my pocket, I embarked on what would quickly turn into my career. I started painting portraits out of my parents basement. Eventually, I was making enough to rent a studio. I found a gallery to represent my fine arts, and starting pursuing my dream of becoming an illustrator." Dan Dos Santos 

Dan's work spans a variety of genres, including novels, comics and film. He has worked for such clients as Disney, Universal Studios, Boeing Aircraft, Saatchi & Saatchi, Scholastic Books, Ace Books,The Greenwich Workshop, Penguin Books, Random House, Bantam Books, Tor books, UpperDeck, Wizards of the Coast, and Dark Horse Comics. Aside from freelance illustration, Dan also co-hosts a series of instructional demonstrations called 'Art Out Loud'.

Dan has been the recipient of many awards. Most recently, he has received the 2007 Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist, and was the Chesley Award winner for Best Paperback Cover of 2007. His illustrations have graced the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller list.

http://www.dandossantos.com/

Comments

[luscious-words.livejournal.com]

These are gorgeous! I love the rain one and the two with the wolves the best. Thanks for sharing these. :)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I believe that part of the reason why Patricia Briggs had success was due to the wonderful covers by Dan Dos Santos

[luscious-words.livejournal.com]

If I could afford the price (or whatever publisher picks up certain stories), I would certainly love to have his artwork with my feline shifters. I'm just visualizing the tigers, lions, leopards, pumas, etc., illustrated by him. :)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

You can try to contact him for a price (on the website there is all his contacts). He is still enough young that maybe he has still accessible rates. Elisa

[luscious-words.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that might be something to consider. Even if I couldn't get a cover done, maybe just some artwork that I could use for promos. Hrmmmm...

I'll add that to the list along with becoming a Toil girl. *g*

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

I *love* these pics of tough women! Gorgeous!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

The urban fantasy genre is in debt with the work of Dan Dos Santos :-)

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

That's the truth! Cover art hasn't really influenced my decision to try a book one way or another, but his definitely would.

[dreamilywistful.livejournal.com]

Haha I LOVE these covers, always have, always will ♥ Thanks for doing a post on these :)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I see you have also them as your icon :-) They are really beautiful. Elisa

[madeleineurban.livejournal.com]

Dan is an incredible artist. We had him contracted as a guest of honor at our science fiction/fantasy convention a couple years ago. Weather stopped him from coming at the last minute, but he still did the cover art for our program book.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for posting the cover of the program. Yes, Dan Dos Santos is one of the more successful cover artists of the new generation. Elisa

[lddurham.livejournal.com]

Well, I just ran out and got the first Briggs book. Hopefully the writing lives up to the art. :) Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this man's work!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately the Urban Fantasy genre is not my cup of tea, and so I have to admit that I admire the covers but I haven't read the books ;-) But Patricia Briggs is always in the Nominations and Awards list for her genre, so I'm sure she is quite good. Elisa

[mightymaeve.livejournal.com]

These images are lush and erotic! I'm glad you introduced me to this genius artist! Oh, I get so excited upon a new (to me) artist that inspires me to want to know more!

*goes off to explore dandossantos.com*

Thank you! <3

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

You are welcome! Dan Dos Santos is a young talented artist that deserved the attention. Elisa