With that aside, I wanted to pick up where I left off with another installment of my “Digital Art and Illustration” series that I started late last year. I’ve come across so many talented artists that it is nearly impossible to really say that I favor one over the other, let alone try to select one amongst them to showcase here. Every one of them has various qualities that make them unique both stylistically and conceptually, and so saying one is simply better than the other is just plain wrong; however, I did have the good fortune to come across an artist whose work grabbed my attention – Dean Holden of Seoul, South Korea.

The first thing that really grabbed my attention was the sheer vibrancy of Dean’s color pallete, the storybook quality of his work is largely communicated by his choice of color as applied to the subject of his pieces. “Vibrant” is perhaps a term too modest to describe the way it lures the viewer into the work and snares their attention. It is rich and luscious in very much the same way Brom’s work comes across. Any similarities end there. Dean has developed a style that hints at so many different influences such as manga, North American mainstream comicbooks, classical painting, etc. and pulls them together to create a style that is evocative, playful and nostalgic. I will go so far as to say that Dean’s work reminds me also of the famous cover painter Darrell K. Sweet – at least in so much as the storybook quality I mentioned previously.

In any case, if you are looking for great influence or inspiration check out Dean’s site here.

View the image

Other Links:

1. View his CGTalk Portfolio here.
2. View his Official Site here.

I digress.

Terry Brooks is currently in the middle of completing the latest installment of the Shannara saga with the sequel to “Armageddon’s Children“. This was quite a departure from the world of Shannara that most of his readers are familiar with as it blends the world he created in the Word/Void series and the earliest histories of the Shannara saga. It is not a complete surprise that he has finally broached this topic of the Shannara world, and I have been expecting it ever since he completed work on the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara where he laid some of the groundwork.

Without giving too much away for those who have an interest in reading his latest series, I will simply say that it is a clever melding of worlds that touches briefly on some controversial modern subjects. That being said, it is still an endearing work. Terry has such a talent for character development where one finds themselves establishing a rapport with his characters that makes you feel as familiar with them as if you had imagined each one yourself.

I try not to compare authors as each writer is talented and unique in their individual way. For me, Terry Brooks is akin to a painter whose work is best imagined as broad strokes on a canvas where some of the finest details emerge when you step back and look at the finished painting as a whole.

Other Links:

1. Visit Terry Brooks on Amazon.com, here.
2. Visit Terry’s Brooks official website, here.

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