Bruce Jensen
Encyclopedia
Bruce Jensen is a US illustrator
who has created book cover
s for science fiction
authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson
, Neal Stephenson
, Charles Sheffield
, Joe Haldeman
, Linda Nagata
, and Philip K. Dick
. His covers were described by Nagata as "deftly illustrat[ing] the mood, the feeling
of the book". He also drew the unfinished Neuromancer
graphic novel in 1989. He won the 1995 Jack Gaughan Award
for Best Emerging Artist.
at an early age, drawing the typical childhood bird
s and dinosaur
s. As he grew older he discovered science fiction
. A book that heavily influenced his decision to become a science fiction cover artist was Jack Gaughn's cover to The Skylark of Valeron by E. E. Smith
. When Bruce was in high school he realized his dream to become an artist. He then went on to the Columbus College of Art and Design
, receiving BFA in 1984; it is here that he developed his more abstract
usage of color.
In the summer of 1984 Jensen received his first cover assignment, which went well enough for him to receive others immediately after this. During the next six years after his first book cover he had produced twelve book covers; he also spent some time working in television
. In 1990 Jensen was earning enough money from painting science fiction book covers that he considered it to be his full time job.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
who has created book cover
Book cover
A book cover is any protective covering used to bind together the pages of a book. Beyond the familiar distinction between hardcovers and paperbacks, there are further alternatives and additions, such as dust jackets, ring-binding, and older forms such as the nineteenth-century "paper-boards" and...
s for science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
, Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
, Charles Sheffield
Charles Sheffield
Charles Sheffield , was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society....
, Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
, Linda Nagata
Linda Nagata
Linda Nagata is an American science fiction author who won the Nebula award for best novella in 2000 . She frequently writes about nanotechnology and the integration of advanced computing with the human brain.-Bibliography:...
, and Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
. His covers were described by Nagata as "deftly illustrat[ing] the mood, the feeling
Feeling
Feeling is the nominalization of the verb to feel. The word was first used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of touch through either experience or perception. The word is also used to describe experiences, other than the physical sensation of touch, such as "a feeling of...
of the book". He also drew the unfinished Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
graphic novel in 1989. He won the 1995 Jack Gaughan Award
Jack Gaughan Award
The Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist honors the memory of Jack Gaughan. Because Jack felt it was important to encourage and recognize new blood in the field, The New England Science Fiction Association, Inc., presents the Gaughan Award annually to an emerging artist chosen by a panel of...
for Best Emerging Artist.
Career overview
Bruce Jensen began drawingDrawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
at an early age, drawing the typical childhood bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. As he grew older he discovered science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. A book that heavily influenced his decision to become a science fiction cover artist was Jack Gaughn's cover to The Skylark of Valeron by E. E. Smith
E. E. Smith
Edward Elmer Smith, Ph.D., also, E. E. Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and Ted was a food engineer and early science fiction author who wrote the Lensman series and the Skylark series, among others...
. When Bruce was in high school he realized his dream to become an artist. He then went on to the Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art & Design is a private college of art and design located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Originally founded in 1879 as The Columbus Art School, CCAD is one of the oldest operating art schools in the United States...
, receiving BFA in 1984; it is here that he developed his more abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
usage of color.
In the summer of 1984 Jensen received his first cover assignment, which went well enough for him to receive others immediately after this. During the next six years after his first book cover he had produced twelve book covers; he also spent some time working in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. In 1990 Jensen was earning enough money from painting science fiction book covers that he considered it to be his full time job.
External links
- http://www.brucejensen.com – Bruce Jensen's homepage
- Bruce Jensen at The Internet Movie Database
- Bruce Jensen entry in Pen & Paper RPG Database
- 2006 brief interview