Durwin Talon
Encyclopedia
Durwin Talon is a comics artist
, illustrator
, author
and professor of new media
.
(SCAD), then received his ISDP Master’s Degree (MA) from Syracuse University
in the United States
. In 2007, he received the terminal degree of Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration from the University of Hartford
.
Durwin used his education to get a job as a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design
. He taught in the Sequential Art
, Illustration
, Graphic Design
and Computer Art
departments.
After almost a decade at SCAD, Durwin moved to Indiana
to teach at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
.
In August 2007, Talon left IUPUI. He has since resumed instructing Illustration at SCAD.
from TwoMorrows Publishing
, is an overview of techniques for developing sequential art by some of the most notable names in the comics field. It has been described as "indispensable reading for anyone interested in the subject of sequential art."
His second book, Comics Above Ground, also from TwoMorrows Publishing
, features top comics professionals talking about their inspirations and training from the comics profession and its effects in "Mainstream Media," including: Conceptual Illustration, Video Game Development, Children's Books, Novels, Design, Illustration, Video Game Animation, Motion Pictures and other media.
His artwork has been featured on the covers of Batman
("Officer Down"), Skinwalker, and Queen & Country. A review of Skinwalker #3 commented that "[t]he covers by Durwin Talon are a wonderful blend of pastel and oil that prompt you into wishing we could read a whole book that looks like this."
He has contributed artwork for Marvel Comics
and DC Comics
as well as worked on games and trading cards for Upper Deck
, White Wolf, Inc.
and Wizards of the Coast
. His sequential artwork has been accepted into the Society of Illustrators
' 49th Annual Exhibition.
He worked on his own comic Bonds, and Beautiful Scars: A Life Well-Lived, in collaboration with Guin Thompson. The first two issues of Bonds were released by Image Comics
in 2007 and issue #3 shipped and completed the series in 2009. Beautiful Scars is a three-issue mini-series being published by Archaia Studios Press
, and will be released in October 2009.
Until August 2007, Talon was an Associate Professor, in the New Media Program at the School of Informatics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
. He now teaches in the Illustration department at Savannah College of Art and Design.
Covers include:
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
, illustrator
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...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and professor of new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
.
Education & Employment
Talon developed an interest in art at an early age. He received his Bachelors degree in Fine Arts (BFA) from the Savannah College of Art and DesignSavannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
(SCAD), then received his ISDP Master’s Degree (MA) from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 2007, he received the terminal degree of Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration from the University of Hartford
University of Hartford
The University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
.
Durwin used his education to get a job as a professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
. He taught in the Sequential Art
Sequential art
Sequential art refers to the art form of using a train of images deployed in sequence to graphic storytelling or convey information. The best-known example of sequential art is comics, which are a printed arrangement of art and balloons, especially comic books and comic strips.The term is rarely...
, Illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
, Graphic Design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and Computer Art
Computer art
Computer art is any art in which computers play a role in production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, videogame, web site, algorithm, performance or gallery installation...
departments.
After almost a decade at SCAD, Durwin moved to Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to teach at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis is an urban campus of Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indiana University is the managing partner...
.
In August 2007, Talon left IUPUI. He has since resumed instructing Illustration at SCAD.
Works
His first book, Panel DiscussionsPanel Discussions
Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling is a book by Durwin Talon. It was originally published in 2002 and was reprinted in July 2007.-Overview:...
from TwoMorrows Publishing
TwoMorrows Publishing
TwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina...
, is an overview of techniques for developing sequential art by some of the most notable names in the comics field. It has been described as "indispensable reading for anyone interested in the subject of sequential art."
His second book, Comics Above Ground, also from TwoMorrows Publishing
TwoMorrows Publishing
TwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina...
, features top comics professionals talking about their inspirations and training from the comics profession and its effects in "Mainstream Media," including: Conceptual Illustration, Video Game Development, Children's Books, Novels, Design, Illustration, Video Game Animation, Motion Pictures and other media.
His artwork has been featured on the covers of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
("Officer Down"), Skinwalker, and Queen & Country. A review of Skinwalker #3 commented that "[t]he covers by Durwin Talon are a wonderful blend of pastel and oil that prompt you into wishing we could read a whole book that looks like this."
He has contributed artwork for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
as well as worked on games and trading cards for Upper Deck
Upper deck
Upper deck may refer to :* The Upper Deck Company, an American trading card business* The upper deck is the highest level internal deck on a ship, i.e. just below the superstructure and open deck....
, White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf, Inc.
White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
and Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. His sequential artwork has been accepted into the Society of Illustrators
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
' 49th Annual Exhibition.
He worked on his own comic Bonds, and Beautiful Scars: A Life Well-Lived, in collaboration with Guin Thompson. The first two issues of Bonds were released by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
in 2007 and issue #3 shipped and completed the series in 2009. Beautiful Scars is a three-issue mini-series being published by Archaia Studios Press
Archaia Studios Press
Archaia Entertainment, LLC is an American comic book publishing company established by Mark Smylie in 2002.-History:Mark Smylie formed the company as a home for his comic Artesia because the publisher, Sirius Entertainment, wanted to print the third series in black and white...
, and will be released in October 2009.
Until August 2007, Talon was an Associate Professor, in the New Media Program at the School of Informatics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis is an urban campus of Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Indiana University is the managing partner...
. He now teaches in the Illustration department at Savannah College of Art and Design.
Books
Books include:- Panel DiscussionsPanel DiscussionsPanel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling is a book by Durwin Talon. It was originally published in 2002 and was reprinted in July 2007.-Overview:...
: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling (TwoMorrows PublishingTwoMorrows PublishingTwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina...
, 2002, reprinted July 2007, ISBN 1-893905-14-4) - Comics Above Ground: How Sequential Art Affects Mainstream Media (TwoMorrows PublishingTwoMorrows PublishingTwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina...
, 2004, ISBN 1-893905-31-4)
Comics
Comics work includes:- Bonds (Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, August 2007) - Scars: A Life Well-Lived (with Guin Thompson, 3-issue mini-series, Archaia Studios PressArchaia Studios PressArchaia Entertainment, LLC is an American comic book publishing company established by Mark Smylie in 2002.-History:Mark Smylie formed the company as a home for his comic Artesia because the publisher, Sirius Entertainment, wanted to print the third series in black and white...
, Spring 2009, forthcoming)
Covers include:
- Batman: Officer Down (DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
) - Queen & Country (Oni PressOni PressOni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
) - Skinwalker (Oni PressOni PressOni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
)
Games
Works in the gaming arena include:- Upper DeckUpper Deck CompanyThe Upper Deck Company, LLC , founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards...
- White Wolf, Inc.White Wolf, Inc.White Wolf Publishing is an American gaming and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was initially led by Mark Rein·Hagen of the former and Steve and Stewart Wieck of the latter. Since White Wolf Publishing, Inc. merged with...
- Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
Interviews
- CBR News: Durwin Talon "Bonds" with Comics, Comic Book ResourcesComic Book ResourcesComic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
, July 11, 2007 - Interview, Slushfactory, July 16, 2007