Jim McDermott (illustrator)
Encyclopedia
Jim McDermott is a New Hampshire
-based artist who has illustrated for animation, magazines and comic book
s.
After graduating in 1982 from Boston
's New England School of Art and Design (now part of Suffolk University
), McDermott headed west, where he held a position as the staff illustrator for a publishing firm before entering the animation industry. For Columbia Pictures Television
/DiC Entertainment
's animated The Real Ghostbusters
(1986–91), McDermott created concept drawings and designed characters, props and backgrounds. Leaving California
after a decade, he did freelance work in Texas
before returning to New England
in 1993.
When the rates of famed caricaturist Bruce Stark
became so high that Salem Sportswear (Hudson, New Hampshire
) could no longer afford his illustrations for T-shirt designs, the company hired McDermott as a replacement, viewing him as the only illustrator capable of doing artwork similar to Stark and Jack Davis
.
For Gregg Press
McDermott created a Western saloon poster to promote the books of Louis L'Amour
and Max Brand
, followed by a science fiction montage to sell Frank Herbert
and Robert A. Heinlein
.
, Omega Men
and Heavy Metal
. Video Games & Computer Entertainment
and TurboPlay
featured his cover paintings and interior illustrations of video game characters.
Books with his illustrations include The Stephen King Encyclopedia
. His client list also includes Apple Computer
, Blackthorne Publishing
, Eternity Comics, Fidelity Investments
, Fizz, Fruit of the Loom
, IBM
, Little Golden Books
and Wang Laboratories
.
He became a member of the Seacoast Art Association in 1997. Currently, he posts recent work on his blog, Sketches and Scribbles. In recent years, he has produced numerous portraits of 20th-century personalitlies, including Lon Chaney, Sr.
, Elaine Dundy
. Marilyn Manson
and O. O. McIntyre
. Many of his portraits are posted on an earlier blog, Denizens of the Darkness.
In 2008, he began doing a series of covers for Vincent Price Presents and other comic books published by Bluewater Productions
. For Bluewater's biographical comic book series, he painted covers of Rush Limbaugh
and Nancy Pelosi
.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
-based artist who has illustrated for animation, magazines and comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s.
After graduating in 1982 from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's New England School of Art and Design (now part of Suffolk University
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
), McDermott headed west, where he held a position as the staff illustrator for a publishing firm before entering the animation industry. For Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
/DiC Entertainment
DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
's animated The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...
(1986–91), McDermott created concept drawings and designed characters, props and backgrounds. Leaving California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
after a decade, he did freelance work in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
before returning to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in 1993.
When the rates of famed caricaturist Bruce Stark
Bruce Stark
Bruce Stark is an award-winning artist noted for his caricatures of entertainment and sports figures.Born in 1933 in New York, he moved with his family at age three to New Jersey...
became so high that Salem Sportswear (Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 24,467 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 7,336 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hudson census-designated place and is located at the junctions of New Hampshire...
) could no longer afford his illustrations for T-shirt designs, the company hired McDermott as a replacement, viewing him as the only illustrator capable of doing artwork similar to Stark and Jack Davis
Jack Davis (cartoonist)
Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories...
.
Promotional posters
Gregg Press
Gregg Press was founded about 1965 by Charles Gregg in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey to distribute in the United States the antiquarian reprints published in the UK by Gregg Press International....
McDermott created a Western saloon poster to promote the books of Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
and Max Brand
Max Brand
Frederick Faust, aka Max Brand|thumb|rightFrederick Schiller Faust was an American author known primarily for his thoughtful and literary Westerns. Faust wrote mostly under pen names, but today is primarily known by only one, Max Brand...
, followed by a science fiction montage to sell Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
and Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
.
Magazines and comic books
His work for comic books has appeared in GrimJackGrimJack
Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project...
, Omega Men
Omega Men
The Omega Men are a fictional team of extraterrestrial superheroes who have appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Green Lantern #141 , and were created by Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton....
and Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
. Video Games & Computer Entertainment
Video Games & Computer Entertainment
VideoGames & Computer Entertainment was an American magazine dedicated to covering video games on computers, home consoles and arcades...
and TurboPlay
TurboPlay
TurboPlay Magazine was a bi-monthly, U.S.-based video game magazine published by L.F.P. from June/July 1990 through August/September 1992. It was available via subscription only . A total of 14 issues were released, on schedule...
featured his cover paintings and interior illustrations of video game characters.
Books with his illustrations include The Stephen King Encyclopedia
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. His client list also includes Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986-1989. They were notable for the Blackthorne 3-D Series, their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products...
, Eternity Comics, Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments
FMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...
, Fizz, Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a popular series of children's books. The first 12 titles were published on October 1, 1942:#Three Little Kittens#Bedtime Stories#Mother Goose#Prayers for Children#The Little Red Hen#Nursery Songs...
and Wang Laboratories
Wang Laboratories
Wang Laboratories was a computer company founded in 1951 by Dr. An Wang and Dr. G. Y. Chu. The company was successively headquartered in Cambridge , Tewksbury , and finally in Lowell, Massachusetts . At its peak in the 1980s, Wang Laboratories had annual revenues of $3 billion and employed over...
.
Current work
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
, Elaine Dundy
Elaine Dundy
Elaine Dundy was an American novelist, biographer, journalist, actress and playwright.-Early life:Born Elaine Rita Brimberg in New York City, of Latvian maternal descent, her Polish father was an office furniture manufacturer and a violent bully...
. Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
and O. O. McIntyre
O. O. McIntyre
Oscar Odd McIntyre was a famed New York newspaper columnist of the 1920s and 1930s who cleverly combined a small town point of view with urban sophistication...
. Many of his portraits are posted on an earlier blog, Denizens of the Darkness.
In 2008, he began doing a series of covers for Vincent Price Presents and other comic books published by Bluewater Productions
Bluewater Productions
Bluewater Productions, Inc. is an independent production studio of comic books and graphic novels. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Bluewater publishes biographical comics, adaptations from films and original titles with self-created characters, most notably of publisher Darren G...
. For Bluewater's biographical comic book series, he painted covers of Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
.