Frank Wu is an American science fiction and fantasy artist living in Dedham, Massachusetts. He won the

Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist The Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines. A Hugo Award for professional artists is also gi ...

four times, in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. Wu works in many media, including

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...

and

digital painting Digital painting is an established art medium that typically combines a computer, a graphics tablet, and software of choice. The artist uses painting and drawing with the stylus that comes with the graphics tablet to create 2D paintings within ...

, and created a portrait of a

Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...

girl for a documentary about the

Klingon language The Klingon language ( tlh, tlhIngan Hol, links=no, '' '': , ) is the constructed language spoken by a fictional alien race called the Klingons, in the ''Star Trek'' universe. Described in the 1985 book '' The Klingon Dictionary'' by Marc Ok ...

, ''Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water''. He is a regular contributor to science fiction webzines, such as ''The Drink Tank'', and in 2009 announced his ultimately unsuccessful candidacy for 2010's

TransAtlantic Fan Fund The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, often known as ''TAFF'', is a crowdfunding project created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the ocean, acro ...

. Wu is also a filmmaker, having released in 2006 the animated short "The Tragical Historie of Guidolon the Giant Space Chicken". A director's cut of this short was released in 2007, and a full-length version is now in production. In addition to these activities, Wu holds a PhD in bacterial genetics from

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, though his day job is in

patent law A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for a pharmaceutical conglomerate. He is also a member of BASFA, the Bay Area Science Fiction Association. He provided designs for the spaceships as well as the space station N313 for the videogame '' Revolution 60''. He also co-wrote and produced illustrations for the game's technical manual, ''The Chessboard Lethologica'', which provides more background on the universe, characters and technology of ''Revolution 60''.

Awards

He was nominated for the

in 2002 and 2003, and won the award in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009; In 2008 he was nominated for a fourth Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist, but declined the nomination. Nominated again in 2009, he accepted and won his fourth Hugo, but used his acceptance speech to encourage future voters to consider other candidates. He also won the Grand Prize (the Gold Award) in the Illustrators of the Future contest in 2000.

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Frank Wu article in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
*
Guidolon the Giant Space Chicken Official Website
and o
YouTube
*

Revolution Raver interview with Frank Wu

The Art and Science of Spaceship Design I: The Xiezhi from Revolution 60 by Frank Wu

Amazing Stories interview with Frank Wu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Frank American artists of Chinese descent Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Artists from Dedham, Massachusetts Fantasy artists Horror artists Hugo Award-winning artists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Year of birth missing (living people)