John Avon (born 1961) is a Welsh
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
and
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
. His work has been compiled in the book ''Journeys to Somewhere Else'' and used for book covers, CD covers, games, toys and advertising campaigns.
[Avon, John.]
John Avon – Fantasy Art – Biography
". Retrieved September 22, 2010. Avon is best known for his artworks for the
collectible card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
''
Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'', for which he has produced over 200 paintings.
[Magic: The Gathering card search for John Avon](_blank)
Life and work
Avon was born in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. He completed an art foundation course near to where he grew up in Cardiff, and gained a
BA in
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
.
[ The quintessential land man: Behind the Canvas: John Avon]
, Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
. Accessed 28 June 2014. He began his art career in 1983 with commercial advertising.
He has painted book covers for authors
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
,
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first nov ...
,
Arthur C. Clark and
Harry Harrison.
Avon is one of the most prolific ''Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'' artists, having painted over 280 unique cards, mostly landscapes on Basic Land cards. For the ''World of Warcraft Trading Card Game
The ''World of Warcraft Trading Card Game'' (''WoW TCG'') is an out-of-print collectible card game based on Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG, ''World of Warcraft''. The game was announced by Upper Deck Entertainment on August 18, 2005 and released ...
'', he created the image for the ''Water Elemental'' card which is used in ''Hearthstone
''Hearthstone'' is a free-to-play online digital collectible card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Originally subtitled ''Heroes of Warcraft'', ''Hearthstone'' builds upon the existing lore of the ''Warcraft'' series by u ...
''.
In 2014 he successfully used the Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
crowd funding website to raise funds for an illustrated book of his work, ''The Art of John Avon: Journeys to Somewhere Else'' (2015).
Avon is married to the illustrator Patricia MacCarthy, with whom he has two sons and lives in Saltdean
Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part (known as East Saltdean) outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately east of central Brighton, west of Newhaven, and south of Lewes. It is ...
, near Brighton and Hove, England. He also composes, plays and records music on the guitar and piano.
Publications
*''The Art of John Avon: Journeys to Somewhere Else.'' Self-published / John Avon Art, 2015. Illustrations by Avon. Compiled and with text by Avon and Guy Coulson. Hardback, . Deluxe edition of 500 copies, .
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avon, John
1961 births
Artists from Cardiff
Living people
Game artists
Welsh illustrators
British speculative fiction artists
People from Saltdean