Thomas Fleming (born June 11, 1966) is an artist who has worked on comic books, the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...

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 uni ...

genre, and gaming. Fleming has been recognized with multiple awards throughout his career including four nominations for the Chesley Award. In 2012, a federal court awarded him damages due by

HomeGoods HomeGoods is a chain of home furnishing stores headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was founded as a small chain in 1992, and grew to include hundreds of locations throughout the United States. HomeGoods sells furniture, linens, cooking ...

, which sold unauthorized reproductions of two of his paintings.

Early life

Born and raised in Putnam Valley, New York, Fleming knew he wanted to be an artist at a young age. Fleming's high school art teacher Jay Palefsky played a crucial role in Fleming's early development as an artist, introducing him to more advanced and unconventional artistic concepts. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. There, he earned a BFA and graduated at the top of his class in 1988.

Career

Fleming's professional career began with freelance work from ''

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'' upon graduation doing black and white illustrations. In 1991 Fleming landed a full-time position at

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

(known at the time as the WWF) as a costume designer, logo designer, prop creator, and Illustrator. Fleming's artwork for WWE appeared on

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T-shirts, VHS covers, and other merchandise items. Fleming made his first impact on pop culture by creating and designing characters for the WWE including Papa Shango, Crush, Adam Bomb,

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, and Hall of Famer

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. Fleming also designed and created the scepter for the first pay-per-view "

King of the Ring King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion ...

" event in 1993. Fleming returned to freelance in the mid-1990s and has painted trading cards, comic book covers, paperback covers, magazine covers, and posters for companies such as

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

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, Heavy Metal Magazine, Image Comics,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...

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 ...

White Wolf Publishing White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

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, and others. Fleming was chosen by Skybox/DC Comics to paint the " Doomsday" and "Funeral for a Friend" trading card during the legendary "

Death of Superman Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

" story line in the 1990s. He produced covers for Marvel featuring Elektra. Fleming is known for Art Nouveau drawings and paintings that have won awards and Chesley Award nominations. Fleming is the author of ''Draw & Paint Fantasy Females'', published by Impact, an imprint of F+W. It has been translated in three languages (Chinese, Spanish, and German). Fleming also has done artwork for the film & TV industry including: "

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" starring

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, " Stateside (film)" starring

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, "

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", and "

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

". Fleming was also official artist for The

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

movie " The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys"

HomeGoods lawsuit

In 2010, Fleming, who lives in North Carolina, discovered that

stores in California were selling unauthorized full-size reproductions of two of his six-foot tall pieces. HomeGoods had paid ATI Industries, a painting reproductions wholesaler, $45 each for 120 pieces, which it then sold for $99 each in its stores. In 2012, in the outcome of a non-jury trial, a federal judge found HomeGoods and co-defendant ATI Industries liable for copyright infringement, with an award set at $10,800. Fleming later settled for an undisclosed amount.

Awards and recognition

*2006 DragonCon Art Show: **Artist Choice Award: "Golden Moon" **Best 2-D: "Spring" *2007 Chesley Awards: Nomination for Monochrome Work, Unpublished: "Spring" *2007 DragonCon Art Show: Best 2-D Piece: "Eve" *2008 Chesley Awards: **Nomination for Monochrome Work, Unpublished: "Summer" (pencil) **Nomination for Color Work, Unpublished: "Spirit & Life" (watercolor) *2008 DragonCon Art Show: Second Place: "Summer" *2009 Chesley Awards: Nomination for Gaming-related Illustration: "Firestorm" *2009 DragonCon Art Show: **Artist Choice Award: "Reverie" **Best Black & White: "Summer" *2010 Artexpo Artist Challenge: Top 10 Finalist: "Spirit & Life" *2014 Infected by Art Season 2 competition **1st Place - Grand Prize Winner (Internet voting prize): "Ophelia" **2nd Place - Grand Prize Winner (Internet voting prize): "Soul Harvest" *Spectrum 5: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art Annual, 1998 Spectrum Design, Underwood Books pg. 151 #4 *Spectrum 20: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art Annual, 2013 Spectrum Design, Underwood Books pg. 183

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Tom American comics artists Syracuse University alumni American contemporary artists People from Mount Kisco, New York 1966 births Living people