Tony M. DiTerlizzi (born September 6, 1969) is an American

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 ...

artist, children's book creator, and motion picture producer. In the gaming industry, he is best known for his work in 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'' and on the ''

Planescape ''Planescape'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, designed by Zeb Cook, and published in 1994. It crosses numerous planes of existence, encompassing an entire cosmology called the Great Wheel, as d ...

'' product line for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

. DiTerlizzi created ''

The Spiderwick Chronicles ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spider ...

'' series with

Holly Black Holly Black (''née'' Riggenbach; born November 10, 1971) is an American writer and editor best known for her children's and young adult fiction. Her most recent work is the ''New York Times'' bestselling young adult ''Folk of the Air'' series. ...

, and was an executive producer on the 2008 film adaptation of the series. He won a

Caldecott Honor The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

for his adaptation of '' The Spider and the Fly''.

Early life

Tony DiTerlizzi was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in 1969, the first of three children. The name DiTerlizzi means "from

Terlizzi Terlizzi ( Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' of the region of Apulia in southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, lying to the west of the seaport of Bari on the Adriatic Sea, in the midst of a fertile plain. , its population was some 27 ...

", a village in Italy's

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

province. He grew up in South Florida where he attended South Fork High School. He went to college at the Florida School of the Arts and The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where he earned a graphic design degree in 1992.

Influences

DiTerlizzi cites a variety of artists including

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the ...

and

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Tony DiTerlizzi's website
/ref> "Many good fantasy artists will tell you their influences are Frazetta or

Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous science fiction and fantasy fiction ...

. Realizing this, I went for more diverse influences, since it seemed to me that most current fantasy work has that same oil-painted feel." DiTerlizzi was influenced by artists such as

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

and

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

to early 1900s magazine artists (

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spann ...

, Heinrich Kley) to classic children's book illustrators (

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

, Ernest Shepard,

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and poli ...

) to offbeat modern fantasy artists (

Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ' ...

, Moebius, William Stout,

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

). Another inspiration was David Trampier, who illustrated much of ''AD&D'''s first ''

Monster Manual The ''Monster Manual'' (''MM'' is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'' fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The ''Monster Manual'' was the first hardcover D&D book and includ ...

'', which DiTerlizzi recalled as his favorite book as a child: "I would copy Trampier's drawings over and over." DiTerlizzi was a fan of role-playing game art long before entering the field. DiTerlizzi is also a fan of the work of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tale ...

and the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

. Illustrators such as Arthur Rackham,

Edmund Dulac Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École ...

, Kay Nielsen and Ernest Shepard all had an impact, as well as author/illustrators like

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book '' Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 20 ...

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before ...

and

Richard Scarry Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. He is best known for his ''Best Ever'' book series that take ...

Career

Upon graduating, DiTerlizzi moved to New York with his wife Angela and began a freelance illustration career working for TSR's ''

'' role-playing game. "I was so psyched when I got a chance to work on he_1993_''Monstrous_Manual''_tome.html" ;"title="Monstrous_Manual.html" ;"title="he 1993 ''Monstrous Manual">he 1993 ''Monstrous Manual'' tome">Monstrous_Manual.html" ;"title="he 1993 ''Monstrous Manual">he 1993 ''Monstrous Manual'' tome My entire goal was to 'blow away' the other artists. It helped me in getting the job for the

setting." DiTerlizzi worked on the 1994 ''Planescape Campaign Setting'' and its supplements, redesigning the look of the Outer Planes, "Not only buildings but the people had to have a rusted, organic look. This seemed to come naturally in my art style. When I went to work on Planescape, I looked at

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and Japanese fantasy art like Yoshitaka Amano." According to Shannon Appelcline, the artist's work was the backbone of the setting. DiTerlizzi continued to work for TSR, as well as

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

's ''

Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...

'' and ''

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

'' Storyteller games, and illustrated many cards for '' Magic''. He also illustrated books such as 1997's ''Giant Bones'' by

Peter Beagle Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American novelist and screenwriter, especially of fantasy fiction. His best-known work is ''The Last Unicorn'' (1968), a fantasy novel he wrote in his twenties, which ''Locus'' subscribers voted the ...

, and 1998's '' Dinosaur Summer'' by Greg Bear. The first project where he both wrote and illustrated a book was the 2000 publication ''Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure,'' followed in 2001, by ''Ted'', which received the 2002 Zena Sutherland Award. Mary Howitt's classic poem '' The Spider and the Fly'', which became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller, was his next project and for which he was awarded the 2003 Caldecott Honor Medal. DiTerlizzi and

created ''

,'' bought by

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

and

Nickelodeon Movies Nickelodeon Movies is the film production arm of American children's network Nickelodeon and the family film distribution label of Paramount Pictures launched on February 25, 1995 and based in Los Angeles, California. The division has earned n ...

in 2002 and published in 2003. It was subsequently translated into 30 different languages. In 2005, '' Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You'' was published, with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

releasing a live-action movie adaptation of the series, DiTerlizzi acting as co-executive producer. A sequel series, ''Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles'', began publication in September 2007, and continued through 2009. In 2010,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

published the first book of a trilogy, ''

The Search for WondLa ''The Search for WondLa'' is a children's science fiction fantasy novel by Tony DiTerlizzi published in 2010. It is the first book of the ''WondLa'' series. The website dedicated to the book had an innovative section which interacts with the book' ...

'', written and illustrated by DiTerlizzi. ''A Hero for WondLa'' was published in 2012, and ''The Battle for WondLa'' followed in 2014. Dark Horse Books published ''Realms: The Roleplaying Art of Tony DiTerlizzi'' in 2015, with words from DiTerlizzi and a collection of artwork and photographs spanning his early career. “Tony's work has a distinct flair, a love for monsters if you will . . . His creatures have the charm of Henson or Rackham but they carry with them hints of their own ecosystem . . . Tony stands alone as a world creator and a weaver of tales, may you treasure these art pieces as much as I do,” quoted

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...

. DiTerlizzi wrote and designed ''Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight'', published in 2014 by Disney Lucasfilm Press (an imprint of

Disney Publishing Worldwide Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints incl ...

). Accompanying his words were illustrations by

Ralph McQuarrie Ralph Angus McQuarrie (; June 13, 1929 – March 3, 2012) was an American conceptual designer and illustrator. His career included work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' television series, the film ''E ...

. Author/illustrator

Mo Willems Mo Willems (born February 11, 1968) is an American writer, animator, voice actor, and children's book author. His work includes creating the animated television series ''Sheep in the Big City'' for Cartoon Network, working on ''Sesame Street'' a ...

partnered with DiTerlizzi to illustrate the book '' The Story of Diva and Flea'', inspired by Willems' year living abroad in Paris. Disney-Hyperion published the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestselling book in 2015.

Personal life

DiTerlizzi lives and works in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (although the county seat ...

with his wife and manager, children's book author Angela DiTerlizzi and their daughter, Sophia.

Bibliography

Written and Illustrated

*''Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure'', 2000 *''Ted'', 2001 *''

'' (co-created/written with

), 2003–2004 *''Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You'', 2005 *''Care & Feeding of Sprites'', 2006 *''G Is for One Gzonk'', 2006 *''Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles'' (co-created/written with Holly Black), 2007–2009 *'' Kenny & the Dragon'', 2008 *''Adventure of Meno!'' (co-created/written with Angela DiTerlizzi), 2009 *''

'', 2010 *''A Hero for WondLa'', 2012 *''The Battle for WondLa'', 2014

Illustrations

*'' Dinosaur Summer'', 1998 *''Ribbiting Tales'', 2000 *''Alien & Possum: Friends No Matter What'', 2001 *''Alien & Possum: Hanging Around'', 2002 *'' The Spider and the Fly'', 2002 *''Dragonflight'', 2002 *''

Peter Pan in Scarlet ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' (2006) is a novel by British author Geraldine McCaughrean. It is the official sequel to J. M. Barrie's ''Peter and Wendy'' (1911), as it was authorised by Great Ormond Street Hospital, which was granted all rights to the ...

'', 2005 *'' The Story of Diva and Flea'', 2015

References

External links

Tony DiTerlizzi's website
* * *
Magic cards illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diterlizzi, Tony 1969 births American children's book illustrators American children's writers American people of Italian descent American speculative fiction artists Artists from Los Angeles Artists from Massachusetts Fantasy artists Game artists Living people People from Amherst, Massachusetts Role-playing game artists Writers from Los Angeles Writers who illustrated their own writing