William Matthew O'Connor (September 22, 1970 – January 31, 2018) was an American artist whose work appeared in

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

s, books, video games and concept art.

Early life and education

William O'Connor was born on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He enrolled at the age of ten at the Huntington School of Fine Arts (HSFA), and after high school he attended

Alfred University Alfred University is a private university in Alfred, New York, United States. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the statutory New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The In ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree cum laude in 1992. He also enrolled in illustration programs at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

and

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

in Manhattan.

Works

William O'Connor produced interior illustrations for many ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' books from 1995, and also cover art for the ''

Living Greyhawk Gazetteer The ''Living Greyhawk Gazetteer'' (''LGG'') is a sourcebook for the ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, 3rd edition of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' roleplaying game. Despite ...

'' (2000). He also produced artwork for other games including several game systems by White Wolf, such as ''

Ars Magica ''Ars Magica'' is a role-playing game set in 'Mythic Europe' – a historically grounded version of Europe and the Levant around AD 1200, with the added conceit that conceptions of the world prevalent in folklore and institutions of the High Mid ...

'' and ''

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

''. O'Connor produced a majority of the illustrations for the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''New Essential Guide to Alien Species'' (2006). He also wrote instructional art books, such as ''Dracopedia: A Guide to Drawing the Dragons of the World''. O'Connor was nominated for a

Chesley Award The Chesley Awards are the "pinnacle award" for art in the science fiction and fantasy genre. Established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, the awards recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a g ...

in 2002, for Best Gaming-Related Illustration, for ''Respite'' card art, "Legend of the Five Rings". O'Connor did artwork for '' Magic: The Gathering''.

References

External links

* * * 1970 births 2018 deaths American illustrators American role-playing game artists People from Long Island Place of death missing {{D&D-stub