Artist Guest of Honor

Gen Con is thrilled to announce Donato Giancola as the Artist Guest of Honor for Gen Con 50.

    About Donato:

    From Dungeons & Dragons’ Keep on the Borderlands to Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa in the Louvre, Donato's influences encompass the museums of the world to the well trodden steps of the local games store. Art was always a hobby to Donato, as a young man he would steal away into the basement of his parent’s home to draw his own dungeon and campaign maps, paint lead figurines, read comics, and construct model starships. Fully immersed in imaginative play Donato even constructed his own, crude, suit of plate mail! At the age of twenty he enrolled in his first formal art class: the beginning of a career as a professional oil painter.

    The struggle to develop and hone his skills has not diminished in the 25 years as a professional, there is a constant need and passion to see what lies around the corner in his artistic and imaginative development. This drive has resulted in Donato being one of the most respected and heavily awarded artists in the field of Science Fiction and Fantasy with twenty-two Chesley Awards, three Hugos, a life time Achievement Award from ASFA, two gold and six silver medals from Spectrum, and boxes full of ribbons and recognition from scores of conventions. Donato's dedication to the craft of art has gained the admiration and attention of galleries and collectors alike, all the while sharing his passion with the next generation of talent at the School of Visual Arts, online through the SmArt School, and at the illustration Master Class.

    Donato’s current projects range from book cover illustrations to private commissions to personal projects on empathetic robots and the fantastic worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin.

    Donato lives in works in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and two daughters.

For more information on Donato and to view his work, visit his website www.donatoart.com.



* All images used with permission from Donato Giancola.


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