Steve is a creator of Dragons, Wizards, Fairies and all the creatures of myth and imagination.
'I have always been a dreamer of dragons and magical places, as well as miracles and Angels. I think most boys and girls start out that way, but as life goes on, we start to forget how magical the world is and doubt the things we knew were true then. My grandmother used tell me 'I was an angel, straight from heaven'. I think every new baby is an angel, full of magic and love. This is true for all of us, but we forget who we are as we spend more time here. I guess I am just one of those who are trying not to forget what it was like to see and feel through those angel eyes .'
Steve's artwork adorns fantasy publications, from books to puzzles, greeting cards, RPG games and more. The art work can make or break a game, and draw you into that special fantasy novel. The artist must create characters that live and breathe. Steve accomplishes this in his many magical illustrations he has created. Steve's work is always a standout, his grasp of color and composition enables him to bring a story to life with the magic and wonder that only an artist with the unique vision and skill of Steve A Roberts can accomplish. A talented artist of vision and technique, Steve A Roberts is entirely self-taught in his skills. This he did by studying the works of his childhood heroes - legendary fantasy artists like Frank Frazetta and The Brothers Hildebrandt. Steve received his only formal training, when he sat in on classes at the Ringling School Of Art.
Steve was born in central Florida, in a little town called Palmetto, a stones throw from the Gulf of Mexico, this is where he began drawing at an early age. Steve always was expressing his creative side, he drew or painted on everything, trying to show others what he had locked up in his imagination trying to get out. Sometimes this got him into trouble. Like when the subject at hand was not very exciting, his mind would go to other worlds on great adventures, that spued forth from his pencil or colored marker, out onto his desk top. These wonders of magical color and imagination were not met with much approval from his non- appreciative elders. Steve did manage to impress his teachers later with his skill by winning art contest at the local fair and coming in first at Halloween window painting. Steve even managed to receive a scholarship for his artwork in high school.
Later he took classes at the Bradenton art league, where Steve met some wonderful artist. His passion for color was brought out at this time in his work by studying the artwork of his teachers and art heros, such as the great Frank Frazetta. Steve continued to study and started to sell more of his artwork in local galleries and at shows around Florida. He even did some airbrush work on vans and boats, in Florida and Oregon, which were quite popular at the time.
Still looking for adventure and inspiration Steve traveled to Alaska, a place that had always stirred in his imagination. Steve spend twelve years, Living in the valley, a beautiful place outside of Anchorage in the small town of Wasilla, it only had one caution light at the time, and mostly dirt roads.
In that time Steve worked construction, but still had time to do a few commissioned murals and commercial advertising jobs. After a few years, Steve bought 40 acres outside of Palmer, still in the valley. There he built his own log home by hand, using the trees from the property. This was back in God's country at the foot of the most beautiful mountains on earth. This place inspired Steve's passion for painting even more, with it's beauty and harmony. This was a great place for painting and reflecting on life and the wonders of this magical wild land.
But after a time, Steve started to miss the calm warm breezes of the land of his birth in the south. Returning to Florida, Steve and his future wife Retia, 'did we mention that Retia and Steve had met in Alaska and she helped with the building of their home in Palmer', purchased another forty acres near the Suwannee River.
This is where Steve discovered the new world of the computer and the wonders of digital art. At first it was all confusing, but slowly Steve had a beautiful realization, I can use these digital tools, like PHOTO-SHOP to make art with. It was very slow at first but as Steve learned, the more control he had over his new tools. He was starting to put out some amazing artwork, with these digital paint bushes and people noticed.
But if it were not for another completely new learning experiance Steve had of building his own website and displaying his art on the web things might have took a great deal longer to break into commercial illustration. Within a year of Steve putting his work on line he had his frist nine artworks published by PALLADIUM BOOKS for their RPG cards set 'RIFTS'. Click on the Palladium link to see an example of one of these,FIRE DEMON, the seventh image in their list. Soon Steve did his first fantasy book cover and after that his work started to become very popular with fantasy publishers and those that love fantasy. Steve is now recognized as one of the countries most talented new artist.
What Author, Scot R. Stone, had to say about Steve's artwork.
When searching for an artist that could capture the world of Elvana for The Snowtear Wars series, SCOT R. STONE discovered the world of Steve A. Roberts. 'His work is beautiful and intelligent, a tribute to the realm of superior fantasy art,' Stone says when describing Steve's work. 'Steve has surpassed my expectations each time he has completed a cover for one of my novels.' Fans have not only come to enjoy the story of the series Stone writes, but also the package it comes in. 'My goal is to give the reader something they don't want to give up. There are few books that I have that I truly cherish. A lot can be said about authors and publishers if they put out a quality product-- inside and out. There are many stories that die in the marketplace, simply because they do not have the proper representation for the story on the cover.
'Some of the publishers that Steve has worked with
CEACO Inc. on their beautiful fantasy puzzles, Doreen Virtue. PH.D. and her company Hayhouse on their wonderful Oracle card sets, Palladium Books on their 'Rifts'RPG series, and American Greetings with their greeting cards, with Warner Brothers, on their movie, MICHAEL CLAYTON starring GEORGE CLOONEY.
Other movie companies Steve has worked with are, REMOTE BROADCASTING Inc. on their upcoming TV series THE BIG C'THE BIG C' premiering August 16th 2010 on SHOWTIME. This is what Paul Cheponis a producer for 'THE BIG C' had to say about Steve and his artwork. 'It was great to receive the pieces in such a quick time frame. With your help I was able to deliver a great set for the designer and director. They were extremely pleased with the set. Steve also helped on the new movie WIN~WIN, A NEW FILM BY TOM MCCARTHY, to be released 2011, by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
These are some of the fantasy authors Steve has worked with. Jason J. Bilicic's fantasy adventure 'No Gods OF Conscience',published by Last Lamp Publishing . Be sure to check out Scot R. Stone's new Fantasy novel, 'The Mirrors of Methalis' 'The Mirrors of Methalis', the fourth in the Snowtear Wars series that Steve has illustrated. Another exciting novel Steve did the cover for was Hannibal Magnus by Dan Fozzard , you have to see the trailer to this one. along with many more.
'My thoughts on digital. .
'I painted my fantasy art traditionally with brush and pencil for many years, and I still do, but for my illustration jobs, digital is the way. The turn around is way faster, and when the author or publisher wants changes, it's not as much of a problem as it would be if you were working on canvas or paper, and I always keep a copy of each stage of the artwork as it is developed. This way you can go back to an earlier version if you do not like where your latest changes are going.
'LAYERS', do not get me going, this is the greatest tool since the paint brush. When painting on canvas, I use washes over my art to control hues and lighting effects, but you have to wait for the art to dry. With Photo Shop, you can do these things and a lot more instantly with greater control. Sure you can't replace the feeling of getting your fingers into the paint and filling up that canvas with color and I will never give them up. But I love my new digital tools too, they take my art to places I just dreamed of, and at the same time it opens new doors and helps me to understand how paint can emulate light and texture on a canvas. But being from the old school, I do agree that to really understand your medium, you should start by learning in the traditional way as the old masters did. You can then apply these techniques to your new tools, and see which ones emulate the traditional ones the best for you. You then have an understanding, and control over your pallet. You can then create with confidence, and know you are ready to use your tools as a master artist.
These are just my thoughts, others may disagree.'
Steve Roberts joined Pixels.com Licensing on May 6th, 2012.
