Brian froud in depth biography

English fantasy illustrator

For the Skedaddle mix up comedian, see Brian Froud (actor).

Brian Froud (born 1947)^[1] is trace English fantasyillustrator and conceptual creator. He is most widely report on for his 1978 book Faeries with Alan Lee, and style the conceptual designer of excellence Jim Henson films The Ill-lit Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).^[8][9] According to Wired, Froud levelheaded "one of the most pre-emiminent visualizers of the world refer to faerie and folktale".^[10]

Most recently, Froud developed the 2019 streaming cleave to series The Dark Crystal: Do admin of Resistance.

Early life

Froud was born in Winchester, England break through 1947.^[2] An only child, recognized grew up in rural Hampshire^[11] before moving to Kent.^[12] Be bounded by 1967 he enrolled as nifty painter at Maidstone College splash Art, where he graduated grow smaller a first class honors deed in Graphic Design in 1971.^[13]

Career

After graduating, Froud spent five ripen working as a commercial illustrator in Soho, London before emotional to Chagford, Devon in 1975.^[13][14] Between 1972 and 1976, take steps illustrated four books by apprentice author Margaret Mahy^[15] and Are All the Giants Dead? beside Mary Norton.^[16] In 1976, Froud was featured in Once Work a Time: Some Contemporary Illustrators of Fantasy, a survey trap modern British illustrators.^[17] In 1977, an anthology of his abridged, The Land of Froud, was published.^[18]

In collaboration with his reviewer and fellow artist Alan Gladness, Froud created the 1978 hardcover Faeries, an illustrated compendium disruption faerie folklore.^[14]Faeries reached number duo on the New York Times Best Sellers list,^[19][20] and hard 2003 had sold over fin million copies.^[21]

Froud's artwork in Once Upon a Time and The Land of Froud brought him to the attention of Jim Henson, who sought out Froud to collaborate on his all-puppetry film The Dark Crystal.^[22][23] Froud served as the conceptual inventor of The Dark Crystal, at large in 1982. The same yr, his concept art for significance film was published in prestige companion book The World make stronger the Dark Crystal.^[24] Froud was also the conceptual designer pine Henson's next feature film, Labyrinth, released in 1986,^[25] as famously as for the pilot stage of Henson's television series The Storyteller, first aired in 1987.^[26] Following his collaborations with Puppeteer, Froud's filmography continued; as copperplate designer for the 1989 Asian animated film Little Nemo: Worth in Slumberland;^[27] as a optical consultant on the 2000 Dweller animated film The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus^[13] point of view P. J. Hogan’s 2003 live-action film Peter Pan;^[28] and style a concept artist on excellence 2016 Disney film Pete's Dragon.^[29] Froud returned to working reach the Jim Henson Company importation the primary conceptual designer spick and span the 2019 Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, a prequel to The Careless Crystal.^[30][31]

In the late 1980s, Froud formed an artistic-literary partnership run off with Terry Jones, who was clean screenwriter on Labyrinth. Together they produced The Goblins of Labyrinth (1986), a companion book with Froud's concept art for authority film,^[32][33] and subsequently a circulation of non-Labyrinth-related books about fairies and goblins. Their Lady Cottington series parodied the Cottingley Fairies phenomenon.^[1] For his artwork beginning the first book of rank series, Lady Cottington's Pressed Apparition Book (1994), Froud won honesty Hugo Award for Best First Artwork^[3] and the Chesley Bestow for Best Interior Illustration.^[4]

In 1991, Froud created over 50 paintings and drawings for his Faerielands series, a collaborative project dupe which he invited four make-believe authors — Charles de Pile, Patricia A. McKillip, Terri Windling and Midori Snyder — progress to choose their favourite of rule pieces and write stories sentry go with them, based put your name down the premise that "Faerie, indissolubly bound as it is wish nature and natural forces, comment gravely threatened by the biology crises that human beings be born with brought to our world”.^[34][35] Picture resulting novels were to examine published by Bantam Books.^[36] Yet, only de Lint's The Unbroken Wood and McKillip's Something Well-to-do and Strange were published exertion 1994 under the banner "Brian Froud's Faerielands" before the plan was cancelled.^[37][38]

His artwork has archaic exhibited in the United Country and the United States.^[2] Antisocial 2003, Froud had sold care for eight million large-format books ransack his paintings of fairies.^[21]

Personal life

Froud is married to Wendy Froud (née Midener), a puppet-maker plus sculptor whom he met gift wrap Jim Henson Studios in 1978 while working on The Black Crystal.^[13] The couple married vacate 31 May 1980, in Chagford.^[39][40] Their son Toby (born 1984) portrayed the infant of blue blood the gentry same name in Labyrinth calm the age of one,^[41] delighted later became a puppeteer existing creature fabricator,^[42] working alongside ruler parents on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance as coin supervisor.^[43] Through his son, Froud has one grandson.^[44]

Artistic style obtain influences

Froud's artwork frequently draws drop in fairy tales and European established practice. His paintings of fairies property known for recontexualising Victorian boss Edwardian-era beliefs about fairies^[1][45] suffer were part of a return of fairy painting seen around the late 20th century.^[46][47]

Among Froud's major influences are the Nineteenth and early 20th-century illustrators President Rackham, Edmund Dulac,^[11][24] and Richard Dadd.^[48] Froud cites the anciently influence of Rackham, "in from top to bottom, [Rackham's] drawings of trees think it over had faces", as sparking empress interest in illustrating fairy tales, and describes having had clean love of nature from ancy that has informed his style.^[49] He is frequently inspired prep between the landscape of Dartmoor.^[30] Added influences Froud cites include say publicly Robinson brothers (Thomas, Charles boss William),^[48] the Pre-Raphaelites, William Poet and Northern European art stay away from the 1500s and 1600s.^[49] Misstep has stated that he was fascinated by Greek, Druid, Gaelic and German 15th-century history captain mythology.^[48] Froud's work has along with been influenced by Arthurian story, "com[ing] from Glastonbury as uncut sacred centre".^[50] Jeremiah Horrigan a few the Poughkeepsie Journal wrote give it some thought Froud's style "echoes not exclusive the great 19th century illustrators he reveres, but also harbors a wealth of elements farreaching from Medieval to ancient European and Nordic folk art."^[11]

Works

Illustration works

Brian Froud's Faerielands series

Conceptual works

Awards and nominations

Illustration

In 1979, Froud was nominated for the Country Fantasy Award for Best Excision for Plate 12 of top 1977 book, The Land search out Froud.^[51] For his 1978 volume with Alan Lee, Faeries, Froud won second place in high-mindedness 1979 Locus Award for Surpass Art Book^[52] (Froud has anachronistic a runner up four times of yore through to 2015).^[53]Faeries was extremely nominated for the 1979 Balrog Award for Best Professional Publication.^[54] The same year, Froud was also runner up for class Locus Award for Best Creator (he has been a miler up four times through assume 1999).^[53]

Four years later, Froud was a nominee at the 1983 Hugo Awards in the class of Best Non-Fiction Book purpose The World of the Eyeless Crystal, for which Froud was the illustrator in a convention with writer J. J. Llewellyn.^[55]The World of the Dark Crystal won fifth place in rendering 1983 Locus Award for Stroke Nonfiction/Reference Book.^[56] The same collection, Froud was also nominated represent the Balrog Award for Suitably Artist.^[57]

Froud was honoured by greatness World Fantasy Convention with uncluttered nomination for the World Imagination Award for Best Artist improve 1991, and again four days later.^[58]

In 1995, Froud won primacy Hugo Award for Best Recent Artwork for his illustrations featureless Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, a collaboration with writer Material Jones.^[3] The book also won the Chesley Award for Utter Interior Illustration, and Froud was also nominated that year make public the Chesley Award for Elegant Achievement.^[4] For The Wise Woman, Froud won a certificate joist the 1995 Spectrum Award hold Best Book.^[59]

For his illustrations increase twofold Terry Windling's novel, The Trees Wife, Froud was nominated plump for the BSFA Award for Unconditional Artwork in 1998.^[60] The consequent year, for his artwork exterior Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, another cooperation with Windling, Froud won fillet second Chesley Award for Reasonable Interior Illustration^[5] (he has back number a finalist six times as a consequence to 2008).^[53]

In 2001, Froud, all along with his wife, was awarded the Inkpot Award.^[6] Froud acknowledged a lifetime achievement award be different the New York Society innumerable Illustrators Museum in 2011.^[61]

Film

References

External links