Greetings! Thank you for your interest in my Illustration services. I am open to a wide variety of projects in traditional and digital media and am fast, reliable & easy to deal with. I will either take on an assignment or I won’t - I only give my best effort or I do nothing at all. I work very fast. I always start with digital media now- the "comp" is the new rough sketch. My digital illustrations are hard to tell from oil paintings in print. I offer oil on canvas and art on Bristol board in mixed media as well. [ Prismacolors, inks, acrylics, pastel, etc.]
Basically I offer art in three kinds of media, Digital or computer art starting at $500. U.S. dollars - Traditional media - Prismacolor and Oil originals on Archival Bristol Board and Oils on Canvas. Art on paper starts at $1250.USD Oils on canvas start at $2500. U.S. Dollars. I always start with a digital version to assure complete customer satisfaction before rendering the art in traditional mediums. Archival quality Poster sized Prints of your cover art can also be had if you're interested for $99. Art is my only job. I love it. I work fast and aim to please. E-mail me for more information or scroll down. Clear communication about project goals, budgets and vision always make a formula for success. I charge from $500.00-$3,500.00 to create custom art in digital media, depending how much money stands to be made from sales, how hard the illustration is and how hard you are to please. Single figures in a nature background for small market sales run on the low side of my scale if the customer is easy to please. I define “easy to please” as happy with an illustration that EXACTLY fits your description and meets the rich detail and quality standards shown on my website. Mistakes are fixed for free, like putting in a girl where a man was requested. I don’t make many mistakes because I double and triple check the notes. Changes to the notes or additions of elements not asked for after work is submitted cost extra. Send me a description of what you want and or an outline of essential elements if these prices are agreeable to you. Group pricing is available under certain conditions. My minimum fee for custom digital and Mixed Media creations like those found in my galleries online is five hundred USD providing I can work from what source material I have on hand and no new photo shoots are involved. Photo shoots get real expensive real fast. Complex scenes with lots of figures will cost more.
Illustrations for Books, Magazines, Calendars, Poster Art, Ads, Candles, DVDs, CDs, Statues, Coins, Games & Greeting Card Art. Here are some examples of commissions that came with very strict instructions for the customer's very specific needs...
Oil paintings on canvas or panel, colored pencil paintings on bristol and digital artwork on disk or printed form are all available.
Featuring a Classic approach to Portraits, Fantasy, Science-fiction, Adventure, Mystery, History, Young Adult Fiction, Religion and Romance...
Three Portraits of the same young lady in pastel and colored pencil on watercolor paper
E-mail me for more information or scroll down.
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MY PROCESS:
I start every commission project with a digital montage like I show on my original art and digital pages. It assures complete customer satisfaction and eliminates surprises. Any important details could be collected in outline or list form to go with your description. I know you'd rather do this than get the art and go "Oh no!" I forgot to say how old he was! and have to pay extra for changes. Of course if I make a mistake like putting a blond in when you specified a brunette I'll change that free of charge. Additions to the description after the art is done cost extra based on time and difficulty. In the old days ANY revisions were catastrophic, but now adding more sky for titles for example is easy instead of having to start all over. Some changes still require completely re-doing the art. Examples of originals shown next to the digital preliminaries are at https://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/original-art.htm or for more visithttps://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/digital.htm
Above are Three illustrations of Norse Mythology - examples of digital media, the industry standard in 21st Century Publishing.
"All Hallows Eve" below shows examples of the same picture rendered in my three favorite media - side by side.
Mixed Media including digital |
Prismacolor colored pencils on paper |
Oil Painting on Canvas |
First- THE CONCEPT:
I cannot do exactly what you see in your mind. No one can even in a hundred tries. Often writers see moving pictures in their minds with flying cameras. I CAN do still art & an instant frozen in time that looks like the work on my website and that fits your description EXACTLY. I need a paragraph or two and perhaps a checklist of essential elements. For book covers, I need to know the book size and the exact text that will be on the cover so I can make everything fit right and leave ¼ inch chopping space for your printer so I can make their lives easier. I aim to please.
Second- INTELECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES:
You will own UNLIMITED USAGE RIGHTS for life plus 70 additional years for your estate. Since this is being created in the US and exported, this illustration would be work-for-hire under U.S. copyright law and I would still own all my usual publishing rights but you will also have unrestricted usage without any need for consultation, permission or additional fees for that one price. I do not draw up formal contracts on jobs under $2,500. Signed and dated Legal documents will be provided stating your unlimited usage and ownership upon request. A one time fee. I will require no further payments, the art will be yours.
Third- PAYMENT and PROCEDURES for the three kinds of media:
On every project over $500.00 US dollars I require a fifty-percent down payment to start work just like any other contractor. Using e-mail I send the art in 72 dpi JPEG for your consideration as an attachment. Upon us achieving customer satisfaction, revisions complete if necessary... then the balance check is sent. Discount prices of $500.00 and under require payment in full in advance. These digital illustrations rarely take a month. I can render the digital art in traditional media as Prismacolor on Paper (ex: Helen of Troy –3 weeks) or Oil on Canvas ( ex: Athena 60-100 days) for and additional one thousand or Two thousand respectively. These originals will be one-of-a-kind-items.
PRINT READY DIGITAL ART:
In Digital media the 300 dpi TIFF professional format high-resolution printing masters are immediately uploaded the same day payment is received for immediate download at www.yousendit.com - no passwords no software just one click and blazing speed worldwide and physical originals are shipped FEDEX or facsimile service at my expense. There is a school of thought that seems to think that a caveman’s beating on a hollow log with a stick is automatically superior to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony performed by the world’s finest symphony orchestra because less technology is involved. I do not subscribe to this kind of thinking. Personally I LOVE computers! First of all, there’s the freedom from fear! The undo button is empowering and liberating! More importantly, publishing customers can't afford to pay me for old-fashioned traditional methods like oil on canvas. I can do them, and do them well, but no one but millionaire art collectors can afford to pay even poverty level hourly rates for all that time. The masters often took a year for a single painting. With digital media I can create pieces that look very nice for very nice prices and with blazing speed. The publishing industry is not noted for its patience. In the early days of my art career, mailing traditional media originals was scary at best, but now they can be scanned and shipped without risk. Also in my early days adding canvas space to a work in progress was as impossible as growing a second head... but now it is so easy I usually don't even charge extra to adapt them if its just skies or landscapes! Re-dos and revisions were financially catastrophic! No wonder the starving artist became a stereotype! Before the internet, I struggled to find customers in Austin Texas, now nearly every nation on Earth has visited my website! This was beyond my wildest imaginings as a boy. What an amazing era we live in! I love it!!!
~ Howard David Johnson
You can e-mail for more details at:
Your business, letters and links are always welcome!
Who is Contemporary American Illustrator Howard David Johnson?
All these pieces of realistic art and the text are legally copyrighted and were registered with the U.S. Library of Congress Office of Copyright by the author, Howard David Johnson All rights reserved worldwide. Permission for many academic or non-commercial uses is freely and legally available by simply contacting the author via e-mail or visiting www.howarddavidjohnson.com/permission.htm
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ORIGINAL OIL PAINTINGS ON CANVAS FOR SALE:
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e-mail for more details at
PUBLISHING LICENSES FOR EXISTING ART ~
Adaptable Illustrations for a variety of uses...
Licenses for all kinds of uses including Book Covers, Illustrations, Calendars, Poster Art, Ads, Candles, Greeting Card Art and more starting at only $99.USD. Fast Delivery! These 20-24 inch tall 300 dpi digital masters are archived in TIFF professional printing format but can be converted to meet your needs. Same day Service! E-mail for more info...
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Click on the image thumbnails below to see larger copies or to order prints...
Scroll down for details or e-mail now for courteous and speedy service!
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Scroll down for more or e-mail now for courteous and speedy service!
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Licensing existing art is a very inexpensive way to get a striking cover, starting at only $99.USD... Modifying existing work to fit a cover's need for Extra Space... My images can be easily modified to be used as book covers and accommodate analog printing cutoffs by adding more edge space along the sides and extra room at the top for lettering at no extra charge. It's quick and easy with today's powerful digital media!
Gorgeous Quality High Resolution files for All kinds of Commercial uses!
Scroll down for more or e-mail now for courteous and speedy service!
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Didn't SEE what you want? We have HUNDREDS more... Scroll down
Some of David's more prestigious clients have included the National Geographic Society, the University of Texas, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, MGM, Warner Home Video, Paramount Studios, Universal Studios, PBS TV, Enslow Educational Publishers, Adobe Photoshop, Auto FX, Doubleday, the History Book of the Month Club, & J Walter Thompson Advertising, just to name a few.
Enter a world of Beauty and Imagination...
INDEX of GALLERIES ~ LINKS to LARGER ART The Realistic and Fantastic Art Galleries of Contemporary American Illustrator Howard David Johnson Click on these Fun Educational Realistic Art Gallery link icons for Two-fisted Tales of VALOR & Frontline Combat featuring Legendary Warriors of History, Knights and ladies of Arthurian Legend, Celtic, Nordic, Asian and Olympian gods & monsters, unicorns, dragons, fairies... and more!
All these pieces of art and the text are legally copyrighted and were registered with the U.S. Library of Congress Office of Copyright by the author, Howard David Johnson All rights reserved worldwide. Permission for many academic or non-commercial uses is freely and legally available by simply contacting the author via e-mail or visiting www.howarddavidjohnson.com/permission.htm
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"Those who are enamored of practice without science are like a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass and never has any certainty where he is going. Practice should always be based upon a sound knowledge of theory, of which perspective is the guide and gateway, and without it nothing can be done well in any kind of painting."
Howard David Johnson is a contemporary visual artist and photographer with a background in the natural sciences and history. He works in a wide variety of media ranging from traditional oils, pastels and others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing media. This site features examples of his Realistic Art, including illustration, photography, experimentalism, and fine art. |
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The various galleries linked to by the icons above show many examples of His Realistic Art, and are grouped by theme rather than media. There are also sample illustrations from his upcoming books on Celtic Myth and Legend and World Myth & Legend. Since boyhood he has passionately copied the old masters. To create his work, he usually starts with a thematic concept followed by a rough realistic pencil sketch, then followed by his photography, often traveling to find suitable scenes and locations and then working in his Photography studio with live models from his sketches. He then assembles a variety of elements which are realistic and original. As a boy he dedicated his life to art in 1960. From 1965- 1999 he used xeroxes and tracings to make his preliminary photo montages. This is patterned after the manner used by Maxfield Parrish and other 19th century notables. Beginning with a tracing, he then draws or paints from these complex original Computer Photo Montages. Many of these are on display on this web and slated for future completion in a variety of realistic traditional art media. As this happens, the finished work is substituted in the exhibit. Recently he shot hundreds of aerial photos of clouds at marvelous angles and perspectives and also looking down on the mighty mountains, rivers, and deserts of the American west while flying from Texas to Oregon and back for dynamic source material for realistic flying scenes in upcoming paintings , drawings, and pictures. |
His favourite medium for realistic art is colored pencil because of the high speed and low expense, and people began expressing difficulty in telling his colored pencil drawing from photographs in the early 1980's. In the last 35 plus years he has also mastered Oils, Pastels, Acrylics, Watercolors, Inks, Scratchboard, Gouache, Photography, and the highly controversial digital media ( Art Numérica ) . As a commercial illustrator Johnson has not only used the computer to create art but has been involved in the development of computer imaging software. Working in a realistic style inspired by classic illustrators HDJ is deeply rooted and grounded in the Greco-Roman artistic tradition, Feeling that with realistic art, the human form is the ultimate arena for artistic expression. His lifelong dream came true when his Traditional Realistic Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London England in 1996. His mixed media has also been displayed in numerous other ones since such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Having achieved international acclaim as a traditional visual artist he discovered digital media ( Art Numérica ) in 1999. Because of his passion for realistic art and photography he elected to embrace it and joyfully be a part of this historic era in the visual arts as a 21st century realistic visual artist. Since 1972 when he began his career as a scientific illustrator for the University of Texas he has earned his living illustrating all kinds of books, magazines, CD covers, and all sorts of games, greeting cards, calendars, portraits, murals and the like with his contemporary realistic art... HDJ's Realistic Art has appeared in every major bookstore chain and fantasy gaming shop in The United States and has been used in educational texts and magazines all over the world. This site features realistic paintings & pictures for the twenty-first Century including some oil paintings, as well as lots of other exciting media such as colored pencil drawings, pastel paintings, acrylic paintings, gouache paintings, watercolor paintings, and pencil drawings, and also featuring studio, field, & aerial photography, digital painting and photo-montage and all these media mixed in an assortment of experimental combinations...Working in a wide variety of media to create his realistic art he offers his customers a host of payment and product options. He delivers the rights to these custom made copyright free illustrations and old fashioned customer service when he does work-for-hire. HDJ's creations take their inspiration from the realistic paintings of the old masters. From Romeo and Juliet came West Side Story. Our shared cultural heritage, great works of art, literature, music and drama, cinema, folk tales and fairy tales are all drawn upon again and again by the creators of new works. These works in the public domain are both a catalyst and a wellspring for creativity and innovation. Where would Walt Disney be without the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, or Victor Hugo? Where would Aaron Copeland have been without American folk music? Thomas Nast's Santa Claus without traditional images of Father Christmas? Picasso without African art? Public domain appropriators, one and all. He accepts select commissions to paint custom oil paintings with down payments starting at only one thousand dollars. He grants permission for most educational purposes simply for the asking. To use his existing realistic art works outside the classroom he offers low cost license offers starting around $100.00. Use the e-mail links above or below to contact him...
This Art Gallery has been honored by more than 25,000,000 Unique Visitors from the Four Corners of the Earth My Friends from around the world thus far : England,
Canada, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, Germany,
France, Monaco, Andorra,
Italy, The Vatican City State, Greece,
Macedonia, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium,
Denmark, The Faroe Islands, Greenland,
Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Croatia, The Czech
Republic, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Austria,
Romania, Spain, The Russian Federation,
Estonia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
Moldova, Malta, Iceland, Finland, Norway,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Sweden, Portugal, Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Slovak
Republic, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Gibraltar, Israel, Palestinian
Territories, Egypt, Libya, Mali,
Algeria, Niger, Saudi Arabia, If your home is not listed here please e-mail and tell us where you're from...
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