to german versionA short introduction
Since 1993 I am working as a freelancing illustrator and artist. Most people know me for my works for "Das Schwarze Auge" (The Dark Eye), Germanys most popular fantasy roleplaying game, but I also created fantasy artwork for novels, like the "Gezeitenwelt-Zyklus" a noted German fantasy saga, published by Piper Verlag. Since early 2006, I also illustrate children's books, some of them published by XENOS as part of the "Besserwisser" line of books for young children, explaining historical and contemporary facts.
About this page
In my galleries you'll find works I created for publishers and private clients as well as pictures which arose from my own imagination – which are therefore most precious for me.
Please enter and leave some of the happiness you bring with you. Please enjoy my works!
CONVENTION DATES
No more dates scheduled for 2011.
News
Children's book – Christmas 'Wimmelbuch'*, F.X. Schmid:"Mein schönstes Wimmelbuch Weihnachten" (My Most Beautiful Things-to-spot On Christmas Book) is now available in stores everywhere; ISBN is 978-3-8380-0015-2. My second 'Wimmelbuch' for the publisher F.X. Schmid (an imprint of Ravensburger Buchverlag) teems with even more scenes, story snippets and practical jokes than "Mein liebstes Bauernhof-Wimmelbuch" (My Dearest Things-to-spot On The Farm Book): In seven double-page-spreads two Christmas cats are up to mischief between the stalls of a Christmas fair, in the Holiday bakery of the local kindergarten, amongst ice skaters, in a crowded department store and in a snow-covered mountain village.
*) 'Wimmelbuch' is the hard-to-translate term for a book full of 'Wimmelbilder', which are busy scenes with picture puzzles and short story elements, sometimes also called things-to-spot pictures or picture hunts.
Goodbye DSA/TDE:
I'm sorry to say that the restructuring at the publishing house of DSA implies that there will be no further DSA illustrations by me. In my case, 'restructuring' meant that the fees for graphics were almost cut by half while the publishing rights for the company were to be expanded to universal. As I make a living from professional drawing, I simply cannot accept hobbyist's or beginner's rates while giving away all rights. Adding up to that was the communications policy of the publisher which left a lot to be desired. And with all that restructuring and redesigning, I'm not sure if that's the way I want to go – maybe my pictures won't fit in anyway ...
But I still will be visiting conventions and sketch your characters there, so I'll stay in touch with DSA that way.
Website update: 17th June '11
New pictures in gallery: Kinderbuch (children's books)
Book for children - Bauernhof Wimmelbuch, F.X. Schmid:
"Mein liebstes Bauernhof Wimmelbuch / My dearest farm swarmingbook" is already released under the ISBN 978-3-8380-0006-0. I have illustrated the 16 pages with many swarming details and every doubleside has a cheeky racoon hidden. It's my first picture book for F.X. Schmid (Ravensburger) and I'm already working at the second one, that is all about christmas time.
Website update: 28th October '10
New pictures in gallery: Zauberhafte Kreaturen (Enchanting Creatures)
Happy Halloween!
Book for children - Wimmelbuch, F.X. Schmid:
Right now I'm working on a picturebook for children with swarming details entitled "Mein liebstes Bauernhof Wimmelbuch / My dearest farm swarmingbook".
Scheduled for realease in 2011 by F.X. Schmid (Ravensburger).
Book for children – XENOS Verlag:
The book "Der kleine Hund" (The Little Dog) is new published in the 'Leg Los' line of children's books for infants and kindergarten age . The little dog lives on a farm and accompanies the farmer for a day. The little dog meets all the other animals at the farmland. The book has got an inlay-figure of the dog, that fits in every page and szene in the book. XENOS Verlag, all illustrations by me.
ISBN 978-3-8212-3465-6
Inrah/Boltan deck of cards and Website update: 23. December '09
Right now I'm working - in close cooperation with my colleague Mia Steingräber - on a deck of cards entitled Inrah, set in the world of "Das Schwarze Auge / The Dark Eye". It is a full set of 121 cards (6 suits corresponding to the six aventurian elements with five face cards and seven pip cards each, plus 49 'major arcana'), of which the 79 picture-cards are illustrated by us. The deck can be used for divination purposes (like Tarot cards) or for the Poker-like 'Boltan' or 'Five Aces' game.
Scheduled for release in 2010 as a seperate Game by Ulisses Spiele. (Another deck, illustrated by the artists of Radon Labs computer game studio will appear in the limited 'Personal Edition' of the Drakensang: Am Fluss der Zeit computer RPG.
New pictures in gallery: "Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye)"
Website update: 03. July '09
New pictures in gallery: Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye)
Website update: 20th February '09
New pictures in gallery: Zauberhafte Kreaturen (Enchanting Creatures)
Website update: 9th July '08
New pictures in gallery: Zauberhafte Kreaturen (Enchanting Creatures)
Website update: 4th October '07
New pictures in gallery: Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye)
Information booklet
The municipal water authority of Lünen SAL Lünen will be publishing a new information booklet for school use on the topic of 'stream sponsorships', which will contain a lot of full-colour illustrations by me – and a plethora of interesting facts about how students can work as sponsors/godparents of local stretches of water.
Das Schwarze Auge / The Dark Eye:
Soon to be released by Ulisses Spiele: the new regional sourcebook "Reich des Roten Mondes" (Realm of the Red Moon) for the Orkland region of the well-known German role-playing game, with some of my older works and some new illustrations.
Das Schwarze Auge / The Dark Eye:
Soon to be released by Ulisses Spiele: the new regional sourcebook for the Bornland region of the well-known German role-playing game, with some of my older works and some new illustrations
Non-fiction book for children – XENOS Verlag:
The book "Unser Körper" (Our Body), with eight detailed, full-colour double pages and a lot of interactive flaps will be published in the 'Besserwisser' line of children's non-fiction books for kindergarten age and upwards. XENOS Verlag, all illustrations by me.
Information booklet:
The municipal water authority of Lünen, SAL Lünen, has published an information booklet on the dangers of rats in the sewers ("Ratten in der Kanalisation"). With a lot of full-colour illustrations by me – and of course a lot of information on the topic of rats in the cities.
Children's book:
Also by the municipal water authority of the city of Lünen, SAL Lünen: a children's book on the water cycle, entitled "Fenja Firn – Die abenteuerliche Reise einer kleinen Wasserfee vom Gletscher bis tief unter die Erde" ("Fenja Firn – The adventurous journey of a little water fairy from the high glacier to deep underground").
ISBN 978-3-00-022504-8
This summer I will be working on a sequel of Fenja's adventures, this time depicting the water cycle all around the house.
