Spectrum: The Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art is an American large full color book series which showcases fantasy, science fiction, and horror-themed art in eight categories as selected by a rotating jury from an annual competition.
Spectrum was initially conceived by Arnie Fenner [1] and Cathy Fenner. [2] Inspired by the popularity of Tomorrow and Beyond, [3] an image anthology edited by Ian Summers in 1978, the annual publication from The Society of Illustrators, [4] and with very successful exhibitions devoted to fantastic art at the New Britain Museum of American Art (1980), [5] and at the Society of Illustrators (1984), the Fenners decided that a volume focusing on the popular genre was justified.
A Call For Entries was mailed to the arts community and a jury of professional artists convened to make selections from the work submitted in Initially six categories: Advertising, Book, Comics, Editorial, Institutional, and Unpublished; the results appeared in the first full color book, Spectrum 1, published by Underwood Books [6] in 1994. Later two additional categories were added: Dimensional and Concept Art. A new installment in the Spectrum series has appeared every year since. Underwood Books produced the first twenty volumes.
Feature articles and reviews have been written about the series in such industry publications such as Locus, [7] Realms of Fantasy [8] and Airbrush Art & Action [9] as well as general publications such as the Kansas City Star newspaper [10] and The Post Newspapers - Medina Edition [11]
In 2013, the Fenners semi-retired and licensed the competition and book to John Fleskes, who continues to edit and publish the series under the Flesk Publications [12] imprint.
Spectrum has had nominations for, and has won, many industry awards over its history. Among them are:
Won the Locus Award for Art Book. [13]
Nominated eight times for the Hugo Award for Best Related Work. [14]
Won the Chesley Award for Art Direction. [15]
Won the World Fantasy Award for Special Award, Professional. [16]
Every year, a Call For Entries poster is sent out to anyone who requests it; a different popular illustrator provides the poster art each year. Among past poster artists are Frank Frazetta, Phil Hale, Rebecca Guay, and Brom. Notice of the competition is also made via the internet, social media and through email. Submissions are made to the website in digital form by an announced deadline.
A jury of award-winning artists and art directors physically assembles in Kansas City to view and judge the submissions rather than have them vote in isolation from home via the internet.
The jury casts anonymous votes on all of the submissions and simultaneously nominates works for award consideration; a group discussion follows the conclusion of voting to present a Gold and a Silver award in each category. Artworks that receive a simple majority of votes—3 out of 5—are included in the book.
All artists selected for publication receive a copy of the book at no expense to them; Spectrum was the first annual to give each included artist a book.
The Spectrum series also inspired a semi-annual event, Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! (SFAL) beginning in 2012 in Kansas City. Intended as a combination convention/art fair for the fantasy and science fiction art community, it has attracted artists, industry professionals and fans from around the world.
The event features booths and tables for artists to sell originals and prints to the public along with programming that includes panel discussions, workshops, live painting demonstrations, and portfolio reviews by art directors from the book, comics, gaming, and entertainment industries. The Spectrum Awards have also been presented at an evening ceremony during the convention.
In 2019 Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! Collaborated with Planet Comicon Kansas City, [17] one of the midwest's largest pop-culture conventions, for the event.
The first Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! was held in Kansas City, May 18–20, 2012. A commemorative hardcover book showcasing the art of the five special guests was produced.
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
152 | 195 | 91 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Burnett Introduction - Lee Stuart | James Gurney | Joseph DeVito | Rick Berry, Arnie Fenner, Tim Kirk Don Ivan Punchatz, Dave Stevens Lisa Tallarico-Robertson and Michael Whelan | The First Edition editor was credited to Cathy Burnett. Later editions were credited to Cathy Fenner after she and Arnie Fenner were married. There was a hardcover edition signed by all of the jurors, limited to 500 copies that was also published. This first volume did not have Gold or Silver awards, but Merit Awards were given to the Artists. The winners of The Chesley Awards by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists organization [18] were also listed. |
Advertising | Book | Comics | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nick Gaetano Jerry Lofaro | Garry Ruddell Richard Bernal | Simon Bisley Ray Lago Bill Sienkiewicz | Herb Davidson Rick Berry Darrel Anderson | Scott Gustafson John Rush Hap Henrikson James Gurney Thomas Blackshear II | Phil Hale Myles Pinkney (2) Michael Whelan |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
134 | 230 | 133 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner | First Edition: Rick Berry Later editions: Steven Assel | Phil Hale | Rick Berry, Terri Windling, Charles Vess, David Cherry, and Kerig Pope | The First Edition editor was credited to Cathy Burnett. Later editions were credited to Cathy Fenner after she and Arnie Fenner were married. On this volume, the original cover was Rick Berry's digital painting of "Death" done for DC Comics. DC Comics asked to change it on reprints since Spectrum was not a part of DC. The winners of The Chesley Awards by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists organization were also listed. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frank Frazetta | Gold | Steve Armes | Dean Morrissey | Joe Chiodo | Marshall Arisman | Stephen Hickman Thomas Blackshear II | Phil Hale |
Silver | Jerry Lofaro | Donato Giancola | Charles Vess | Rosh Ruppel | Rick Berry Scott Mack Joseph DeVito | Dennis Nolan | |
Certificate Of Merit | Brian Froud James Gurney | John Bolton Gary Gianni | Kinuko Craft Nick Gaetano | Ezra Tucker Scott Gustafson | William Stout John Rush |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
141 | 228 | 148 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Burnett and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Frank Frazetta | Donato Giancola | Gary Ruddell, Harlan Ellison, Bill Nelson, Mike Mignola, Teri Czeczko, Jill Bauman, and Dennis Kitchen | The First Edition editor was credited to Cathy Burnett. Later editions were credited to Cathy Fenner after she and Arnie Fenner were married. The Dimensional category was added with this volume. The winners of The Chesley Awards by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists organization were also listed. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Don Ivan Punchatz | Gold | John Rush | John Jude Palancar | Mark Chiarello | Randy Bowen | Mel Odom | James Gurney | Steven Assael |
Silver | Doug Beekman | Brom | John Mueller | Mark Newman | Luis Royo | Scott Gustafson | Tim O'Brien | |
Certificate Of Merit | Stu Suchit Garry Ruddell | Donato Gianbcola Bruce Jensen | Doug Beekman Glen Orbik, Laurel Blechman, & Shawn Zents | Tom Taggart Pedro Martin | James Warhola Robh Ruppel | Frank Frazetta Jay Hong | Walter Velez John Foster |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
141 | 245 | 171 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | James C. Christensen | Yuri Bartoli | Gary Kelly, Sue Ann Harkey, Maria Carbado, Vincent DiFate, Bud Plant, and Vern Dufford | The winners of The Chesley Awards by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists organization were listed. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leo & Diane Dillon | Gold | Rafal Olbinski | John Jude Palancar | Doug Beekman | Joseph DeVito | Rick Berry | Phil Hale | Michael Whelan |
Silver | Stephan "Cricket" Martiniere | James C. Christensen | Mark Schultz | J.A. Pippett | Brad Holland | Petar Meseldzija | Jeff Miracola |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
165 | 318 | 199 | Editor's Message - Cathy & Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Donato Giancola | Kent Williams | Terry Lee, Joe Kubert, Tom Dolphins, John English, Joseph DeVito, and Donato Giancola |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Bama | Gold | Greg Spalenka | Dave McKean | Travis Charest | Lawrence Northey | Thorn Ang | Jeffery Jones | Phil Hale |
Silver | Ezra Tucker | Richard Bernal | Vincent Evans | The Shiflett Bros. | James Gurney | David DeVries | Kirk Reinert |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
173 | 282 | 200 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Jim Burns | Scott Gustafson | Steve Mark, Phil Reynolds, George Diggs, Ken Westphal, Susan Sifers, John Jude Palancar, Bud Plant, and Phil Hale | This year held a Spectrum Student Competition which awarded scholarships. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Berkey | Gold | Jerry Lofaro | Shaun Tan | Dave DeVries | Lawrence Northey | Gary Kelly | Eric Bowman | Stephen Hickman |
Silver | Ashley Wood | Gary Gianni | Dave McKean | Miles Teves | Donato Giancola | Oddworld Inhabitants | Patrick Arrasmith |
Spectrum Student Competition | $1,000 Scholarship | $500 Scholarship | $300 Scholarship |
---|---|---|---|
Jin N. Lee | Eric Fortune | Thomas L. Hicke II |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
195 | 330 | 226 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Cliff Nielsen | Jon Foster | Rick Berry, Vern Dufford, Scott Gustafson, Bob Haas, Bud Plant, Toby Schwartz, and Greg Spalenka |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Lee | Gold | Rafal Olbinski | Kinuko Y. Craft | Phil Hale | Sharon Matsunmoto | Jody Hewgill | Greg Spalenka | Michael Whelan |
Silver | Dave McKean | David Ho | William Wm. Kaluta | Greg Polutanovich | Wes Benscoter | John Foster | David Ho |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
173 | 298 | 211 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Alan Pollack | Michael Whelan | Brom, Harlan Ellison, Irene Gallo, Guy Giunta, Gregory Manchess, and John Jude Palancar |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jean Giraud | Gold | Kinuko Y. Craft | David Bowers | Dave McKean | Jean-Louis Crinon | Donato Giancola | Eric Bowman | Jason Nobriga |
Silver | Matt Stawicki | Shaun Tan | Phil Hale | Joel Harlow | James Gurney | Oddworld Inhabitants | Gregory Manchess |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
173 | 322 | 216 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Daniael R. Horne | Donato Giancola | Rick Berry, Terese Nielsen, Bob Haas, Phil Hale, David DeVries, and Tim Holter Bruckner |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kinuko Y. Craft | Gold | Ashley Wood | Phil Hale | Ashley Wood | Tim Holter Bruckner | Phil Hale | Justin Sweet | Eric Bowman |
Silver | Greg Spalenka | Shaun Tan Kent Williams | Dave McKean Rick Berry | Lawrence Northey | Jon Foster | Rick Berry | Nilson |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
173 | 303 | 221 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Christophe Vacher | Raymond Swanland | Mark Chiarello, Bob Eggleton, C.F. Payne, Bud Plant, Kelly Seda, and Michael Whelan |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael William Kaluta | Gold | Dave McKean | Charles Vess | Jon Foster | Lawrence Northey | James Gurney | Peter De Sève | Eric Joyner |
Silver | Donato Giancola | Kinuko Y. Craft | Christopher Moeller | William Basso | Omar Rayyan | Eric Bowman | Petar Meseldžija |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
205 | 401 | 272 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Eric Joyner | Paul Bonner | Gary Brewer, Joseph DeVito, Gary Gianni, John Jude Palancar, Greg Spalenka, and Roxana Villa | Starting with this volume, the books were published in a larger 9 by 12 inch format. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael R. Whelan | Gold | Rene Milot | David Bowers | Stephan "Cricket" Martiniere | Thomas S. Kuebler | Michael Gibbs | Todd Schorr | Raymond Swanland |
Silver | William Stout | Greg Swearingen | Phil Hale | Thomas s. Kuebler | Peter de Sève | Brian Despain | Patrick Arrasmith |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
205 | 387 | 273 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner Grand Master Award essay - Harlan Ellison | David Bowers | Manchu | Jon Foster, Irene Gallo, Anita Kunz, Karen Palinko, David Stevenson, and William Stout |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H. R. Giger | Gold | Brom | Brad Holland | Greg Ruth | Lawrence Northey | Thomas L. Fluharty | Arthur Suydam | Travis A. Louie |
Silver | Justin Sweet | Paul Bonner | Mike Huddleston | Ryan K. Peterson | Shaun Tan | Dave DeVries | Matt Gaser |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
221 | 404 | 300 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner Spectrum: The Exhibition Katrinarita - William Joyce | Donato Giancola | Jason Chan | Brom, Bruce Jnsen, Christopher Klein, Heidi MacDonald, Stephan Martiniere, and Meg Walsh |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jeffery Jones | Gold | Donato Giancola | Jon Foster | Jeremy Geddes | Tim Bruckner | William Stout | Cos Koniotis | August Hall |
Silver | Andrew Jones | Michael J. Deas | David Hartman | Andrew Sinclair | Yuko Shimizu | Daniel Dociu | William Carman |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
248 | 454 | 317 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Andrew Jones | Aleksi Briclot | Mark Chiarello, Dan dos Santos, Marc Gabbana, Dawn Murin, Ragnar, and Adam Rex | This volume introduced the category of Concept Art. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Syd Mead | Gold | James Jean | Jon Foster | Adam Hughes | Daniel Dociu | Cam De Leon | James Jean | William Basso | Joao Ruas |
Silver | Donato Giancola | Shaun Tan | James Jean | Jonny Duddle | Rich Klink | Joao Ruas | Todd Lockwood | Johnny Yanok |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
264 | 456 | 322 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Michael Whelan | Omar Rayyan | Daren Bader, Tim Bodendistel, Kelly Seda, Justin Sweet, and Frank Cho | To mark the 15th Anniversary of the competition and annual, a special "Best In Show" award was designated. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Jude Palancar | Gold | Johnny Yanok | Sam Weber | James Jean | Daniel Dociu | A. Brent Armstrong | Phil Hale | Robh Ruppel | Omar Rayyan |
Best In Show James Jean | Silver | Brom | Stephan Martiniere | Adam Hughes | Daniel Dociu | Akihito Ikeda | Kurt Huggins & Zelda Devon | Larry MacDougall | Brom |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
264 | 439 | 303 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner | Melanie Delon | Eric Fortune | Kevin Brimmer, David Dorman, Donato Giancola, Steven Sanders, and Bob Self |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richard V. Corben | Gold | Ryohei Hase | Petar Meseldžija | Jon Foster | Daniel Dociu | Akiito Ikeda | Craig Elliott | James Gurney | Jeremy Enecio |
Silver | Yuko Shimizu | Jean-Baptiste Monge | Aleksi Briclot | Kekai Kotaki | David Meng | Nate Van Dyke | Jaime Jones | Dave Laub |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
288 | 486 | 339 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner The Year In Review - Arnie Fenner Grand Master Award essay - John Fleskes | Gregory Manchess | Jean-Sebastien Rossbach | Kerry Callen, Bill Carman, John Fleskes, Rebecca Guay, and Iain McCaig |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Wiliamson | Gold | Sam Weber | Omar Rayyan | Steven Tabbutt | Daniel Dociu | Mark Newman | Chris Buzelli | Ed Binkley | Eric Fortune |
Silver | Craig Elliott | Scott Gustafson | Eric Orchard | Ritchie Sacilioc | Jack Mathews Virginie Ropars | Sam Weber | Michael J. Deas | Donato Giancola Heather Theurer |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 497 | 340 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner Looking Forward, Looking Back - Arnie Fenner Grand Master Award essay - Jane Frank | Jean-Sebastien Rossbach | William Stout | Julie Bell, Nathan Fox, Gregory Manchess, Grandon Shiflett & Jarrod Shiflett, Boris Vallejo, and Shena Wolf |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ralph McQuarrie | Gold | Ryohei Hase | David Palumbo | Rebecca Guay | Kekai Kolaki | David Meng | Android Jones | Richard Anderson | Rebecca Guay |
Silver | Sam Weber | Dan dos Santos | Joao Ruas David Palumbo | Tomasz Jedruszek | Akihito | Brom | Donato Giancola | S.S. Rossbach |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 506 | 345 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner 2011, Briefly Noted - Arnie Fenner | Brom | Lisa Falkenstern | Scott Gustafson (Jury Chairman), Jeremy Cranford, Peter de Sève, Dawn Rivera, and Jon Schindehette | Writeup and photos of The Spectrum 19 Awards Ceremony held at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Gurney | Gold | Tyler Jacobson | Edward Kinsella III | Alex Alice | Justin Sweet | Virginie Ropars | Jean-Baptiste Monge | Raoul Vitale | Michael Whelan |
Silver | Android Jones | Jean-Baptiste Monge | Jim Murray | Daniel Dociu | Thomas S. Kuebler | James Gurney | Android Jones | Justin Gerard |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 456 | 340 | Chairman's Message - Cathy Fenner Hello, I Must Be Going - Arnie Fenner | Donato Giancola | Bill Mayer | Tim Bruckner, Irene Gallo, Tim Kirk, Mark A. Nelson, and Michael Whelan |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brom | Gold | Dan dos Santos | David Palumbo | Paolo Rivera | Allen Williams | Virginie Ropars | Sam Bosma | Kekai Kotaki | Cory Godbey |
Silver | Android Jones | Charles Vess | David Petersen | Daniel Dociu | David Meng | Sam Weber | Lucas Graciano | Andrew Mar |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Featured Artist | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 553 | 264 | Grand Master Award essay - Terri Windling The Year In Review - John Fleskes Ray Harryhausen Remembered - William Stout | Android Jones | Rebecca Léveillé-Guay | Gabriel Verdon | Cory Godbey, George Pratt, J. Anthony Kosar, Shelly Wan, and Allen Williams | This was the first volume to be edited by John Fleskes, taking over for Arnie and Cathy Fenner. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Iain McCaig | Gold | Kent Williams | Nicholas Delort | Thomas Campi | Theo Prins | The Shiflett Bros. | Tran Nguyen | Bill Carman | Omar Rayyan |
Silver | Victo Ngai | Scott Gustafson | Mark A. Nelson | Vance Kovacs | Colin & Kristine Poole | Yuko Shimizu | Justin Sweet | Yukari Masuike |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 482 | 241 | The Grand Master Award essay - Gary Gianni The Year In Review - John Fleskes | Bastien Lecouffe Deharme | Tran Nguyen | Justin Gerard, Virginie Ropars, Greg Ruth, Annie Stegg Gerard, and Dice Tsutsumi | Short articles were The Spectrum Muse and an overview of Spectrum Fantastic Art Live. |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scott Gustafson | Gold | Taylor Wessling | Dan dos Santos | Audrey Benjaminsen | Sung Choi | Forest Rogers | Tran Nguyen | Rovina Cai | Cynthia Sheppard |
Silver | Yuko Shimizu | Scott Gustafson | Alex Alice | Audrey Benjaminsen | David Silva | Sam Bosma | Laura Lee Brom | Paul Bonner | |
Rising Star Award | |||||||||
Wylie Beckert |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 513 | 281 | Grand Master Award essay - Rebecca Léveillé-Guay Spectrum 23 Award Ceremony and Year In Review - John Fleskes | Android Jones | Julie Bell | David Palumbo, Cynthia Sheppard, Kirk Thatcher, Charlie Wen, and Terryl Whitlatch |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Mignola | Gold | Nico Delort | Rovina Cai | Daren Bader | Vance Kovacs | Forest Rogers | Tran Nguyen | Tyler Jacobson | Rob Rey |
Silver | Joseph Qiu | Karla Ortiz | Nic Klein | Te Hu | Thomas Kuebler | Chris Seaman | Julie Bell | Wayne Haag | |
Rising Star Award | |||||||||
Victor Maury |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
304 | 527 | 296 | Grand Master Award essay - George Pratt Spectrum 24 Awards - J. Anthony Kosar Year In Review - John Fleskes | Iain McCaig | Emily Chen | Christian Alzmann, Laura Lee Brom, Mark Newman, Victo Ngai, and John Picaclo |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Sienkiewicz | Gold | Bayard Wu | Brom | Jeremy Wilson | Sean Andrew Murray | Jesse Thompson | Tim O'Brien | Bill Carman | Karla Ortiz |
Silver | Greg Ruth | Edward Kinsella III | Dave McKean | Iain McCaig | Akihito | Galen Dara | Ed Binkley | Jeffery Alan Love | |
Rising Star Award | |||||||||
Alessandra Pisano |
Pages | Artworks | Artists | Essays | Front Cover | Back Cover | Jury Members |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
303 | 435 | 269 | Grand Master Award essay - Arnie Fenner Year In Review - John Fleskes | Paul Bonner | Wesley Burt | Terry Dodson, Tyler Jacobson, Tran Nguyen, Karla Ortiz, and Chuck Pyle |
GRAND MASTER AWARD | Award | Advertising | Book | Comics | Concept Art | Dimensional | Editorial | Institutional | Unpublished |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Claire Wendling | Gold | Greg Ruth | Victo Ngai | Alex Alice | Wangjie Li | Forest Rogers | Edward Kinsella III | Seb McKinnon | Andrew Hem |
Silver | Laurel Blechman | Petar Meseldžija | Gary Gianni | Anthony Francisco | Jessica Dalva | Tim O'Brien | Piotr Jablonski | Michael Macrae | |
Rising Star Award | |||||||||
Miranda Meeks |
David Cherry is an American artist, author, and illustrator of science fiction and fantasy and has also done substantial work as a marketing artist, concept artist, and 3D modeler in the game production industry. Cherry served as Lecturer and Head of the Art Department as well as Head of the master's degree Program for artists at The Guildhall at SMU, a graduate college dedicated to studies for people who want to work in the game production industry. Cherry was also an attorney, as well as a past president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (1988–1990). He has been nominated eleven times for Hugo Awards, and 18 times for Chesley Awards.
Alan Lee is an English book illustrator and film conceptual designer. He is best known for his artwork inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novels, and for his work on the concept design of Peter Jackson's film adaptations of Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.
Michael Whelan is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career, selling non-commissioned paintings through galleries in the United States and through his website.
Janet Inglis "Janny" Wurts is an American fantasy novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and series, including the Wars of Light and Shadow, The Cycle of Fire trilogy and the internationally best-selling Empire trilogy that she co-authored with Raymond E. Feist. Her short story collection That Way Lies Camelot was nominated for the British Fantasy Award in 1995. She often illustrates her own books, and has won Chesley Awards for her artwork.
Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon were American illustrators of children's books and adult paperback book and magazine covers. One obituary of Leo called the work of the husband-and-wife team "a seamless amalgam of both their hands". In more than 50 years, they created more than 100 speculative fiction book and magazine covers together as well as much interior artwork. Essentially all of their work in that field was joint.
John Brian Francis "Jack" Gaughan, pronounced like 'gone', was an American science fiction artist and illustrator and multiple winner of the Hugo Award in the category of Best Professional Artist.
Virgil Finlay was an American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator. He has been called "part of the pulp magazine history ... one of the foremost contributors of original and imaginative art work for the most memorable science fiction and fantasy publications of our time." While he worked in a range of media, from gouache to oils, Finlay specialized in, and became famous for, detailed pen-and-ink drawings accomplished with abundant stippling, cross-hatching, and scratchboard techniques. Despite the very labor-intensive and time-consuming nature of his specialty, Finlay created more than 2600 works of graphic art in his 35-year career.
Rowena A. Morrill, also credited as Rowena and Rowina Morril, was an American artist known for her science-fiction and fantasy illustration, and is credited as one of the first female artists to impact paperback cover illustration. Her notable artist monographs included The Fantastic Art of Rowena, Imagine, Imagination, and The Art of Rowena and her work has also been included in a variety of anthologies including Tomorrow and Beyond and Infinite Worlds.
John Jude Palencar is an American illustrator and fine artist who specializes in works of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In 2010, he was given the Hamilton King Award.
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Vincent Di Fate is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and realistic space art illustration. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011.
John Picacio is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and horror illustration.
Clarkesworld Magazine is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as Elizabeth Bear, Kij Johnson, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Sarah Monette, Catherynne M. Valente, Jeff VanderMeer and Peter Watts.
Alicia Austin is an American fantasy and science fiction artist and illustrator. She works in print-making, Prismacolor, pastels and watercolors.
Jean-Baptiste Monge is a French-Canadian fantasy author and illustrator. After twelve years spent in Canada, he lives again in France, in Alsace.
The Spectrum Award for Grand Master was awarded annually from 1995 to 2019 by the Spectrum Fantastic Art Advisory Board, which now appears to be defunct.
Thomas Fleming is an artist who has worked on comic books, the fantasy/science fiction genre, and gaming. Fleming has been recognized with multiple awards throughout his career including four nominations for the Chesley Award. In 2012, a federal court awarded him damages due by HomeGoods, which sold unauthorized reproductions of two of his paintings.
Uncanny Magazine is an American science fiction and fantasy online magazine, edited and published by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, based in Urbana, Illinois. Its mascot is a space unicorn.
Gary Freeman is an American commercial artist, who is involved in the publishing, advertising and video game industries. He has received multiple awards for his work in illustration and advertising. He has also been a lead concept designer for several notable video game franchises. Freeman currently lives with his wife in upstate New Hampshire.
Brian Lee Durfee is an American wildlife, landscape, and fantasy painter, and a fantasy and horror writer. His paintings have appeared in various genre and other magazines, games, and books. One of his wildlife paintings is in the permanent collection at the Grand Canyon National Park visitors center.