David Palumbo

  1. conceptual / narrative
  2. sci-fi / fantasy
  3. bio
  4. work process

As a freelance illustrator, David Palumbo has provided genre themed artwork for everything from book covers and collectible card games to advertisements and concept design.

His work has received multiple honors including several Spectrum medals and a Chesley award and has shown in galleries and exhibitions from New York to Paris.

Client List

Ace Books
Blizzard Entertainment
Centipede Press
Dark Horse Comics
Daw Books
Heavy Metal
Lucasfilm
Marvel Entertainment
The New Yorker
Night Shade Books
Orbit Books
Pyr Books
Roadrunner Records
Rolling Stone Italia
Scholastic
Science Fiction Book Club
Scientific American
Sideshow Collectibles
Simon and Schuster
Subterranean Press
Tor Books
VH1
The Wall Street Journal
Wizards of the Coast

After receiving the brief from the client, I generally begin with very sketchy and abstract thumbnails to get my thoughts organized. From these I will develop a presentable sketch or assortment of sketches depending on the needs of the job to establish the basic composition, content, and a general value structure and mood for the image. My sketches are most often created digitally and on occasion I will work color into them if it seems appropriate, though often I prefer to begin in black and white. When the sketch is fully developed, I’ll gather any necessary reference material and move right into putting the painting onto the board. My process with oils is fairly direct, generally creating a structural monochromatic image of my sketch which is now supplemented with my reference materials. Ideally from there I will more right ahead to finishing the painting beginning with the key focal area(s) and working outward. If any final adjustments are needed, I may fine tune the image in Photoshop to get it just right.

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