Tony DiTerlizzi
Tony DiTerlizzi
File:Tony DiTerlizzi.jpg | |
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| Born | September 6, 1969 |
Tony DiTerlizzi (born September 6, 1969) is an American fantasy artist, children's book creator, and motion picture producer.
DiTerlizzi created The Spiderwick Chronicles series with Holly Black, and was an executive producer on the 2008 film adaptation of the series. He won a Caldecott Honor Medal for his adaptation of The Spider and the Fly. In the gaming industry, he best known for his work in the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering and on the Planescape product line for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Early life and education
DiTerlizzi was born into an artistic household in Whittier, California in 1969, the first of three children.
DiTerlizzi grew up in South Florida where he attended South Fork High School. During his childhood he was introduced to the work of Norman Rockwell, Arthur Rackham, Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, and Jim Henson, all of whom he cites as major creative influences. He went to college at the Florida School of the Arts and The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where he earned a graphic design degree in 1992.[citation needed]
Career
After art school, DiTerlizzi began a freelance illustration career working for TSR's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. He continued to illustrate in the gaming field for most of the 1990s, working on games such as Planescape, Changeling: The Dreaming, and Magic: The Gathering.
After seven years of work as a gaming and fantasy artist, DiTerlizzi entered the field of creating children’s picture books. With the publication in 2000 of Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure, he fulfilled a childhood dream of writing and illustrating his own book.[citation needed] Jimmy Zangwow was followed the next year by Ted, which received the 2002 Zena Sutherland Award. Ted was followed with his spooky-themed picture book of Mary Howitt's classic poem The Spider and the Fly, which became a New York Times best-seller,[1] and for which DiTerlizzi was awarded the 2003 Caldecott Honor Medal.
In an effort to bring fantasy to younger readers, DiTerlizzi created the The Spiderwick Chronicles with friend and author, Holly Black. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing launched the series in 2003. Since then, Spiderwick has been published internationally and translated into over 30 languages. In 2005, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You was published. In 2008, Paramount Pictures released a live-action movie adaptation of the series, with DiTerlizzi acting as co-executive producer.[citation needed] A sequel series, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, began publication in September 2007.[citation needed]
Personal life
DiTerlizzi lives and works in western Massachusetts with his wife and manager Angela DiTerlizzi and their daughter.
Bibliography
Writings
- Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure, 2000
- Ted, 2001
- The Spiderwick Chronicles (co-created/written with Holly Black), 2003–2006
- Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, 2005
- G is for One Gzonk, 2006
- Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles (co-created/written with Holly Black), 2007-2009
- Kenny & the Dragon, 2008
Illustrations
- Dinosaur Summer, 1998
- Ribbiting Tales, 2000
- Alien & Possum: Friends No Matter What, 2001
- Alien & Possum: Hanging Around, 2002
- The Spider & The Fly, 2002
- Dragonflight, 2002
- Peter Pan in Scarlet, 2005
References
- ^ Best Sellers: Children's Books - 27 October 2002 New York Times